Web development is a very lucrative career
at a time when every business is looking to go online. The demand for web
developers keeps increasing every year and some reports suggest the demand has
outstripped the supply and that this gap will continue growing. While getting
into web development is a challenging path to follow, it is also a good career
option with longevity. In this article, we will give you an overview of the
steps to take to become a web developer.
Start Learning
The three main ways of gaining the
knowledge you need to become a web developer are completing a university
degree, completing a bootcamp or becoming self-taught. Employers used to
require university degrees, and some still do, but this requirement is no
longer adhered to as strictly. However, having a degree does give you a massive
competitive advantage.
Attending a bootcamp means signing up for
someone to teach you in-person or online, which is becoming the more popular
option. These bootcamps sometimes offer job placement services so you get
interviews and potentially a job once you complete them.
Becoming a self-taught web developer is the
most difficult path as you have to find the right learning resources and learn
all by yourself. Fortunately, universities like Harvard and Oxford put out lots
of content to allow you to follow along as if you were also taking a degree on
campus.
You can also get your work graded, and a
certificate awarded at the end of this process.
Choose a Path
There are lots of web development paths you
can follow. Some choose to work with content management systems like WordPress,
while some choose programming languages like Ruby and Python that have web
development libraries.
JavaScript has also become very popular in
recent years, with frameworks like React, Vue and Angular helping developers
complete complex projects.
With JavaScript, Ruby and Python, you can choose to
work on the frontend, backend or become a full stack developer.
Build a Portfolio
If you take a university degree or complete
a bootcamp, you likely have a portfolio that has a few projects in it. For
self-taught developers, you need to build your portfolio by yourself.
This will include building a few projects
that you can host on various platforms that allow you to take these projects
online. For complex projects, especially where you need to run servers, you
will need a powerful desktop. There are lots of desktops for programming on sale by
companies like Lenovo, and they offer a great starting point for new
developers.
Market Yourself
While there is a lot of demand for web
developers, nobody will know who you are unless you market yourself. There are
lots of ways to do so.
Many people choose to write blogs and post
on social media, some work on open-source projects or participate in hackathons
while others contribute their knowledge on different forums.
This is a general overview of the steps to
follow to become a web developer in 2022. There are a lot of nuances as
everyone is different so their journey will be different but following these
steps should get you to a point where you are hireable.
