Hi, Devon. I’m trying to brush off the coding skills that I’ve let atrophy over the years (like you, I spent a big chunk of my teen years writing code for my various gaming websites; however, I didn’t major in a STEM field in college, and allowed my knowledge of HTML and CSS to fritter away) and sharpen them enough break into the tech industry. I’ve gone through a few online tutorials like FCC and have earned a few certifications (all in front-end development: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), but I feel lost when it comes to building a portfolio. I’m also nervous at the prospect of networking and chasing down freelancing gigs. I’ve only worked full-time office jobs since leaving college, and am not quite sure how to approach the world of freelancing. I’d like to get to a point where I have a strong portfolio that actually reflects the skills that employers want their new hires to have, in addition to feeling more confident about how to pursue a freelance career.
What she wants to accomplish in the session:
How to develop a decent portfolio, and what languages are most prudent to focus on.
Thania (pronounced Tanya) doesn’t want to freelance permanently but thinks it might be a good jumping-off point for her career. She wants to use freelancing to build a portfolio. She asked what tech stack is best to learn and which languages would be most valuable. I told her that the answer is different depending on who you’re targeting. Told her I divide freelancing into two camps: staff augmentation where tech stack is very important and business problem solver where it isn’t. If she goes after the second crowd, she can pick her own stack as long as she solves the problem. She asked if she wouldn’t be able to build her portfolio pieces then. I said she could. Just choose a stack for her project around what she wants to showcase in the portfolio.
She asked if back-end development is necessary. I said it isn’t, and that she can still build a complete application even without knowing that by using other tools and platforms. She asked what language she should learn if she wants to do back-end development. I told her Javascript can get her pretty far.
Talked about quantifying results and how she might use her writing skills in her web development practice. Recommended she might try writing some marketing copy.
She is going to be building a portfolio for a friend from art school.