I'm 100% self-taught too - from the age of 7. I'm coming at this from both sides - as an employer, and as a developer. The developers I have interviewed who have had a portfolio (a minority) have fared no better than the ones without, and in some cases it has actually counted against them (demonstrating use of inappropriate technologies for a project, and poor code).
I've never once required for a portfolio from a candidate, or worked for/seen a company that does.
This was back in 1983. My dad (he's had various tech-related jobs, eventually moving in a more logistics direction... but he was never a full-on programmer to my knowledge) bought us a ZX Spectrum 48K home computer. When we first got it, it didn't come with much software (very few games) and I couldn't afford to buy games. It did however, come with an in-built programming language (BASIC) - you were essentially inside a REPL interface as soon as you switched the thing on (after setting it up and plugging it into the TV). It also had a printed manual for the language with lots of well written examples for beginners. My dad encouraged me to give it a go and I got hooked... just changing little bits of the sample programs at first to see what happened - then eventually writing my own stuff. Computer magazines at the time contained printed listings to type in and try - which also was a great boost for ideas and learning
I'm 100% self-taught too - from the age of 7. I'm coming at this from both sides - as an employer, and as a developer. The developers I have interviewed who have had a portfolio (a minority) have fared no better than the ones without, and in some cases it has actually counted against them (demonstrating use of inappropriate technologies for a project, and poor code).
I've never once required for a portfolio from a candidate, or worked for/seen a company that does.
U started at 7...self taught. Interesting. I was watching cartoons and playing. Are your parents doctors or tech-related? Just curious.
This was back in 1983. My dad (he's had various tech-related jobs, eventually moving in a more logistics direction... but he was never a full-on programmer to my knowledge) bought us a ZX Spectrum 48K home computer. When we first got it, it didn't come with much software (very few games) and I couldn't afford to buy games. It did however, come with an in-built programming language (BASIC) - you were essentially inside a REPL interface as soon as you switched the thing on (after setting it up and plugging it into the TV). It also had a printed manual for the language with lots of well written examples for beginners. My dad encouraged me to give it a go and I got hooked... just changing little bits of the sample programs at first to see what happened - then eventually writing my own stuff. Computer magazines at the time contained printed listings to type in and try - which also was a great boost for ideas and learning
Nice. I started with "logo" and something called MS-DOS (can't remember a thing) cheers