Concerns About My Progress After 16 Months

1

Hello fellow campers!

I have been coding part-time for the past 16 months and honestly do not have much to show for it. I guess this post can serve the purpose of a self-evaluation for myself that I am okay with sharing.

I know that freeCodeCamp is not quite exactly the place to seek professional career advice but I hope to get some feedback regarding how I can change my approach and spark some new motivation. :muscle:

The Good:

  • completed #100daysofcode(I’m on like Day 188 or something. :wink:)
  • I do keep a daily journal(to myself) for self accountability
  • I have made a spreadsheet detailing my goals and weekly schedule focused on coding(unfortunately little of the goals been achieved :frowning: )
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dfmVimC_P_4zSOGLQQNvhVRIKbq7pT898i4xYAqPbss/edit#gid=0
  • average about 20+ hours of coding and learning weekly
  • read a lot blog post, e-books and listen to podcast relating to coding and technology
  • completed Colt’s Steel WBD course(highly recommended, great learning experience)
  • joined a Chingu cohort this past May(highly recommended, great learning experience)
  • have done several pair programming sessions at local Meetups and on Codewars
  • started React(Andrew Mead) course on Udemy last month
  • attended a few Meetup’s from time to time
  • as far as my current knowledge and know-how:
    • understanding of CSS, HTML, Javascript
      • before the current release of FCC, I was on the intermediate algorithm section
    • familiarity of jQuery, Bootstrap, Express and Mongo
    • familiarity of RESTful design and methodology
    • understanding of Git and Github workflow
    • understanding of workflow and communication tools: Slack, Trello and Discord

The Bad:

  • only one decent project(mentioned above) to show on my portfolio
  • have not written any medium blogs
  • have not contributed to open source
  • have not taught someone else how to code
  • basically have not given back much to the community

Goal:
short-term(6 months):

  • improve on all the “Bad” above
  • build a React app
  • build a fullstack(MERN) app
  • join another Chingu cohort
  • join a hackathon

long-term(12 months):

  • land a full-time web development job or internship/contract gig.

So what is your take on what I have accomplished so far? What can I do to help improve my chances of becoming marketable and getting a developer job?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! :pray:

Cheer,
Simon

2

When I saw this and then I saw this.

My advice would be to go for smaller projects. And on a second thougth, knowledge of the mern stack is good but I think you should focus on some small parts and develop it first.

Further advice is, look to jobs in your neighboorhood and study the techniques given in the job posting. Probably not a lot of node.js unfortunately.

1 Like
3

For all those things you have done…you’ve done projects right? Revisit them, make them your own, put them in your portfolio.

As for goals, those are great, work on those but don’t pin your achievement on it. :slight_smile:

Last…it takes time and the more time you spend learn the better prepared you will be. Keep on going!

4

You’ve actually done quite a lot, so it’s nothing feel anxious about. You probably just need more things to actually showcase your skills. Finishing these courses are great, but demonstration of your understanding is probably better.

Personal Projects are good, but they are mainly what you use to reflect on you skills. Don’t aim for anything too large, pick something you can do and accomplish. Think what can you do in 2 weeks, do it and see if you can expand on it. You don’t have to do it all yourself, either. Team projects like Chingu can also help showcase your soft skills and leadership qualities.

If you’re concerned about not achieving enough of your goals, then you might have to re-evaluate them and set more achievable ones and hit them first.

The glaring thing that’s missing if you’re trying to get a job is the actual job searching part. Have you explored freelance opportunities? How is your resume? Have you kept up with the people you met on meet ups and have professional discussions with them? Have you contacted recruiters with more in depth knowledge about what companies are looking for? Have you looked into service that help train you and give you mock interviews? Have you made connections with people that could give you mock interviews?

5

Thanks @molen. Partical advice that cannot be stress enough. I will start small and go from there. :+1:

6

Correct @Tirjasdyn. I’ve done the typical To-do, Random quote generator, etc. Will consider how I can expand on them, then place on portfolio. Thanks!

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All great questions @psychometry, which I will look into and work on. Thanks!