Those looking to follow a career path might find themselves tempted to pursue something in the field of technology. In 2021, and even before then, technology has become such a large part of everyday life and seems not to be going away any time soon.
Of course, technology is a broad term to describe numerous subsets of career paths, and one that has become especially attractive is obtaining a career path in web development.
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What is web development?
In essence, it is precisely what it sounds like—writing code and bringing websites to life, whether with blogs, social media, games, or anything else that might be accessed via the web. It’s an appealing career path: you can work on your terms and hours, easily contract work or choose to work for employers or agencies, and you always have the option to learn more.
As the Internet and mobile phones are expanding, eCommerce is becoming the main way for buying consumer products, and web development is becoming more and more in need.
Due to high demand in the USA, many companies accept sending projects abroad or bringing employers from other countries. Therefore, it’s a career with great potential to grow.
How do you get started?
1) Start By Learning CSS and HTML
First and foremost, you have to learn the skills needed to begin this endeavor and attract future employers’ attention. Many find that getting started with languages such as CSS and HTML is a great starting point.
Some refuse to call these two codings, but it actually has some complexity, and it’s a good starting point for beginners.
CSS and HTML are applicable across the entire worldwide web. There are many online resources and classes, which can help save you money on investing in secondary education.
Of course, there are other coding languages out there that you might need to pick up as you go, such as Java. Fortunately, many experts state that learning an initial coding language makes picking up others that much easier.
2) Study Websites Out There
Take the time to gather a collection of websites that you really admire and study them. Try and determine what makes you attracted to them: is it a responsive user interface or stunning graphics? Is it lightning-fast? Jot these things down and endeavor to learn how they are accomplished and the skills you need to develop. Web development blogs are the best way to hone your secure coding practices.
Consider looking into a CMS, also known as a content management system platform, as a design inspiration. Try to build it, check the code, and train your CSS skill to customize it, which will help you draft your first website in the future. Also, don’t forget to look into buying your first domain.
3) Build Your Portfolio
As you do so, you must work on your projects and attempt to build your own portfolio. This can be as simple as a blog about a garden or favorite movies to start and wind up as an advanced repository site that acts as an individual Wiki for your fantasy novels.
No matter what it is, it is dire that you always work on something to sharpen and hone your skills. You’ll gain portfolio-worthy projects along the way and will ultimately have something to show off to eventual employers or contracts.
4) Do Small Projects
Speaking of contracts, doing small projects for other individuals here and there can allow you to gain more valuable skills and put things on your portfolio.
Some aspiring web developers take up doing small projects for friends or family. Friendly tip: if you intend to be paid for these projects, always be cautious about doing business with friends or family.
We’ll always recommend having a worker’s contract in place to ensure that you do not get put out on a deal by someone trying to be greedy.
That aside, if you want to pick up projects to help people out, this can give you a chance to improve, build and even network outward for more potential opportunities.
Again, be prepared for the occasional rough client, unreasonable demands, and other pitfalls that can come with working for yourself, but done correctly, you can find quite a lot of value in these sorts of small projects or even charitable acts. Be cautious but always be looking for opportunities!
5) Sharpen Your Skills
While we mentioned not necessarily needing secondary education earlier, going to college or looking into classes can be pretty helpful.
Education not only helps sharpen skills and develop a network but might also open the doors to internships and externships, which can assist get your foot in the door towards solid employment.
These kinds of opportunities can be better gambits than doing small projects for friends and family.
Boot Camps, The Alternative For a Quick and in Depth Learning
If you never heard about boot camps, take a quick search on Google and discover dozens of them popping up on your screen.
Boot Camps are becoming as popular as the importance of coding grows. The most common boot camps will focus on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Node JS. But feel free to comment about other languages out there.
The methodology of a boot camp is hands-on all the time. You have presential or online classes 3 to 5 times a week. You are requested to execute some coding every class, so you better study beforehand because the time is short. At the end of each week, in general, you have a website or application to develop.
In some cases, it’s halfway done, but in most cases, you develop from scratch. You already have your portfolio ready and coded to show to future employers at the end of the course.
Some boot camps even do events to connect employers to potential employees.
That’s a good chance for you to get your work experience and connect with a company right after completing the course.
Bottom Line
Web development is constantly in demand, as well as learning to host and repair broken websites. Consider pursuing these options if you want something more structured and grouped than a solo endeavor.
In this article, we emphasized the importance of web development nowadays, and we listed some important steps you could do:
- Start By Learning CSS and HTML
- Study Websites Out There
- Build Your Portfolio
- Do Small Projects
- Sharpen Your Skills
Also, we mentioned how popular and effective Bootcamps are becoming.
Either way, getting to a career in web development is doable for those willing to learn the languages, do the research and constantly seek to improve. Go get started right now, and you’ll be there before you know it!
