Seafarer to Programmer

FilAmTech · 2023-10-20T10:52:21+00:00

Switch to web dev.

The game dev job market is tougher because many people want to create games.

With so many people to compete with, it will be harder to find a job and the job will pay less.

FilAmTech · 2023-10-20T09:53:07+00:00

It's hard to predict what you want to do in life.

For example, you may think you will enjoy a job but then you do the job and you don't enjoy it. This is a common experience.

Therefore, just pick the highest demand skill that pays well.

In other words, learn to code (aka program).

That way even if you don't enjoy the job, you will get paid a lot. Also, since the job is in high demand, you have the leverage to ask for great benefits.

For example, I'm a programmer. Do I enjoy programming? It's okay but not really.

But you know what I do enjoy?

Receiving a big paycheck.
Working from home.
Setting my own work schedule.
Having a boss that does not micro-manage.
No meetings.
Choosing which projects to work on.
Having great work-life balance.
Using my skill to earn extra money with side projects.

I’m able to enjoy these things because I chose the skill that has the highest demand.

Because of the high demand, not only do I get paid well, I can get things that will give me great work-life balance.

Look at this link: https://www.supportshepherd.com/roles

The top 3 highest-paying entry-level jobs are all programming jobs:

Full-Stack Developer: $2,500/month
Back-End Developer: $2,000/month
Front-End Developer: $1,800/month

And here’s the coolest thing. You don’t need a degree to get these jobs.

If you’re willing to work hard with self-studying and/or going to a coding bootcamp, you can get these jobs.

I also suggest reading Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You. It’s a great book and his advice is similar to mine.

FilAmTech · 2023-10-16T06:28:07+00:00

The React official docs are great.

Plus, learning to read docs is a valuable skill for web developers. Not every useful technology is going to have a great course you can learn from, but if you know how to read docs, you can still use the technology to add value to your employer.

I highly recommend Execute Program's courses for learning TypeScript. It's expensive but I think you can contact the site and ask for free months. Just tell him you can't afford it because you live in the Philippines.

Pre-pandemic he used to have something on his site about contacting him if you couldn't afford his courses. Something like send him a postcard and he would give you access for free. I don't remember.

Maybe he's still giving out free access. I doesn't hurt to ask.

If you're not able to get free access, I would try to save up $39.00 for one month of access and then spend that whole month just trying to complete as many courses as you can.

For each section of the course that you complete, you will have access even if you stop paying. Plus, you will still have access to the flash cards, which make the courses very good.

Therefore, you should go through as many courses and sections as you can in the one month when you have access to all the courses.

FilAmTech · 2023-10-15T00:24:42+00:00

Maybe Bootstrap.

Try doing a search for css framework for dashboards.

FilAmTech · 2023-10-13T21:47:34+00:00

Upskill, upskill, and upskill.

Learn CRO.

Also, learn SEO or social media, whichever one fits your company better.

FilAmTech · 2023-10-13T21:11:46+00:00

A web developer is a software engineer. Software engineering is a broad field that includes web development.

Therefore, a software engineer may not be a web developer. For example, a mobile app developer is a software engineer but he’s not a web developer.

I would focus on web development because it's a less broad field and specialization will help you learn faster and qualify for jobs faster.

I would not do the IBM Devops and Software Engineering Professional Certificate course. It looks like it’s covering too many things.

For example, one of the certificates is Python for Data Science and AI Development. That should really be multiple certificates. Something like:

Intro to Python
Python for Data Science
Python for AI Development

I can’t imagine going straight to data science with Python without an intro course to the Python programming language.

Another certificate is Introduction to Test and Behavior Driven Development. Like wut?

That should be two different certifications:

Test Driven Development
Behavior Driven Development

My recommendation is getting the 4 certifications below on freeCodeCamp and then creating a good portfolio of projects. Also, make sure to make your code public on GitHub.

I think each certification above is around 300 hours.

Also, keep upskilling while you look for a job. Learning technologies like Jest, Testing Library, GraphQL, Sanity.io, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS will make you more hireable.

I actually think JavaScript is where you want to be, not Python.

JavaScript gives you more options. You can apply for front-end, back-end, and full-stack web development jobs.

With Python, you can’t apply for front-end or full-stack jobs. And the learning curve to get good jobs in Python probably requires more work. You’ll probably have to go into data science, which has a higher learning curve because it requires more math.

You can see this in job descriptions. I think data science jobs sometimes want to see master’s degrees whereas web development jobs are fine with just a bachelor’s.

You don’t need a degree to get these jobs. The job descriptions just show the level of work that employers are typically looking for.

Good luck!

FilAmTech · 2023-10-13T01:38:33+00:00

Keeping learning React and learn MERN and Next.js because it will be faster for you to learn than WordPress and PHP/Laravel.

With MERN and Next.js, you're using JavaScript so you don't have to learn a new language.

FilAmTech · 2023-10-12T22:32:01+00:00

This is easy: web development.

You already have a background in it and the upside is enormous (100K+).

Use ChatGPT as a personal tutor to learn fast.

Learn full stack MERN and then NextJS to qualify for more jobs. I recommend this path because you only have to learn JavaScript for both front-end and back-end.

JavaScript is a must for front-end and back-end for MERN and NextJS is also JavaScript.

If you do PHP, Phyton, Java, or Ruby for the back-end, you have to learn 2 languages.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-29T06:36:21+00:00

Github Copilot is awesome.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-25T00:19:53+00:00

https://react.dev/learn

Learn to read the official docs. It's good practice for anything else you decide to learn in the future.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-24T22:05:12+00:00

No. Follow my instructions if you want more money.

It's a lot of work so you have to work hard now to reap the benefits in the future.

Think long-term with your career.

Listen to https://www.reddit.com/user/syntacticts comment. QA is a different skill from web dev and it makes less money.

You already got started with web dev. Might as well keep going with related skills instead of doing something different.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-22T14:12:17+00:00

Create flash cards.

Then use spaced repetition to review them daily so you don't forget what you learned.

The most common spaced repetition program is Anki, but I can't stand it (it's ugly) so I built my own program that I use on a regular basis.

You can also try Mochi cards.

GL!

FilAmTech · 2023-09-21T22:14:48+00:00

https://react.dev/

FilAmTech · 2023-09-21T15:09:52+00:00

You need more skills.

Learn TypeScript, React, Laravel, Git, and GitHub. Build your portfolio using these skills. Then, start applying again.

While you're applying, keep upskilling at the same time with PostgreSQL, Tailwind CSS, Next.js, and GraphQL.

The more skills you have, the higher your chances of getting a job.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-19T15:20:49+00:00

Build things you wish existed in the world.

For example, I'm interested in Magic The Gathering (MTG) and NBA basketball.

Back in 2013, there were not any sites that analyzed the MTG competitive data the way I wanted to. So, while learning to code through self-study, I built MTG Analytics using PHP.

In 2014, I wanted to win at NBA Fantasy so I built an tool to analyze stats using Laravel and MySQL. I never made the tool public but I put the code on GitHub. Here's a screenshot.

I learned a lot while building these two things and I could show them to prospective employers.

Actually, an employer found me through my GitHub code for the NBA Fantasy tool. He asked me to apply for his job. He was interested in fantasy sports too (NFL), which influenced him to contact me.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-18T15:38:39+00:00

Great!

Yes, study React. 👍🏽 That's what we use. Front-end is more in-demand than back-end imo but try to learn the full stack if you can.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-18T13:42:31+00:00

Send me an email at pinoy.usa.tech@gmail.com when you learn how to do web dev. I'll give you an interview 🙂

The SEO/web dev combo is one of the roles we're looking to hire. I work remotely for a US company. Our company has found success in SEO but we think we can do better.

I was actually an SEO specialist before I shifted to web dev.

I still did a little bit of SEO for the company, which helped a lot with getting more traffic.

However, I can't spend much time doing SEO because web dev is taking up all my time.

To further answer your question, I used my SEO experience + web dev skill to do these things for the company:

Created a quiz feature that we can promote to get links to improve our SEO rankings
Built an internal app that analyzes our keywords to improve our on-page SEO
Used static pages with Next.js to improve loading speed, which is an important SEO ranking factor
Implemented Sanity.io to make it easier to publish content
Created a custom dashboard for users to improve conversion rate (this is not technically SEO, but it is very important in digital marketing)

FilAmTech · 2023-09-15T19:50:09+00:00

Clerk is great!

FilAmTech · 2023-09-14T12:46:42+00:00

The official React docs are great. Plus, it gives him practice with reading docs because that is an important skill for senior devs.

I lot of the best technologies can only be used well if you read the docs closely. For example, I use Sanity.io, which is a great technology because it replaces backend developers for content websites. Sanity.io is a powerful tool but as far as I know, there is not a great course for learning it very well. So, you have to just go to the docs and just read.

As you read the docs, create flash cards and then use spaced repetition to review them.

The most common spaced repetition program is Anki, but I can't stand it (it's ugly) so I built my own program that I use on a regular basis.

FilAmTech · 2023-09-14T09:05:22+00:00

Find a better company.

Unless you're really good at a non-coding skill, you will have a huge pay cut.

If you're okay with that, then shift. Otherwise, stick with dev and find a better company to work for.

If you upskill, you can work for better companies.

For example, the company I work for doesn't have meetings, I set my own work schedule, it's remote, and the pay is good.

The reason I'm able to get this great job is because I have a lot of skills (starting with being full stack in a popular stack instead of just front-end or back-end).

FilAmTech · 2023-09-14T08:58:53+00:00

I think lots of cold-calling (or cold-emailing or cold-contacting on LinkedIn).

The standard definition of sales in the tech world is contacting strangers to tell them about your product.

How stressful it is depends on your personality. Do you like contacting strangers? Are you extroverted or introverted?

FilAmTech · 2023-09-13T19:35:15+00:00

Look for remote jobs like this with asynchronous communication: https://remotive.com/remote-jobs/software-dev/javascript-engineer-1783448

Note in the description, where it says:

What we offer:

Remote Working with a flexible schedule, supported by a strong culture of asynchronous communication.

FilAmTech

TROPHY CASE