I love how proactive you are and creating projects and writing posts, you should definitely keep this up!
I also shifted careers so totally can relate to how hard it can feel especially for the first job.
I didn't really network much (probably not a great move on my part) but continued applying to companies off linked in and grad programmes. I leveraged quite heavily off personal projects and hackathons I participated in. I did get a lot of rejections, but I ultimately got into a really good company.
Some advice that may be helpful:
I tried to figure out early the areas that I liked and wanted to focus on: I loved doing frontend, so I honed in on CSS/HTML/JS - it seems you might have the same interest areas so I highly recommend you continue to develop your skills in these areas. While it won't necessarily help you get in the door - it will make sure that you are ready when the opportunity comes.
Learning JavaScript in-depth is really important if you want to go into web-development: It can be daunting but if you chip away at it it will become familiar over time. Javascript.info (javascript.info/) is a great resource to start and building increasingly complex stuff with JS can really help hone your skills.
Learn a framework: I know this isn't the popular advice, but from my experience it is good to know a framework like React. The reasons are twofold - (1) realistically most companies use frameworks so knowing one helps on the CV, (2) by learning the framework you stumble upon and are forced to learn JavaScript concepts that may seem weird eg. JavaScript destructuring. I'd highly recommend React, just because it is the most popular framework, but Angular, Vue, or Svelte are all great alternatives.
Keep coding! You are doing the right thing with your projects - keep it up! Also highly recommend looking for hackathons (online or in person), volunteering or startup events where you could put your coding skills to use. You could also consider contributing to open source projects on github - if big stuff is daunting you could start with looking for issues in their docs such as their readme. These could be valuable things you could add on your CV
Be confident! The technology landscape changes so quickly that really all of us are learning - we are all in the same boat. It took me ages to realise this, but it really helps to know this and believe in yourself and your ability to learn and grow. The main thing is to keep your morale up and keep learning and putting the new learning into practice :)
Internship: I know it isn't the best option but finding a short-duration internship even unpaid could be a good way in. I did one really early on and it really helped me, both in terms of getting some programming experience on my CV but also getting me some solid experience that I could draw on going into my first full-time role
I love how proactive you are and creating projects and writing posts, you should definitely keep this up!
I also shifted careers so totally can relate to how hard it can feel especially for the first job.
I didn't really network much (probably not a great move on my part) but continued applying to companies off linked in and grad programmes. I leveraged quite heavily off personal projects and hackathons I participated in. I did get a lot of rejections, but I ultimately got into a really good company.
Some advice that may be helpful:
I tried to figure out early the areas that I liked and wanted to focus on: I loved doing frontend, so I honed in on CSS/HTML/JS - it seems you might have the same interest areas so I highly recommend you continue to develop your skills in these areas. While it won't necessarily help you get in the door - it will make sure that you are ready when the opportunity comes.
Learning JavaScript in-depth is really important if you want to go into web-development: It can be daunting but if you chip away at it it will become familiar over time. Javascript.info (javascript.info/) is a great resource to start and building increasingly complex stuff with JS can really help hone your skills.
Learn a framework: I know this isn't the popular advice, but from my experience it is good to know a framework like React. The reasons are twofold - (1) realistically most companies use frameworks so knowing one helps on the CV, (2) by learning the framework you stumble upon and are forced to learn JavaScript concepts that may seem weird eg. JavaScript
destructuring. I'd highly recommend React, just because it is the most popular framework, but Angular, Vue, or Svelte are all great alternatives.Keep coding! You are doing the right thing with your projects - keep it up! Also highly recommend looking for hackathons (online or in person), volunteering or startup events where you could put your coding skills to use. You could also consider contributing to open source projects on github - if big stuff is daunting you could start with looking for issues in their docs such as their readme. These could be valuable things you could add on your CV
Be confident! The technology landscape changes so quickly that really all of us are learning - we are all in the same boat. It took me ages to realise this, but it really helps to know this and believe in yourself and your ability to learn and grow. The main thing is to keep your morale up and keep learning and putting the new learning into practice :)
Internship: I know it isn't the best option but finding a short-duration internship even unpaid could be a good way in. I did one really early on and it really helped me, both in terms of getting some programming experience on my CV but also getting me some solid experience that I could draw on going into my first full-time role
Hope this helps!
I am definitely working on my frontend skills by building projects on frontendmentor.io. I'm getting better but still need to improve CSS skills.
I am very familiar with javascript.info. I'll eventually go back to that and freecodecamp to learn about JavaScript.
Eventually I will learn React. But first I need to get more comfortable using JavaScript.
I'm familiar with hackathons. I tried Leetcode but the problems were too complicated for me. Even the "easy" problems were difficult for me to solve.
Oh I'm definitely practicing and learning new things along my journey .
Yes! Which reminds me, I need to look up apprenticeships🤔
Thank you so much for replying to my post!