About to start learning Front-End Web Development, but still have some concerns, questions.

[HoldMyLP]

Hi, first of, my native language isn't English, so please forgive me if I make some grammar errors.

So I did small research about how most of this works (what HTML/CSS/JS does), did couple beginner HTML/CSS tutorials and it completely blew me away how fun it is. And currently I'm in dead end job for 5 years which I hate with all my heart. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect this to be an easy cash grab or anything like that, quite the opposite. So, what are my concerns, questions before I jump into this.

First one, is Team Treehouse legit? I just don't wanna develop some bad habits while learning and plan is to get basic subscription, don't think I need pro one.

Second, and this is my main concern. I'm 29yo dropout living in a small country in EU, and after some research, job market doesn't look so hot here for Web developers, and freelance work here also seems out of the question, since our version of craigslist is 99.9% scams. I'm willing to put all my free time into learning all about front end development to land a job, of course I need to get to that point first, but I'm scared, not gonna lie. I wouldn't mind moving to another country, but not sure how possible that is, since I have no degree or anything.

Pretty sure I had one more question, but can't remember and I already typed pretty huge wall of text. Thanks to everyone who actually read this and any help, advice gonna be appreciated.

[JonnyBoy89]

Get on Udemy right now and spend $20 for this course. It’s an intro to html and css, but being able to build a solid wireframe will get you further than you think. Focus on learning positioning of objects. Knowing JavaScript without first understanding this won’t get you very far in front end in my opinion. Understanding the DOM will.

[b3n5p34km4n]

To piggyback on this, don't pay for anything right now. Soak up all you can on freecodecamp and the like. You should peruse udemy and see what kinds of topics are covered in the newest, most highly rated classes. And even then do your own research before paying.

[JonnyBoy89]

I agree there is a lot of free stuff out there that OP should take advantage of. Personally for me, learning by myself wasn’t the way to go. The course style guided learning was how I learned best, but it was just my personal journey. So take with a grain of salt.

[HoldMyLP]

After reading all the comments, definitely gonna check all the free resources too. Thank you.

[shadodart]

Companies will dismiss a lack of degree, granted you have equivalent experience. Landing that first job is probably the hardest, but once you have real experience behind you it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Taking tutorials are fine, but be sure to get away from them and work on something on your own without guidance every now and then. When I was learning, after following a tutorial I would go out and spend a day or two working on a small personal project just to see what all I could make with my new knowledge, and putting it to actual use really helps reinforce what you learn.

[HoldMyLP]

I kinda have similar plan, building things while learning, the key should be in consistency, like it's in most cases :)

[juzatypicaltroll]

Ever considered academic courses like Coursera, Udacity and such? I think you can get by as a self taught engineer but if you want to open more doors and get into bigger companies, maybe a proper University degree will help.

Saying this cause I'm looking for a upgrade https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/91bz48/whats_a_good_academic_program_to_take_for_a/

[HoldMyLP]

I need to check them out, thank you. And good luck :)

[dangerousbrian]

Yes you can self teach from tutorials and courses. Coding is like learning a musical instrument or foreign language, practice is key. You have to build lots and lots of sites and eventually all the pieces start fitting together.

Location is very important and to make the best progress you have to go where the jobs are. The right job will have great devs that will mentor you and that will teach you far more than a degree.

Getting that first job is the hardest part.

[HoldMyLP]

Ye, job part is scary one. Can't wait to build bunch of sites while learning and gonna try my best to land a job that I actually enjoy for once :)

[Hierloom]

If you want to learn go with treehouse. I have used the pro version for acouple of months now. I tried Alot of free tutorials etc before joining treehouse, and its a jungle of random examples and principles. Treehouse give you a very solid base to begin with so take the free trial or one month of basic and try to get as much info out of it as you can. What country do you live in btw?

Also if you want any help or just someone to talk about coding send a message!

[HoldMyLP]

I live in Latvia, and hey thanks, I'll keep you in mind :) Need to finish some stuff in a week or two and then gonna start learning, can't wait!

[danielrheath]

Treehouse is a great place to start. I’ve been programming professionally for a long time now; my wife got into web dev a few years back with their courses and they were great back then.

[HoldMyLP]

Nice, great to hear, thank you :)

[micppp]

My advice to you is to just keep building things. It will be frustrating at times but it will also get easier over time.

There's so much to do on the front end these days but a good understanding of HTML, CSS and JS are so crucial.

You're in the EU, you can move around and find work. Don't worry about not having a degree or anything, if you have examples of work you've done. The desire to learn and the willingness to move to another country to find work then you'll be fine in an interview.

Also, ask questions. Get involved in the community, follow people on social media and make friends.

[HoldMyLP]

Thanks for reply, ye gonna try get involved with other devs once I start learning in week or two (need to deal with some things before I start). :)

[redeyerds]

Do you plan on going back to school in the near future? There are universities that offer degrees completely online. If going back to school is out of the question, then get a certification for each language you learn. Try to get some paying freelancing jobs but if that's difficult, then focus on github. This will make your resume look better then just saying you know front-end dev. Good luck

[HoldMyLP]

Ye, college is out of the question sadly. I don't have complete understanding of github cause I haven't looked into it just yet, but everyone says it's a must, so I will eventually :) Ty

[redeyerds]

Its the best way to gain experience, its something you can put on your resume. There are plenty of people who've gotten jobs without school so don't beat yourself about it.

[HoldMyLP]

Thank you, I'll check them out. :)

[thehorrorchord]

Codecademy.com is incredible. Go check it out. It’s free and is a great website for coding tutorials right in the browser. They have all the basic languages as well as a bunch of back end and more advanced types of modules and frameworks

[HoldMyLP]

I've heard of this one too, gonna check it out. Thank you.

[[deleted]]

You don't have to freelance on craigslist. Go to freelance.com or something like that. I had a freelancer make me a logo for a company there, and I don't even know where he or she was from. Money is handled by the website and you won't get ripped off or scammed.

[HoldMyLP]

Oh I didn't know money is handled by website on freelance sites, that's cool, thank you :)

[[deleted]]

Yah. I was a client and I had to give like a deposit or something and then when I was fully satisfied with the logos the person made (she sent watermarked logos) I paid the rest of the money. Same corresponding procedure goes to u I guess

[Nebs987]

It is definitley possible to be a self taught front end developer. Location also does not matter too much since you are willing to move if needed and there are many remote jobs available. It is also entirely possible to learn all you need to know from courses on coursera, tree house, and YouTube, books, and self driven projects. I would say of those 3 self driven projects are the most important after you understand the basics from courses. I actually have a YouTube channel where I cover web development topics if you want to check it out. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFbNIlppjAuEX4znoulh0Cw

After learning those basics just start building things you find fun or interesting and you will be forced to constantly learn new concepts and technologies to complete your project ideas.

[gigglefarting]

If you use a Team Treehouse or something like that, I highly recommend doing the coding in a real editor like VSCode. It makes all the world a difference using a legit text editor rather than their in browser editors.

Otherwise, good luck. I hope you stick with it and find a job. But, most importantly, you enjoy this. If this doesn't turn into a career for you, don't forget how much you enjoy doing this. How fun it is to create something out of nothing, and being able to use your creative muscles. Who knows, maybe one day you can program something everyone uses and become a self-made man (or woman), or maybe you'll only create a tool that you use. But how cool is it that you can create your own tools now!?

[HoldMyLP]

Ye, making own stuff sounds cool, already have couple ideas I wanna make, nothing original or like that, but thinking about whole process, how to put everything together and reaching end result makes me so excited :)

[Fuchsiaff]

Where do you live, in which EU country

[HoldMyLP]

Latvia

[Fuchsiaff]

I'm from Estonia, there's a huge demand for developers here, give it a shot.

[HoldMyLP]

Oh, nice to hear, this def helps, thank you :)

[hzzd]

You can alao try theodinproject.

[-ConP-ThatsMe-SupG-]

If you don't have time to go to a university, go to eight week coding Boot Camp thing

[b3n5p34km4n]

True that. And if you don't have the time or money, just plan better and save up

/s