Hey everyone! I'm really curious about how self-taught programmers manage to excel in coding and become skilled software engineers. What methods do they use that help them achieve success? Also, what strategies can a self-taught person use to land a job in such a competitive job market? Would love to hear your thoughts!
5 Answers
Ultimately, it's all about grit and curiosity. Just remember, copying code won’t help you learn problem-solving. Start small by solving easy problems, and work your way up. That applies just as much to your coding skills as it does to your career!
Even with a CS degree, I learned that most of the real skills come from practical application. It’s crucial to grasp both the theory and how to apply it in real scenarios. Focus on practical skills like unit testing and refactoring to understand design patterns and structures. The balance of theory and application is key!
You gotta make sure your GitHub is strong and that you have a portfolio that showcases your skills! That's what employers are really looking for. It's about being able to demonstrate what you know and what you've done.
While building a portfolio of projects is crucial, contributing to open source projects can be just as valuable. It provides a structure that you might not have when starting your own projects, plus you can receive feedback from experienced developers based on your contributions, which is super helpful! If you're new to open source, you can totally contribute using languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Java.
I think having tangible projects is essential. I got my start by creating a small game and releasing it on Steam, which helped me land a paid internship. From there, I advanced to a junior role and I'm now a mid-level full-stack developer! So, building and finishing projects can really open doors for you. If you're curious, feel free to ask about the game I made!
What game is that?
Can you guide me on how to start with open source? I know nothing about it and I'm only familiar with a few languages.