You are here which means you are neither too old nor too shy to become a web developer. The task is easier than you may initially think and it won’t take years to reach the goal. Going to college is not a must in the field. An appropriate degree is not a requirement for web developer’s career after all. It’s all about the skills you have and the work you’ve done. A year is enough to learn a lot, create a portfolio and find yourself becoming a web developer. Let’s see what the ways to reach the goal within the set time period are.
There are many ways to learn to become a web developer. They can be divided into two distinct groups: learning with somebody involved and self-tuition. Those two can be further divided into subcategories that we are to start looking into one by one right now.
Learning with somebody
Web Development Courses
If you feel like the best option for you is learning in a group of people united by the common goal, web development courses will be your choice. There are many out there. Some are short, some are long, some are designed to be finished right in a year. This variant will cost you money but it definitely has many positive sides. Courses will help you to stay organized and go all the way up to the new profession.
You will enjoy fixed time of your classes to be built-in in your week schedule which is great to ensure you won’t give up the idea just because there are so many tempting things and activities around you. You will get assignments to be done and teachers who will navigate you through this deep web coding sea. Happen you to get lost, you will always have somebody to ask for help (be it a teacher or a fellow student). Attending courses will also give you new connections and most probably valuable experience of creating projects in groups.
Pluses
- schedule;
- definite learning program;
- professional and practicing specialists ready to explain all the details;
- potential personal connections/communication.
Minuses
- not free;
- lack of flexibility (you should stick to the program and won’t be able to speed up or slow down the learning pace).
- may not be effective enough if you turn out to be one of the best in the group and the gap between you and other students is substantial.
Private Lessons
This option is really good if you want to have maximum concentration on getting new abilities and skills. Find a tutor, agree upon the plan of study and sky-rocket to the top of the new area of knowledge. Although it’s the most expensive variant of becoming a web developer it is the shortest and the most effective one if you are lucky to get the right person as a tutor. As with courses you will still have a kind of schedule set for you not to sneak out.
But it will be much more flexible, thus if you need to leave the city for a while, you won’t have to worry about missing something important. The tutor will not only give you the knowledge, but he/she will also share large volume of real-life web development experience with you. You are free to alter the learning program, speed up the process, make a pause and tackle the aspect that seems to be the hardest one. And what is more important you have the whole time you pay for, which means a tutor will be always there to explain and show and do it as many times as you need to get the results. Getting a tutor indeed is like a shortcut through otherwise wild area.
Pluses
- great flexibility;
- course sharpened for your needs;
- you won’t miss anything;
- good learning pace.
Minuses
- can be pricy.
- no new acquaintances apart from the teacher.
Become a web developer assistant
It is kind of a lifehack. If you find a way to become an assistant of practicing web developer, you will be able to learn from him/her while working on real projects. Hopefully, you will even get paid. It might be stressful, because everything will be for real, but the situation itself will push you to try hard and ensure that you will be doing your best. You won’t get that much tutoring attention from your guru-boss (well, he is not a tutor to be there for you any time you need him), but he will most probably be ready to give you a piece of advice from time to time.
And you are not prohibited to ask and watch what he is doing. The idea is simple: just watch and learn. Despite being a bit harsh at the very beginning this paradigm is able to turn you into a good and what is also important practicing web developer within relatively short period of time.
Pluses
- real project experience;
- supposedly quick results (learn quick or get fired);
- you don’t pay (hopefully, you’ll get paid).
Minuses
- stressful;
- be ready for extensive self-tuition on this position.
Self-tuition
Books and online courses
If you are truly self-organized then try self-tuition. You can either use books or find online courses for web developers. Assign some time during the week to study and stay persistent. Follow the guidelines offered by the program chosen. Soon you will find that you are able to do something. Week after week your competence and confidence will grow to finally reach the point when you can proudly call yourself a web developer. When you are stuck with some problems, google! You are very likely to find an explanation or solution quickly. If you are still in doubt, there are plenty of forums and groups in social networks full of people ready to help you.
Pluses
- cheap or even free;
- learn the aspects you believe you need to learn, revise whenever you want.
Minuses
- no real person to navigate you through the learning process;
- requires strong self-motivation.
Youtube
Youtube is full of educational videos. You can find great channels for almost any of more or less common subjects. Web development is not an exception. Find a channel you like and start absorbing the information you get. Listen and try. It is a funny and engaging way to build up new knowledge. You can leave a comment under the video with a question on the topic and there will certainly be the guys ready to give you a piece of advice on it. You can also find stories of success to encourage you keep learning and best web development cases overviews to keep you in trend.
Pluses
- free;
- fun and keeps you in trend.
Minuses:
- you are the one to organize your learning process;
You see, there are many ways that lead to the point where you are a web developer. You can choose any of them or combine them in any possible manner. But there is no magic route that can get you closer to your goal without you walking towards it. After all you are the only one responsible for your own success. And you can reach it in as little as within a year. Just make a firm decision and keep going or even find a bicycle and ride towards it!
Sources
- Top web development companies on DevCompanies.com;
- DevCompanies.com.
