[AMA] how do I get a developer job

Hey Codecademy, Iā€™m fairly new to coding but I like what Iā€™ve experienced so far and think that it could be a great career switch for me to make. How should I get there: what courses should I learn, what certifications do I need?

The courses you take depend on what type of job you want to do in the future, which can in turn depend on what your interests are, so, what do you enjoy, and what do you want to make? Websites? Apps? Games? Tell us some more :slight_smile:

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I am fairly new to coding to be honest, but Iā€™ve done the HTML and CSS course on Codecademy a while ago on another account (forgot the login) then went looking around the Internet for what might be the best way to move forward. Iā€™ve done a little bit here and a little bit there dabbling in a few languages but Iā€™m not sure what the right path is. Other than a really expensive bootcamp that promises a job, I havenā€™t got a clear sense of what Iā€™d need to do, what path I need to take to become a developer, what path is tried and true and proven, or how Iā€™d know if what free course Iā€™m taking is a really good one.

I just know that I like building things, that Iā€™ve enjoyed building code thingsā€¦ and that there are a lot of good paying jobs in code.

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@mikesullivan33 Thatā€™s a great question, and it gets asked a lot! If youā€™re not sure where to start learning, this is a helpful topic by @danieloduffy:

The advice we usually give is that itā€™s best to get a good portfolio by working on personal projects, which can be anything that interests you. It could also potentially help you if you put some of them up on something like GitHub or GitLab (the Learn Git course will help you understand those). Once youā€™re confident in your skills youā€™ll want to start applying to jobs. If you see a company that youā€™d like to work for, itā€™s always a good idea to contact someone there even if they donā€™t have a position open for you at the time, since many companies keep a file of people whoā€™ve contacted them before that they might be willing to hire :slight_smile:

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Hey Mike,

This is a question that we get here a lot, and for good reason! As Zeke said, we even have a few posts around here on what language to learn first.

We could make a whole series of essays to answer your question as itā€™s actually a very big one, but as a shorter answer for now:

The best thing for you to do would be to get experience in a few languages on the front and back end and get a better sense of what you enjoy coding with. Find what you enjoy the most and go ahead and build projects in that language. You donā€™t need to worry about learning ā€œtoo muchā€ about a particular language, or ā€œpicking the wrong oneā€ as itā€™s actually not that difficult to switch languages once you know one. If you found yourself speaking to an employer who needed engineering work in a different language than the one you learned, that typically wonā€™t be a big obstacle for you, particularly at the entry level. The most important thing for you to do at your stage is to find out what you like and to build things. Get that portfolio going, build up your knowledge and skillset, and the more that you learn about coding the better youā€™ll be able to answer these questions for yourself.

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The shortest answer I can give is ā€˜keep building thingsā€™. Start with a goal (I want to build _), and focus on learning the things you need to build that. By improving your skills in a pragmatic way, your abilities are more likely to line up with the needs of an employer. As for ā€˜finding a jobā€™, focus on getting projects under your belt and youā€™re likely to find that the work ā€˜finds you.ā€™ Having a portfolio helps, but so does having a linkedIn account with plenty of details on your work history. Good luck!

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