Become a Web Developer in 7 Simple Steps

So, you want to be a web developer. The one problem? … You have no experience working in the tech industry. You’ve taken courses and spent hours on personal coding projects, but the Experience section of your resume is still glaringly irrelevant. Transitioning into a new field is never simple. You wonder if you’re ready. You wonder if anyone will take you seriously. You wonder if you can get work.

Trust me: don’t let those doubts get in your way. In truth, it’s not that difficult – as long as you make sure you’re adequately prepared before making the leap. These seven guiding steps will help you make a seamless transition into web development.

1. Get clear about what you want to do.

The clearer you can be, the more specialized a plan you’ll be able to develop. Don’t cast too wide a net: narrow down your choices.

• Front end or back end development?
• User experience designer or user interface engineer?
• Angular.js or React.js?

While there is some value in being a jack of all trades, most companies (and clients, if you’re a freelancer) are hiring for a specific role, with specific skill sets.

How can you get clear about what it is you want to specialize in? Trial and error, research, and skills assessment tests are a good place to start. But knowing yourself is more important: your likes, your dislikes. Do you want to write code all day? Do you prefer designing interfaces? Figure it out.

2. Research jobs and companies you want to work for.

This can be as simple as scouring job ads. Do any specific titles stand out to you? Read the descriptions and see if you can picture yourself in that role.

When it comes to companies, this is easier than ever with sites like Glassdoor that make it simple to spy on companies. From Glassdoor, you can not only get a ballpark idea of salaries, but also read reviews from current and former employees. Another tactic is to look at people on LinkedIn who actually work in the positions you desire.

Compile a list/spreadsheet of dream job titles, at dream companies.

3. Identify skills/experience you need to work in those roles and at those places.

Now that you have this list of jobs at companies you are interested in, it’s time to figure out what skills and experience they look for – and where there are overlaps.

An overlap is a skills or experience point that keeps reappearing in these listings. Make sure to note these on your spreadsheet. Are they using React or Angular? MEAN stack or Ruby on Rails?

Another way you can see the technologies being used on a company’s site is by utilizing a tool like BuiltWith. This shows you the frameworks, languages, and more that the site relies on. For instance, we can see that Airbnb uses Ruby on Rails.

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by Laurence Bradford via SitePoint