Are my skills not enough to get a job in web development?

I have been learning web development for approximately 3 years now.

My skills/technologies:

  1. HTML
  2. CSS (Sass and SCSS)
  3. Vanilla JavaScript
  4. DOM manipulation
  5. NodeJS w/ Express
  6. PHP (no frameworks just yet)
  7. SQL (working with relational db’s. Mainly mySQL)

It seems like most employers are requiring a bachelors degree in CS or equivalent. That eliminates a major chunk of jobs for me.

Second, it seems like these employers have specific requirements of what technologies they work with. Most do not match up with mine.

I just want to gain some working experience in a professional setting.

It seems like these employers are seeking those who have experience in specific technologies and frameworks. Some want wordpress fpr example. I have never touched wordpress. Some want certain CMSs and AWS experience, etc.

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Even if they ask for a degree, you should apply if you have the knowledge. Just demonstrate that you have the required skills, use your portfolio.

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Those are all skills that you can easily acquire on free online course websites like freeCodeCamp, coursera and EdX. Not to mention list is to broad to be done effectively and efficiently in 9 weeks. Even if you spend on them 24h/day.
I don’t really like nor appreciate the exploiting of other people insecurities (and in this field there are many).
Also I’m not that sure that putting advertisements on the forum is legit (I’m pretty sure it’s against the CoC that you surely have read).
For me, I surely wouldn’t enroll with a company that doesn’t respect the rules.
(Btw, flagging your post as inappropriate/spam)

Don’t worry about the requirements, apply. Worst thing they can do is say no. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by applying.

Your skills are probably enough to be a junior developer, but a bit generic and maybe hard to stand out amidst prospective candidates with more targeted skills.

It does help to gain some experience with commonly used frameworks because they are things that you most likely will be working with day to day, and the more you know mean less you have to be trained and faster you can contribute, and that’s valuable.

There are often an abundance of resources out there for you to learn these commonly used frameworks as well, so no harm in learning a few popular ones.

Some other skills that could put you ahead of the curve are version control, like Git. Some understanding of the agile methodology. Familiarity with basic Linux commands

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In case you want to get some experience with WordPress, you could try the video’s from Brad Schiff on YouTube. He explains things well and those video’s can help you understand how the front-end you already know fits into the WordPress CMS, like when you build your own WordPress theme. Knowledge like that might help you convince an employer to hire you, even if you still have a lot to learn.
https://learnwebcode.com/learn-wordpress/

Definitely start applying and practicing interview skills if you know you want to get into it. Skill demand varies by area. In New England PHP skills would definitely come in handy, most entry jobs are front end so Angular or React would be valuable.

Unless you try and like WordPress, it might be worth avoiding. While there are plenty of great WP jobs, a lot of the entry level ones tend to be for agencies that overwork/underpay employees.

I think it’s fair to say that you can hold off from coding for awhile. The focused should now be reaching out to potential employers. But don’t just simply put in an application. Take the extra step and reach out to the company and do this for ALL job prospects.

You’ll be amazed on the amount of callbacks you get when you personally reach out to a decision maker.

If you’re not at least reaching out to three employers a week, then you’re not trying hard enough.

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@DanStockham I have been applying. Just applied for one out of Bristol just now.

I always say “those that cast a wide net are bound to catch something” told that to my wife and she just got a job today before the interview was over.

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Is there a decision maker at that company in Bristol you could reach out to?

@DanStockham not that I am aware of. I submitted an online application. It requires wordpress experience which I don’t have. Yet, I feel I can probably pick it up if I have experience coding.

This is where I would start looking for a decision maker at the company. If you have a linkedin account, go jump on the search view and input their company name. Filter down the results to people and look at profiles that have a title in (‘Tech lead’, ‘Application manager’, ‘CTO’, ‘etc’)

Then, send a connect to them and make sure you include a personal note that expresses your passion for code. Something along the lines of this:

Hi (Manager),

I’m a new developer in the field and was wondering if I could have five minutes of you time to pick you brain some regarding [a technology you’re interested in or on the application]

all the best!

Hayden

This has several advantages: You’re putting a face to an application which shows you’re different amongst the rest. This is also a good way to demonstrate your knowledge without being put on the spot to demonstrate it. And finally, even if the opportunity doesn’t pan out, you’re only widening your network that could turn into an even better opportunity in the future.

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