This is the story of how I got my first job in front end development.

I have done frontend development for almost five years now and I'm really proud of myself as a self-taught learner.

Along my career as a frontend developer, many people have asked me how to get into tech, how to land the first job as a developer.

Nowadays you have a countless number of courses on the internet about learning web development. The knowledge is there, but I think what most people are missing is the right mindset and dedication.

Becoming a developer is a long way. It is a process of constantly learning new things because the tech is evolving really fast. For example, this is the roadmap by @kamranahmedse of things you need to know as a frontend developer. Scary right?

Still here? Good, I tried to make it dramatic to frighten you a bit to see if you are determined to become a developer. In that case, let me tell you a secret. You don't need to know everything to land the first job. In fact, nowadays the demand in tech is so high that the odds are in your favor.

⏱Give yourself a time limit

Back then, when I learned to become a developer. I gave myself a three months deadline to land my first job. The reason why I did this is that every month I dedicate my time to learning web development I lost money.

If you really believe in it I would highly recommend you set a deadline.

🚀Choose your starting job position

Choose your starting point, would you be more interested in the frontend, backend, or data?

As for me, I decided to go with a junior frontend coder. I lookup skills that are needed for this position. Mainly it was HTML, CSS, and a bit of javascript (jQuery back then) and I tried to learn them

🛠Show me your work

Companies would hire you, if you can prove to them, that you can bring them values. You can talk as much as you want about how much you want to become a developer.

The most effective way to persuade them to hire you is to show them what you can do.

In my case, I've built my personal website with technologies required in the job positions and two other landing pages. Where I put all my effort and my time into it. My pro tip would be, ask for a code review or feedback of someone who is already working in the field. This can help you a lot in your interview.

I remember going to the job board I send my work to a few companies there and the next day I got an email with

"Hi Tuan, I really like your personal website. Could you send me more of your work where you also did responsive design" - Thanks, Honza

That was the story of how I landed my first job. I had no IT background, my major business, and administration and if I can do it, anyone can do it. With enough time and dedication, you can learn most of the things that can be learned from the internet.

I hope that my story inspires you to pursue your path as a software developer and if you already are a developer, what was your story of how you landed your first job?

That was the story of how I landed my first job. I had no IT background, my major business, and administration and if I can do it, anyone can do it. With enough time and dedication, you can learn most of the things that can be learned from the internet.

I hope that my story inspires you to pursue your path as a software developer and if you have already are a developer, what was your story of how you land your first job?

Thanks for reading. Never stop learning!