How I got a job as a front end web developer with no degree

[pong 187]

...and very very little experience. 

 

I went on Craigslist to just browse around because I was bored, and a NEET, but I think the fact that I was a NEET is what made it so boring. 

 

I was browsing through the job section and I remembered that I can do website stuff, and that my web design skills are actually pretty OK. So I checked up off intermediate knowledge of HTML/CSS, but then it said I had to be a Javascript expert...oh fuck. 

 

I don't know that shit. 

 

Oh well, I figure I know an OK amount of the jQuery library for animating shit, and I'll piece things together. So I applied and then I got an interview in literally 1 week. He scheduled the interview for the end of the month, so I crammed like a son of a bitch. I learned Javascript in a month. I think I studied around 15-16 hours a day, non-stop. I learned Javascript, a bit of Angular.js, and touched up my HTML/CSS knowledge. 

 

I was ready. 

 

I went into the interview, expecting to go through the 7 circles of hell, but instead, he asks me to write a simple form validator in jQuery. 

 

Anyway, I got the job, I just started, and I'm making > $45k because I know how to validate forms. 

 

BOOYA bitch. 

Edited July 3, 2014 by pong

[NeX 1,756]

Thats one of those stories that gives me hope for the future

[Btcc22 691]

Thats one of those stories that gives me hope for the future

 

Or no hope. Depends on the angle you view it from.

[NeX 1,756]

Or no hope. Depends on the angle you view it from.

 

Well I would hope that with moderate experience and no degree having a shot at what sounds to be a stable gig, when I eventually have a degree, and some experience, I'll be more than likely to snag one. I don't have to love what I do - I just need to not hate it, and have it feed me so I can pursue my own hobbies. I would love to land that dream job, but I'm a realist.

[pong 187]

I promise you someone with a better portfolio and on-site experience and no degree will grab the job over someone who has a meh portfolio, but a 4.0 GPA and honors, clubs, etc. GPAs in tech aren't indicative of job performance for some reason. 

 

THAT SAID

 

I'm not saying I'm new to dev. I know HTML/CSS/PHP/Rails/Django as it is. I also know Bootstrap and Foundation, and work well with Git, Grunt, Bower, and Jekyll frameworks/extensions. I also know how to work hard and pace myself. I was just never ever employed by anyone other than myself, and that is the definition of experience when you submit a resumé.

 

All I'm saying is that it's ENTIRELY possible for you to be a well paid developer by cramming and teaching yourself, but the advantage that school gives you is teaching you PROPERLY (generally) and how to pace yourself, work under a deadline, collaborate, etc. This is why the school experience is important. If you do want to teach yourself, it's time management, learning properly, and working hard by yourself while not procrastinating. The reason you don't see people taking this as the default path is because I think it's much harder in some ways.

 

If you'd like to know what I recommend you learn and how to learn it, I can probably write something up. 

Edited July 4, 2014 by pong

[Krazychic 3,311]

So where does this leave you with your pending trip you were planning?

[pong 187]

I plan on working here for a year to two so I can come back to employment opportunities. I have the money saved up to go now, but I'm taking an "insurance" of sorts.

[Enclusion 163]

This post explains why there's so much bloated Javascript everywhere these days lul