>>2799092>>2799094I self-taught up to trad/multipitch and then paid for a guided course, which I thought was well worth it.
If you're going to self-teach, don't just watch some YouTube videos and then start climbing trad routes before you've learned to trust your placements. Eventually you'll find yourself in a position where you have to fall on gear for the first time and you'll be cursing every decision that lead you to that moment.
In order to trust your placements you need to be testing them. Get on a mock lead and test every piece. Go in direct with a personal anchor and bounce on it. Experiment with different placements until you get it to pop. Learn the limits. This type of practice builds actual experience, as opposed to just climbing a bunch of easy trad routes and never falling, which teaches you nothing and only builds false confidence.