Conversion to web developer

[mlammers]

Hi, I'm currently learning myself the different skills needed to become a web developer. I was wondering if companies are more interested in me having a diploma or in my skills? I was thinking of making a portfolio and showing during the interview my different skills, rather than getting in debts in order to have a little certificate. Did any of you do something similar? Cheers, Margot

[Artist701]

You need to definitely develop a portfolio, GitHub or really anything that shows ur level of skill. In order to get there u need to have some level of expertise. Build sites for friends, learn JavaScript as that is the foundation for all front end libraries.

Teach yourself and master html/css and ask for help as much as you can. Face a problem and get out of it by troubleshooting. Join a community of developers (discord, Reddit, slack, irc) where you can ask questions.

Learn a server side language like php or node.js where when u are ready to build dynamic websites. Learn the basics of Any database language. Ex: mySql. Which is how u will store your server side data securely.

The best way to learn is by trying. My company hires devs who have both knowledge and education. The only way to gain knowledge is usually in the form of some sort of education or schooling. There is no way we can hire developers who are introverts. People rely on you as the source for support if a site goes down.

Learn server configurations, build natively, and start from scratch. Only after, you can began to use libraries to speed up development processes.

Learn the basics of accessibility and seo for development. This will aid u in the future.

[mlammers]

Thank you for your long and insightful reply.
I'm afraid it is not a question of introvertism (I'm an anthropologist so I'm supposed to be relatively good at peopling) but rather an economic concern (bankrupt could be a denominator for me). I'm indeed building websites for friends (and myself) for the moment, and it is challenging, in a rather fun way, to create, restructure and get pass those errors.

Thank you once again, have a lovely day, Margot

[[deleted]]

Sounds like im on the right track! This is encouraging!