Hey Code-Campers! I’m in a strange transition period within my web development/coding career and I have a few questions/concerns regarding what I should do to advance both my experience and my connections. I’ll try to give a brief background first.
About a year ago, I had almost finished the Responsive Web Design Certification (had just started the second web design project), and was able to get a job position titled “Web Intern”, where we did website building with WordPress and Concrete5, as well as general website maintenance. I learned a variety of skills about the industry standards/procedures (hosting, phpMyAdmin, CMS’s, etc.) We didn’t deal directly with code all the time, just for specific customer requests.
It’s a bit of a long story, but a lot of pressure came from work somewhat suddenly and I don’t think I was ready to take the learning curve that fast, as well as dealing with certain personal/financial issues that I shouldn’t get into. It ended with my productivity going down a fair amount and eventually being let go from the position.
Since then, I’ve been going through JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Certificate for a couple of months now, and I’m pretty sure I want to get into Web App Development as a full stack developer, more so then website maintenance.
I guess this comes down to my questions. What I really want to do is complete all of the freeCodeCamp courses, and then start to build projects/start networking. Now excuse my scepticism , but even though I hear lots of anecdotes of success from the forums, I still can’t exactly see how going through these courses directly leads to work. I was taking a glance through the freeCodeCamp Alumni on LinkedIn, would it be acceptable to directly ask someone there about it? Just so I can have some form of direct contact/confirmation that this will be a worthwhile endeavor, since completing all the courses will take some time.
Feel free to correct me on anything or ask me for any more information, thanks guys.
I usually recommend going about it “backwards”. IE look at job postings for the jobs you want, they will list the skills they are looking for. So for example a run-of-the-mill MERN developer job will probably ask for:
- Mongodb
- Express
- React
- Nodejs
These technologies are exactly what the freeCodeCamp curriculum go over. However its worth pointing out if you just go top to bottom, half way thru you start learning data science topics using Python. This doesn’t need to be completed, or even looked at if you want a full-stack job.
Furthermore, stuff at the “bottom”, such as “interview prep” could be looked into once you get through JavaScript. As it will go into more computer science topics, like data structures and algorithms you might be asked about in interviews.
I actually do not recommend you go through everything and only once your done you look at jobs. I’d look at jobs now, and take note of what they are looking for, and require. That way you can focus on the topics being asked for and not worry about the rest.
I think this is one of the main use-cases for Linkedin, I’ve heard of a few fCC alumni’s who ask for guidance/advice on their journey. Just remember, everyone is different and not everyone who is on that network got their job 100% thru fCC and nothing else. I recommend taking a multi-approach, using fCC and other sources at the same time where you need it.
Good luck, keep learning, keep building!
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Unfortunately there is no guarantee that it will land you a job. But honestly neither would going to college or university.
The thing is though, that if you build a lot of projects you’ll also build the actual skills you need while building the proof you have those skills.
It’s not so much the courses themselves that are worth your time but the projects you build while following them. The fact that you already can put real job experience on your resume is a huge advantage that a lot of others don’t have too.
The only thing I would consider strongly is that when you start looking for work again, really focus on polishing at least one of your freeCodeCamp projects. It’s easy to rush through and get the certificates but if your portfolio looks like it’s full of “class projects” most employers/hiring managers won’t care.
It’s certainly helpful to have lots of completed projects to prove you’re motivated and flex your experience a bit, but you really need at least one of those projects to highlight what you’re truly capable of and give a reviewer the confidence that you’re job ready.
A personal anecdote; one of my FCC projects helped me land a job in the past. So definitely wasn’t a waste of my time 
Cheers!
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Which one? 
I personally like the front end projects the best so far
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Thanks a lot guys, I’m currently going through job postings and making a plan on what skills to learn. As well as continuing to do the freeCodeCamp exercises/projects in a more directed manner, and seek out other learning resources too.
P.S. Your solution is correct too @dannyjamesfletcher hah, wish I could pick both.
Wish me luck and happy coding!!
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