How to start a career in coding

The best time to start a career in coding is right now. Plus, you don’t even need to have a computer science degree to get a coding job. That’s right; your job prospects won’t be limited if you don’t have a degree. People that used to work in construction and factories all their lives are now learning to code.

Almost any company, small or large, needs some degree of programming to conduct its business. Plus, they are often willing to pay more than for non-coding jobs. You can read this article to get an idea for developer salaries.

However, the low entry barrier doesn’t mean you will get a programming job with no skills. Thus, you would have to prove in some way that you have the skills for the job. So, the entire process from no coding knowledge to a coder would look like this:

Pick a coding discipline and language
Learn and master it
Create a portfolio and share it
Find some freelance gigs or an entry-level job
Repeat for each new language and discipline

Naturally, before doing any of this, you will have to pick a coding discipline and a language. Then, learn and master it.

Pick a coding discipline and a language

You can take a lot of routes to join the coding field. First, you must choose which area you would like to enter:

Web technologies - HTML5, CSS, Javascript;
Mobile apps:
Android - Java and C/C++;
iOS - Objective-C and Swift;
Windows - C#;
Server development - PHP, Node.js, ASP.NET;
Desktop applications - .NET, WinForms, C++, C, WPF.

Of course, there are other languages for each field. Still, you should focus on one language at a time for optimal results.

Learn and master it

There are numerous places from which you could pick up the basics in a short amount of time. Some of these include:

Bootcamps - here’s a list of some bootcamps
Online coding classes and tutorials - Udemy, Coursera, Khan Academy
A mentor - Codementor allows anyone to join their community
Blog posts and articles

However, coding is by no means easy. It’s hard, and you will fail often. Still, failure in coding means you’re simply one step closer to the right solution. You must keep a positive attitude and not get discouraged by frequent error messages.

Create a portfolio and share it

After you’ve learned the basics of a language, it’s time to create something. After all, the best way to learn to program and master it is by doing. Thus, you should build something that will showcase your skills to potential employers. Some portfolio entries could be:

Redesign a popular website
Improve the user experience (UX) of a mobile app
Do some coding challenges and explain your thought process in detail
Make a simple game (e.g. Tetris) or app (e.g. calculator)

The goal of your portfolio is to present yourself and your skillset. Keep in mind; your projects should be somehow related to the specific coding field you want to enter. Thus, the more related your projects are to your desired job, the more likely you are to get it.

It’s also crucial you have a GitHub repository with all your projects, separate from your portfolio website. You will get some insight from others on how to improve your code. Plus, you can also contribute to other people’s code to gain some credibility. If you don’t have a GitHub link in your CV, it’s likely to be thrown in the bin and never seen again.

Find some freelance gigs or an entry-level job

Freelance gigs are usually jobs that are too small, specialized or experimental to hire full-time developers. Thus, employers search for temporary workers that are available and willing to work. The tasks are usually short-term and take between a couple of hours to a week.

They don’t pay well, and it’s questionable if you can support yourself with this type of work. However, gigs are perfect for gathering experience and credibility. Some places to find gigs are:
Craigslist
Physical meetups
Programming communities
Public slack chat groups
Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr

Look for entry-level jobs on company websites. Some companies like AbeloHost and Vicetemple offer entry-level jobs for novice coders.

Naturally, you should choose gigs that suit your skills and experience. You could use this opportunity to experiment as much as you can with different types of tasks. Moreover, you can find out the ones you love and the ones you hate. If you find those tasks you hate early on, you will know what to avoid and save yourself some frustrations.

Conclusion

In summary, you need to start with choosing a coding discipline and a language. Then, learn it with an online course or bootcamp. The best way to master a language is to create a portfolio and show it to the world. After that, you can start applying for some freelance gigs to gather experience and credibility. You can also try to apply to some entry-level jobs.

You’re now equipped with the basic knowledge to start a career in coding. Congratulations and good luck on your new career path!