In the previous article on front-end vs back-end developers, I covered the existence of front-end and back-end technologies, which in turn have many options to choose from.

Too many options, in fact. How do we go about choosing what to study? And what about all the other stuff web developers tend to know, such as the command line, Git, and other developer tools?

When you are beginning in this field, not only you do not know a wide range of things, you are likely also unaware of what you don’t yet know.

As such, my goal for this section of the guide is to give you a list of things you should get acquainted with, along with some rationale for why you’d opt for those versus other possible choices.

This list of what to study to become a web developer is necessarily incomplete (I don’t even list learning to debug), but fear not! You will pick up other skills and tools organically in the process of studying these key topics.

In the next article in the guide, we’ll discuss how to go about learning those needed elements as well.

What to study for front-end development

As far as the web is concerned, front-end means three main technologies:

• HTML: The structure of your web pages;
• CSS: The styling of your web pages;
• JavaScript: To make your web pages more useful and interactive.

You need to become familiar with all three of these areas if you’re going to have much of a hope of getting job as a web developer.

If you don’t plan to become a front-end developer, you might get away with a superficial knowledge of CSS (and to some extent JavaScript). However, you should still have a fundamental understanding of both.

For CSS, you should become acquainted with both the Flexbox model and Grid layout. While these terms might not mean much to you yet, they will become familiar as soon as you take a course, read a book, or peruse documentation on CSS.

If you plan on becoming a front-end developer, then you need to be quite decent at CSS.

Learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript regardless of what development role (e.g., front-end, back-end, or full-stack) you may ultimately end up taking on in your career.

In the beginning of your journey, simply focus on these three in their plain/vanilla form. For example, don’t try to go for fancy JavaScript frameworks like React and Vue right out of the gate.

The only frameworks you might want to explore at this stage are CSS ones like Bootstrap and TailwindCSS, and an old school JavaScript library (i.e., jQuery), to see what they have to offer over vanilla CSS and JavaScript.

What they don’t do is introduce a whole host of new and confusing concepts (like React does), which are best tackled once you have a decent mastery of the front-end trifecta (i.e., HTML, CSS, and JavaScript).

What to study for back-end development

After you’ve spent a couple of months grasping the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, I’d recommend that you start exploring a back-end development language and framework.

You’ll quickly find that front-end alone limits the type of web applications you can build a fair bit. Want to permanently save and retrieve the data the user gave you? You need back-end tools.

Adding back-end development skills will allow you to create much more useful web applications, as well as to better understand the other side of the coin.

This is useful even if you decide to specialize in front-end development because you’ll most likely be working with back-end developers and interacting with their work from your front-end code.

So far there hasn’t been much controversy in this article. Just about everyone can agree that learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is a must. Some will fight me on my suggestion of putting off React or Vue until later (or think that looking into jQuery in 2020 is silly), but nothing as of yet has been truly controversial.

Sides are about to be drawn, however, as I proceed to tell you what to study for the back-end side of things. There are countless possible options out there. At least a dozen of which are squarely reasonable choices.

Some of the most worthwhile candidates include:

• Python and Django
• JavaScript and Express.js
• Ruby and Ruby on Rails

If you already know, or have a hunch, that you will focus on front-end development, I recommend using a JavaScript server-side framework like Express.js.

This will further solidify your JavaScript skills and will enable you to build complete web applications (and APIs that your front-end can then consume).

I’m personally not a huge fan of server-side JavaScript (or JavaScript in general), but if you know that you want to become a front-end developer you must become as skilled as you possibly can in JavaScript. It is, hands down, the number one skill that you’ll need to master in this field.

I would skip the JavaScript and Express.js stack if any of the followings apply to you:

• You didn’t particularly enjoy JavaScript while learning it for front-end;
• You are unsure whether front-end development is right for you;
• CSS and JavaScript offended your sensibilities and you are now seeking refuge in back-end development where you’ll be less likely to work with either of these technologies;
• You want to learn something new and a different programming language is likely to make your profile more appealing to employers.

If that’s you, I recommend that you consider Python and its associated framework, Django.

Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world and it is quite pleasant to work with. Nowadays, it is almost a given that most well-rounded programmers will know Python.

It’s also the ideal language to have at the ready, should you develop an interest in data science and machine learning down the line.

The most popular frameworks to build web applications in for Python are Flask and Django. Ideally, you’ll want to learn both, but to begin with, I would suggest you focus on Django.

Why Django? It’s highly productive which means that you’ll be able to create fancier web applications with less work, which can be quite motivating when you are starting out. It also ships with a lot of sensible conventions that will in turn teach you how to structure and how to think about the architecture of your web application.

Flask is excellent too and likely the better tool if one is focusing on building small apps and APIs. That said, it is best used once you have a better understanding of how web applications work.

What about Ruby and Ruby on Rails? They are also an excellent choice and my favorite among the options listed here. However, Ruby is not quite as popular as Python, and it is mostly used within the scope of web development.

With Python you get a very similar programming language, plus access to all the data science goodies that are not readily available in Ruby.

Should you decide to pick up Ruby and Ruby on Rails down the line, it will be quite easy coming from a Python and Django background.

As you go through this process, regardless of the language and framework you choose, you must become well acquainted with the REST paradigm which will teach you about HTTP requests and responses, HTTP methods, and response codes.

What about databases?

You’ll also need to become acquainted with databases. For the most part, you’ll have to master the fundamentals of:

• MongoDB: A document-based database;
• PostgreSQL: An SQL/relational database.

Mongo is overused. However, it is common and easy enough to learn, so it can certainly be worth picking up. PostgreSQL, on the other hand, is fantastic and an obvious recommendation.

Once you have an SQL foundation in place, you can switch with relative ease to other relational databases, should a project or employer require it.

Miscellaneous things

The front-end and back-end stacks outlined above are enough to make you useful and capable of landing your first job in tech.

There are however several other skills which are taken for granted. If you are not too familiar with them, you’ll want to invest some time in learning these areas as well.

• Git and GitHub: to store, edit, keep track of changes, share, and release code.
• Basic Linux shell commands: think ls, cat, echo, source, ps,top, grep, find, curl, etc.
• A code editor: I recommend Visual Studio Code unless you already have a different favorite. Learn how to use it efficiently, including leveraging popular plugins. For example, plugins that enable you to autocomplete your code, linters to ensure that it follows idiomatic style and formatting, and more.
• Regular Expressions: quite complex but also handy both within your code and when searching/transforming text via the command line (or within your code editor).
• Web security: you should be able to prevent common security issues like SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), etc.

I suspect you’ll pick up many of these skills automatically as you study the rest of the stuff mentioned earlier on.

Just make sure to supplement as needed so that you are not entirely unfamiliar with any of the concepts listed here.

More advanced front-end and back-end skills

Once you have all of these skills above under your belt, you might be ready to tackle more advanced areas.

If you decide to become a front-end developer, I suggest looking into:

• Accessibility;
• User Experience (UX) principles;
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization);
• Building responsive web applications (web apps that scale to the user’s device resolution);
• Wireframing with Figma or Adobe XD;
• Styling with Sass;
• Webpack;
• React/Redux or Vue/Vuex.

If you decide to become a back-end or full-stack developer, I’d recommend exploring more in depth:

• Algorithms: learn more about traditional algorithms and data structures concepts often taught in computer science university courses, including the concept of Big O notation.
• SQL, going beyond the language by looking at more advanced features modern relational databases have to offer (triggers, stored procedures, etc).
• Flask (if you opted for Python) or Sinatra (if you opted for Ruby).
• GraphQL: go beyond REST and see what all the buzz is about.
• Deployment and scaling with containers using tools like Docker and Kubernetes.

Note that for all of the technologies I’ve mentioned here, this list is still not an exhaustive one by any means. This is by design, as it really doesn’t need to be all-encompassing. Most professional web developers have not mastered every entry on this list.

So, if you decide to become a front-end developer, mostly ignore the advanced back-end stuff, and focus on the front-end skills.

Conversely, if you decide to become a back-end developer, focus on the advanced back-end skills by studying, practicing, and building projects without worrying too much about the advanced front-end skills side of things.

You just need to become really good at the key components for the role you decide to take, while not being entirely unfamiliar with the rest of the entries on this list.

What’s next?

Now that you know what you should be studying, we need to address how to actually go about studying it.

Do you need a degree to become a web developer? Should you enroll in a development bootcamp? We’ll cover these questions and much more in the next article in this multi-part guide.

Stay tuned and don’t forget to subscribe, if you haven’t done so ready.

The post What to Study to Become a Web Developer appeared first on Programming Zen.

If you want to learn to code so that you can become a web developer, welcome. You’re in the right place.

Before we discuss what kind of web developer positions are available and what the differences between front-end, back-end, full-stack, and DevOps are, I’m going to take the scenic route and start with what coding is.

This is necessary because I make virtually no assumptions about your existing knowledge. If you are an absolute beginner, this is the guide for you.

What is coding?

Coding is the act of writing code to program machines like computers and mobile devices. OK, what is code then? Code is the set of precise instructions we give to said machines to execute the actions we want them to take.

The instructions need to be precise because computers, unlike humans, cannot make a bunch of assumptions on the basis or prior experience.

If I asked you to draw a house, you’d probably start jotting down something reminiscent of what a 5 year old would draw. You’ll start with a box, add a pointy roof, a door, a window, etc. If you are really artistically inclined, you might draw a 3D version that looks nicer. In either case, you will be able to handle my generic, open-ended request and deliver something that satisfies it.

Generally speaking, the computer cannot assume what the house should look like, as you would. How thick should the lines be? What color (if any at all) should be used? How big should the house be? What style? And so on.

In short, a computer didn’t draw houses in kindergarten. Yes, it can draw amazingly intricate houses with fantastic degrees of detail, but you’ll need code that very precisely instructs it to do so.

Consider the calculator application that is installed by default on your computer.

A programmer wrote a bunch of code so that when you click on the Calculator icon, the computer launches the application on your screen, presenting you with a series of numbers and operators to choose from.

As you interact with the application, for example by pressing 6, x, 7 and =, the computer, instructed by the programmer’s code, will know what to do. (Namely, multiplying the two numbers and displaying the result for you.)

What’s the difference between a program and an application?

Some computer programs do not have a visual user interface at all, in which case we do not call them applications.

That’s the main difference between a program and an application. They both require code, but only applications have some kind of visual user interface that the user can interact with.

The user interface (UI) doesn’t have to be a window within your desktop operating system (e.g., Windows or MacOS). It can be on your mobile device or even a web page that you access through a web browser like Chrome or Firefox.

Different types of applications and developers

An application that you access on your desktop computer is called… drum roll… a desktop application. One that you access on your mobile device (e.g., Apple or Android smartphone) is called a mobile application. And one that you access through a web browser? You guessed it, a web application.

It turns out that the type of code we must write to create these different types of applications is somewhat different depending on the type of application we are creating.

Many of the concepts are the same but the programming languages, libraries (essentially, prewritten code), tools, and problems you’ll face as a programmer will be different depending on which platform you are targeting.

This is why professional programmers will often specialize in one or maybe two of these types of application development. So, you can be a desktop developer (less common these days), a mobile developer, or a web developer.

Sometimes, you’ll hear the term “app developer” which is a synonym for a mobile developer, given that “app” is often used to specifically refer to mobile applications.

Some programmers specialize even further, and are just iOS developers or Android developers, depending on the type of mobile devices they target.

Since not all programs are applications, it’s worth noting that there are many other types of developers who don’t work on applications.

For example, those who work on the operating system itself, programs that facilitate networks of computers to communicate, or code that enables hardware components to communicate with each other.

The Web won

There are plenty of viable careers to be had in mobile and other types of development, however since the aim of this guide is to help you become a web developer, we are going to focus on this particular subset of the development landscape.

Twenty-five years ago, the majority of developers were desktop developers (or a specialized version, like a Windows developer).

Over the past two decades, the web exploded in popularity. So it might reassure you to know that today the overwhelming majority of programmers are web developers.

The web is certainly not going anywhere, so the skills you acquire will serve you well for a long time to come.

Static vs dynamic pages

Alright, let’s focus on web applications. What are they and how do they work?

Let’s start with a simple web page, rather than a full-blown web application. When you visit https://antoniocangiano.com, my homepage, you are visiting a very simple static page.

My homepage is a so-called “static page” because it doesn’t dynamically change. For example, it doesn’t pull the data from a database like when you search for a product on Amazon.

It’s just a static document containing some text, images, and links organized in a somewhat logical and pleasing (if minimalist) manner.

When the web first come about in the early 90s, that’s all it was for the most part. A bunch of static pages linking to each other.

When server-side dynamic web pages became common, it transformed the web. We could now, among other things, collect information from the user, store it in a database, and dynamically display to the user content on the basis of their request.

You could even customize the page that was rendered to the user on the basis of who was logged in, for example.

Over time, these capabilities evolved to a point where web applications can deliver rich desktop-like interfaces and user experience.

Technically, this blog you are reading is a web application written in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. It allows me to log in as an administrator and write blog posts. It allows you to comment, search for posts, subscribe to my RSS feed, see related content, and much more.

Web applications can be as simple as a plain todo list or as complex as the online version of Microsoft Excel or an elaborate video game.

How does requesting a static page work

When you type https://antoniocangiano.com/ in your browser’s address bar and press enter, the following steps take place:

• A DNS (Domain Name System) server is called to translate the hostname antoniocangiano.com to an IP (Internet Protocol) address where the site is actually hosted. You can think of DNS as white pages for the internet, where instead of people’s names being mapped to their phone numbers, you get website names mapped to their servers’ IP addresses. Knowing the IP address of the server hosting the site will allow your browser to send the request to the right server among the millions of servers available on the internet.
• The request you made tells the server that you want to get the page/information available at /. The server will grab the index.html file for my site and send it back to your browser as a response. (On a static site, / will typically render index.html just like /about would render the content of about.html. This is by convention and not always the case.)
• Within that HTML file, I also reference a CSS file on the server, some images, and a little bit of client-side JavaScript. Your browser will request all of these elements from the server, and ultimately render the HTML page for you to see.

(This is a simplification, but conceptually these are the major steps.)

There is no back-end development going on here. HTML, CSS, and client-side JavaScript are all front-end development technologies.

HTML provides the structure and content of the page. CSS determines the style of the page (font size, spacing, padding, colors, etc.). And JavaScript determines some behaviors of the page as you interact with it.

In the case of my homepage, when you move your mouse over the icons at the top, you’ll see a little tooltip pop up appear. That’s a bit of JavaScript in action.

I clarified that it’s client-side JavaScript because nowadays there is also server-side JavaScript which is indeed in the scope of back-end development. When I say “client-side”, I mean JavaScript that is executed by your browser.

How does requesting a dynamic page work

Web applications are collections of dynamic pages (and sometimes dynamic and static pages). Requesting a dynamic page is conceptually similar to requesting a static page, but behind the scenes there are a few more steps taking place.

For example, let’s say that you enter “iPad” in the search box of this site and press enter. You’ll notice in the address bar that you’ve made a request for https://programmingzen.com/?s=ipad.

There is no ipad.html file on the server, given that you could have typed anything into the search field.

(Ignore caching for the sake of this simplification, if you are already familiar with the concept.)

So behind the scenes, instead of locating the static file and issuing it in response for the browser to render, there are two extra steps:

1. The web server understands that you want posts related to the iPad. So the dynamic page will send a request to a database server that contains all my posts. Using a language called SQL (Structured Query Language), it will ask for a list of posts containing the word “iPad”.
2. With that information available, the web server will execute the code in the dynamic page which will use the list of posts to formulate a response which includes a series of neatly arranged iPad-related posts.

Ultimately, what’s sent to your browser is still a bunch of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, it didn’t come from a file on your server. It was dynamically generated based on information stored in the database.

Imagine for a moment that some posts on my site were available only to subscribers. The code of the dynamic page would need to check whether the person is logged in or not, whether they are a subscriber, and then alter the response accordingly.

If the user is a subscriber, include subscriber-only iPad posts in the list, if they are not, exclude those posts and just return the free ones available to everyone.

As you can imagine, the ability to dynamically generate the response depending on certain conditions is quite powerful and is the basis of how web applications work.

Front-End vs Back-End technologies

In terms of technology, what did we add to the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript front-end stack? We added code to the dynamic pages which can then make calls to a database and generate a customized response. PHP and SQL code in my case.

This code can be written in a variety of programming languages, however. Some popular examples are Python, Ruby, Java, Elixir, and even server-side JavaScript.

We’ll discuss why you’d use one language over another or which to choose to land a job, in the next installment of this guide. For now, know that back-end development will require you to be familiar with a server-side programming language.

You’ll also need to know SQL and be familiar with how databases work.

Truth be told, back-end developers will need to know quite a bit more than just another programming language and databases.

For example, they’ll typically leverage a web framework like Ruby on Rails, Django, Flask, or Express.js to be more productive and write fewer lines of code to implement the features needed by the web application.

So you’ll also need to develop familiarity with whichever framework is most popular for your language of choice.

A lot of front-end developers are not writing plain JavaScript either. They too have to worry about frameworks and libraries, typically for JavaScript (and even CSS). Popular JavaScript options are React, Vue, Angular, and Ember.js.

Front-end developers will also need to worry about accessibility and providing a good user experience (UX) for the end-user. Huge topics that have dedicated specialists in their own right.

We’ll cover what you need to study in the next article of this guide.

Front-End vs Back-End developers

While it is good to have an understanding of both front-end and back-end, most web developers end up specializing in either front-end or back-end.

Historically, front-end development had a certain stigma. It was perceived as easier. These days, I don’t believe this is a valid stance anymore.

The capability of web interfaces has grown dramatically over the years and so did the complexity of technologies leveraged to build such interactive and rich user interfaces.

It’s worth noting that back-end developers’ salaries still tend to be higher than front-end developers’ ones. But this might be at least in part because the majority of beginner web developers start with front-end technologies.

After all, you can’t be a back-end developer without knowing the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but you could in theory be a good front-end developer without knowing server-side languages and SQL.

Of course, exposure to both sides of the Web development line is always beneficial.

Full-Stack developer

Full-Stack developers are unicorns born in an enchanted forest located where the Hanson and the Eich rivers meet.

More seriously, it’s rare for someone to be amazing at both front-end and back-end development, but there are plenty of developers who are competent at both.

Larger companies tend to prefer specialized people, because they have the resources to hire larger teams that will include both front-end and back-end developers.

Startups and other smaller businesses might only be able to have one or two developers on hand, and therefore might find a full-stack developer who can build the entire web application to be a more practical option.

DevOps specialists

Writing web applications is only one part of the equation. You then need to deploy them somewhere on the internet so that they’re available to the public. (Pushing code to production, to use common lingo.)

You also need strategies to keep them running smoothly and handle updates and new releases of the code you write.

In smaller operations, this often falls on the web developer’s shoulders. Over the years, however, the role of DevOps engineer became its own profession.

Today, larger organizations will hire DevOps specialists/engineers to work alongside developers and system operators/administrations to ensure the best deployment practices.

As you work on becoming a web developer, you’ll inevitably pick up some of the skills possessed by DevOps. However, you don’t need to become a DevOps expert, unless you discover that it’s what you enjoy the most and decide to pursue that as your career.

Which one should you choose?

It’s way too early for you to commit to becoming a front-end, back-end, or full-stack developer.

The best you can do is learn the fundamentals and then decide on the basis of what you enjoy the most, what comes more naturally to you, and ultimately what you tend to be good at.

Some people might struggle with grokking databases but are capable of creating wonderful user interfaces. Others might be very good at solving algorithmic problems but fail miserably at putting together a user-friendly UI.

You’ll find out where you fit very soon.

What’s next?

In the next article of this How to Become a Web Developer and Get a Job guide, we’ll cover the technology stacks I recommend to maximize your chances of becoming a professional web developer and landing a job.

I’ll also discuss which languages, technologies, and tools you need to study to break into this industry.

That master list can act as a road map of skills you must acquire in the upcoming months to become a web developer.

The post Front-End vs Back-End Developer appeared first on Programming Zen.

I’ll split the guide into a series of articles. Once the guide is complete, I will also make it available for free to my subscribers in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI format.

Who is this guide for

This guide is for anyone who wants to become a Web Developer and get a job as a professional developer.

The “how to become a Web Developer” portion of the guide is going to be specific to web development, but even those seeking to become other types of developers will likely benefit from its insight.

The “how to get a job as a developer” portion is much more generic and will serve you well regardless of your chosen specialization.

I’m writing this guide with two kinds of people in mind. Young people hoping to become professional developers and existing professionals who are hoping to switch careers (or who may be returning to the workforce in the case of stay-at-home parents).

These are the kinds of people I have personally helped in the past and those I have the most experience with. Nevertheless, the advice provided throughout this series should be suitable for anyone whose goal is to land a developer job.

Requirements

I’ll take for granted that you have used a computer before and are somewhat web-savvy. As a litmus test of the sort, I’m assuming you know that Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are two browsers and can install an extension/add-on (or could figure it out by Googling it).

I’m also going to assume that you’re smart but not necessarily a genius like I am. That’s a joke, by the way, I’m not a genius. I’m a super genius. 🙂

Jokes aside, the media has created a certain stereotype of what a programmer looks like. The asocial genius wearing a hoodie can be an intimidating benchmark for those starting out.

The truth is developers come in all shapes, sizes, and forms. And although developers are reasonably smart people, being exceptionally gifted is by no means a requirement. You don’t even necessarily need to be good at math.

Technical ability, as we’ll discuss more in-depth soon, is also not the only desirable trait of a great developer. Your communication skills and ability to collaborate are just as, if not more, important.

Who am I

I’m a Software Development Manager and AI Advocate at IBM. I’ve been a professional Web Developer for 20 years.

Within IBM, I’m known as the guy who got the company to adopt Rails and Django, in the early days of these technologies, and more recently I’ve been gradually doing the same for Elixir and Phoenix. (If you don’t know what any of this means, no worries, we’ll cover your options soon.)

Over the years, I’ve provided advice to countless people who were hoping to make it into our industry, many of whom I’ve personally mentored.

For the past twelve years, I’ve been doing the candidate selections for my team. As a result, I must have reviewed thousands of résumés, interviewed hundreds of developers, and hired a few dozen applicants.

I’m also the author of a couple of technical books. One on Rails for Microsoft developers (painfully obsolete at this point) and one on Technical Blogging (current and quite useful to those seeking to advance their career in tech).

Among too many other things, I’m also the author of a popular chatbot course that’s been taken by over 100,000 people worldwide on Cognitive Class (a volunteer initiative for which I’m the marketing manager), Coursera, and edX.

This is not to brag (like many of us, I tend to feel underaccomplished at times), but rather to say there is a method to my madness and that my approach appears to have helped a lot of people. I’m hoping that it will help you as well.

A disclaimer on how to become a Web Developer

“How to become a Web Developer” doesn’t mean that I will teach you how to program in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. I could do that, but this svelte guide would become a 1,200-page tome in no time flat. And it would likely be one that would echo a lot of resources that are already available elsewhere.

Instead, I’m going to tell you what to study, along with how and why to study it. I will also point out various useful books and resources where you can learn more about the technical topics I mention.

I’ll give you the roadmap, but I won’t be doing the actual studying for you. 🙂

This is all very doable though, fear not. There are millions of developers, most of who are not any more special than you are. However, it would be a lie to say that there won’t be a lot of work involved on your part.

It will be, but if you’re not afraid of some elbow grease, a better career (and possibly life) awaits you on the other side of that dedicated effort.

Why would you want to become a developer

Instead of elaborate arguments trying to sell you on the profession, I’m going to list a few quick, bullet points in favor of becoming a Web Developer in the 2020s.

• Web development is future-proof. AI will take over a lot of jobs, but most developer jobs won’t be automated away any time soon.
• Web development can be remote. Most forms of software development, not just web development, can be carried out remotely. So you’re less likely to lose your job if, as if it’s currently the case with COVID–19, you are forced to be inside for extended lengths of time. There are, of course, other variables at play, but this improves your odds of remaining employed.
• Web development is creative. You’ll be able to engage both the analytical side and the more creative parts of your brain.
• Web development is fun. Two aspects that make web development really fun are being able to instantly see the results of your work (right in your web browser) and the ability to share it with the world at large. All this, without them having to install anything on their devices.
• Web development doesn’t require a degree. A degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering is certainly helpful and provides many useful fundamentals. However, it’s by no means required to become a Web Developer or to get a job as a Web Developer.
• Web development pays well. Try getting a job that pays six figures without a degree in most other fields; they’ll laugh as they escort you out of the interview room. Sure, your first web development job is unlikely to pay six figures, but you can still expect a generous salary right out of the gate from many companies (in the US, a junior developer will earn, on average, $66,695 per year).

Those are some of the major perks but, as you’ll find out if you go through this process, the work itself can definitely be its own reward as well.

Of course, your landlord expects dollars not your sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction. But thankfully, web development covers you there as well.

What to expect next

This first article in our series is primarily an introduction to what is to come in future entries.

Here are some of the topics that I’ll cover next:

• Front-End VS Back-End Developer: Front-End Developer, Back-end Developer, Full-Stack Developer, DevOps: what are the options, and what do they entail?
• What set of web development technologies you should study. The ones that maximize your chances of getting a job as a web developer.
• How to study for your chosen web development stack (including specific books, courses, and resources).
• Résumés, Github, and project portfolios.
• Using social media and blogging to stand out from the crowd and attract job offers.
• Finding the right jobs and applying for them.
• Mastering the interview process.

For now, remember that you can do this. Together we can get you in shipshape for your future web development job.

And please don’t forget to subscribe below to ensure you receive the next installments of this guide.

The post How to Become a Web Developer and Get a Job With No Experience (Guide) appeared first on Programming Zen.

These days things are a little different. Now we’re encouraging everyone to code and become a programmer, so a lot of newcomers no longer have many a sleepless night fighting with, say, SuSE CDs, under their belts.

As a result, you run into people who can be somewhat competent within a given development environment, who don’t know how to create a symbolic link or tail a log.

This is not said to disparage newcomers. On the contrary, it’s quite commendable how quickly many young programmers are now able to learn a whole stack of technologies in order to create applications.

It is, however, an impediment to their ability to become productive and successful programmers.

So my advice today is to break free of that limitation by learning the command line. You don’t need to become a wizard, but, as usual, you should get acquainted enough with it that you know how to use the command line to accomplish tasks that are simply not exposed in GUI interfaces.

I’m specifically talking about the Unix-based command line, such as Bash. Technically it can be used on Windows as well, but realistically hardcore Windows programmers might find learning the Windows Powershell to be more useful.

Where to start? There are countless tutorials and books on the subject. I personally recommend Michael Hartl’s learn enough command line tutorial, as it’s specifically aimed at newer developers.

The post Tip #4 for Young Programmers: Get Familiar with the Command Line appeared first on Programming Zen.

It pays dividends to master your code editor. A powerful editor, properly used, will provide a myriad of benefits.

Benefits of a code editor

The following incomplete list will give you an idea of some of the ways in which an editor can serve you:

• Speed up the process of writing code by autocompleting parts of the code you write.
• Highlight and indent your code for readability.
• Simplify the process of refactoring code (e.g., consistently change the name of a variable across your program).
• Point out obvious typos.
• Easily find code within your project (e.g., through finders or through the ability to jump to definitions).
• En mass manipulation of text and code, without having to manually perform changes lines per line (e.g., replacing strings, commenting out large sections of code, etc).
• Execute code directly without having to step out of the current window.
• Folding your code, so that you can focus on the current method or class, and ignore the rest of your code base.
• Visually identify files that have changes from your git repo.

Honestly, this isn’t even scratching the surface. Just take my word for it, being well acquainted with your editor of choice will eliminate a world of frustration from your coding experience.

Choosing a programming editor

A natural follow-up question to the previous paragraph would be, “Which programming editor should I use?”. Ask ten programmers and you’ll get at least five different answers. It’s a highly personal choice and people get religious about their editor of choice.

I’m going to share my opinion and you can then find out for yourself what works best for you.

I would divide most editors into five categories:

1. Shell-based text editors. These are historic text editors that include such offerings as such as Vi/Vim and Emacs. [1] They are extremely powerful and customizable but come at the expense of a high learning curve. [2]
2. WYSIWYG text editors. Examples of this type of text editor are Notepad++, Atom, and Sublime Text. Much less of a learning curve than something like Vim, but still quite powerful.
3. Integrated Development Environments (IDE) that are specific to a particular development stack. Some will argue that these are not code editors, but they certainly include one, among a whole host of other features, often including a way to visually design your application. Examples of IDEs are Android Studio, XCode (for iOS and Mac OS X apps), and Visual Studio (for .NET applications).
4. Niche specific editors. For example Coda for front end web design.
5. Cloud editors that enable you to develop directly from your browser. One example of this sort of editor and development environment is Cloud9.

Any editor will do (well, don’t use Microsoft Word), but the choice will be very dependent on the kind of development you intend to do.

For example, if you plan to develop for the web:

• Learn the basics of Vim or Emacs for when you are remotely shelled into a Linux / BSD server.
• Master Atom or Sublime Text for your main development.

Conversely, if you plan to develop mobile apps:

• Learn the basics of Atom or Sublime Text for incidental file editing.
• Master your app platform IDE (e.g., Android Studio, XCode, Xamarin).

In general, I would recommend that you learn the basics of Vim so that you can quickly change files when connected to a remote server via the shell. [3]

Vim or one of its variants is almost always installed on Linux/Unix servers already or can be easily installed if you have admin rights.

If you love it enough to master it, you might even want to stick with it as your main code editor. Many developers do.

Regardless of what you choose or do, spend the time to become proficient in the tool you decide to use to edit your code (including reading a book on the subject if your editor or IDE is quite advanced).

The post Tip #3 for Young Developers: Master an Editor appeared first on Programming Zen.

In the world of computer software engineering, revision control is any kind of practice that tracks and provides control over changes to source code. Software developers sometimes use revision control software to maintain documentation and configuration files as well as source code. — Wikipedia

Over the past ten years, the growing prominence of open source software has helped to make several best practices far more established, but it’s still all too common to encounter developers who are not familiar with revision/version control software such as Git, Mercurial, or Apache Subversion (SVN).

Understandably, this lack of knowledge is much more noticeable among young developers and students.

Let me be absolutely clear about this: there is no software development today without revision control. Anything non-trivial will require that you use revision control, whether developing in a large team, a startup, or even on your own.

If you’re an aspiring developer, your career in our field will be enhanced by studying Git. Why Git specifically? It provides several advantages over SVN (mostly due to its distributed nature), and it’s more popular than the also excellent Mercurial.

It’s worth noting that twelve years ago I would have recommended that you learn SVN. Things change, and it’s possible that in another ten or fifteen years, Git will no longer be the reigning king in this arena.

I’m operating, however, under the fair assumption that you want to work today or in the near future. If so, learn Git. [1]

Bear in mind that you don’t need to become an expert in what is a fairly complex system. Just master the basics, so that you’re competent enough to resolve most common situations and collaborate with fellow developers in your team.

Learn how to create a repository, clone it, pull, add, delete, commit, push, create and merge branches, diff files, revert changes, and so on. Basic stuff you’ll do day in and day out when changing code.

It won’t take you more than a couple of weeks of practice to really nail the fundamentals.

Another couple of related suggestions:

1. Add Git to your resume. [2]
2. You’ll need a place to host your Git repositories. Sign up with Github [3] (and if you want a private repository for free,BitBucket). Even if you’re not at a point where you can commit code to your repository, you can still practice Git by changing and pushing text files to it.

To learn the basics of Git I recommend that you use these two resources:

1. Try Git.
2. https://www.learnenough.com/git-tutorial by Michael Hartl

They should get you well on your way to Git productivity.

The post Tip #2 for Young Programmers: Learn Revision Control appeared first on Programming Zen.

My advice will be aimed at aspiring programmers, students, and programmers who are just starting out.[2]

I’m going to skip the part in which I motivate you by telling you why learning to code is a great idea and akin to acquiring a super power.

In this series, I’m just going to assume that you’re interested and highly motivated in becoming a programmer. If you’re not, find your “why” first. The why is more important than the how and you’re going to need both in order to succeed.

My tips are going to be presented in a more or less random fashion, as I don’t have a pre-arranged list that I’m working from. I’m certain that I’ll come up with more as we go along.

I’m going to number them here nevertheless so that it’s easier to reference them in discussions.

Tip #1: Specialize in something

Last year I interviewed over 100 candidates for IBM.[3] Most candidates were students from elite universities and were by all accounts, impressive young people.

University had opened them up to a wide variety of topics in computer science. The logic behind such an approach is sound. Syllabuses are intentionally designed to prepare students to think like a computer scientist, and to expose them to as much computer science as they can cram into four years.

The idea is to show students what’s out there so that they can then decide what interests them so that they might pursue further specialization academically or on the job.

The downside of this approach is that unless you do independent work in your spare time, you might graduate with very little code under your belt.

More importantly, you’ll simply be a bundle of potential.[4] You could specialize in anything you want to. You could become a good programmer, but you haven’t likely reached that point in either case yet.

There are certainly companies willing to hire you on the basis of that potential. I mean, you graduate from an ivy league school, with top grades, and naturally there will be big companies who are interested in you.

To widen your job prospectives, however, I suggest that you specialize on your own.

The market will pay you for the value you bring to it.[5] This is true whether you are an employee, freelancer, or opt to launch your own startup.

This is why I fully respected, appreciated, and even hired candidates with plenty of potential and not much experience. My favorite candidates, though, remained those who independently developed a keen interest in a particular area of the information technology world, and learned as much as they could in parallel to their more formal studies.

This tip could very be easily phrased as, “Be useful at something”. If I hire you to do something, it really helps if, on top of having the potential, you also have a degree of experience and expertise in that something, that will aid us in developing your skills further.

To date, there are still students around the world who graduate and come to the market with very little knowledge regarding things like the command line, any editor that isn’t an IDE, who have no idea what git is, and whose memories of subjects (e.g., web development) they touched upon a couple of years back are often hazy at best.

Whether you’re a student or not, my first tip is, therefore, to become useful at the creation of a particular type of product.

Here are some examples of “stacks” you can specialize in:

• Learn how to develop Android apps
• Learn how to develop iOS apps
• Learn how to develop web applications with Rails
• Learn how to do data science with Python (or R)
• Learn how to hack hardware

No matter what you choose, try to become experienced enough so that you have an essential understanding of the lingo, best practices, and challenges of that particular type of development.

Once you’ve determined the type of software you want to build, it becomes much easier to focus your efforts towards what needs to be learned, what books should be read, and what code you need to write.

Want to become a web app developer? Learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby, and the Ruby on Rails web framework, for example. Then start creating projects by first following along with tutorials, then on your own.

Want to become an Android developer? Learn Java, then how Android apps are built (you’ll have to become well acquainted with Android Studio and the SDK).

Speaking of Android, I’m particularly reminded of one of the best performing students from my LEADing to Africa summer internship in San Francisco.

My L2A summer interns

Not only he had a comparable foundation in computer science to that of other students I’ve interviewed, but he had also taken the time to independently learn enough Android to be “useful” (or dangerous, depending on who you ask :)) on that front.

You could ask him to create a fairly complex Android app, and he’d know how to approach it and make it happen in a reasonable timeframe. That’s adding value to the market.

Be like that student. Be a mile wide, and an inch deep, but specialize enough in something to be useful.

The post Tip #1 for Young Programmers: Specialize in Something appeared first on Programming Zen.