Beginner – Need some Advice :)

@Rookie102Oct 15.2017

Hey guys, I’ve been browsing these forums a bit and just wanted a little bit of advice if possible.

A little bit about me – I am currently working as a recruitment consultant (a job i hate), looking to learn what it takes to be a web developer.

At present I have watched tutorials and done things like Codeacademy etc. and think I have grasped some of the fundamentals.
I have heard about these bootcamps and have taken a particular interest to “General Assembly” and was contemplating on whether or not to do it. (Huge financial commitment) Some of the claims of them teaching you to code in 12 weeks are pretty amazing.

What i really like to know is, based on you guys’ experience both life and within the industry, how to change careers and pursue web development? Should I do General Assembly or should I keep learning and build up a portfolio and get in like that? At present I can commit to around 2-3 hours of learning per day on weekdays and maybe around 6-7 hours on the weekend.

I really want to pursue web development and willing to take the time to learn, but I really do not want to learn for years and get nowhere, hence I really need some good advice. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys)

to post a comment

Full-stack Developer

8 Comments(s) _↴

@jedaisoulOct 15.2017 — #Hi and welcome to the site. The world of web development is constantly evolving, so picking the right tools and languages to learn is problematic. It can be argued that, since much of what you learn today will be obsolete tomorrow, it does not matter what you learn. You will have to relearn at some point anyway!

What can be said with some assurance is that HTML and CSS will remain the fundamental building blocks of website front-ends for the foreseeable future, whilst SQL will continue to dominate the back-end databases. However, even these will be subject to change!

However, there is a project underway that has the potential to make most of today's web development tools and frameworks obsolete virtually overnight. Its called [b][url=https://www.ampproject.org/learn/overview/]AMP[/url][/b] (Accelerated Mobile Pages). Don't let the use of the word "Mobile" fool you. It is relevant to traditional PC browsers as well. What is so special about it?

- It is blindingly fast.

- It supports only a modified sub-set of HTML and CSS.

- JavaScript is reserved for its own internal use.

- It is backed by Google, who have the industrial muscle to make it succeed.

So it seems that practically all the CMSs, JavaScript frameworks etc. that dominate web development today are obsolete, they just don't know it yet.

So what should you learn? Well, rather than starting with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, I would suggest that you should concentrate on the use of HTML and CSS in an AMP context, and AMP itself.

One factor that iS NOT clear (to me) at the moment is AMP's impact on back-end languages such as PHP.

Postscript: I should add that not everyone agrees that AMP is the best thing since sliced bread. See [b][url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/19/open_source_insider_google_amp_bad_bad_bad/]here[/url][/b]!

@rootOct 15.2017 — #It doesn't take long to learn the bits to get the basics together.

Best way to think of web development is by learning how HTML is put together.

Some people jump right in to JavaScript after but it is beneficial to learn some CSS as theres allot CSS can do without the need for JavaScript which can be more messy coding to get the job done than it takes in a two or three line style setting.

Then go for JavaScript, then server-side languages (most common is PHP) and also about databases and how to use SQL to query database tables.

That should take half a day to understand how things fit together and see some examples, you can get online videos that can give you some examples of what the different elements are to building a web application.

Learn bits and expand on that, the problem with most people is they try to run before walking and that makes the learning job harder because you are going to find it like a big wall you can't get over, if you stagger the job of learning in to several components, you can make learning easier.

@Rookie102authorOct 15.2017 — #Hey Thanks guys for your responses.

The thing JedaiSoul said worries me quite a bit, in that web development and tech are changing and evolving everyday and you need to keep relearning over and over again in order to stay on "top". How often would I need to keep learning if for argument sake I do learn some skills?

With that said, I am a little confused, are you saying this "AMP" will change everything? and so what should I focus on? I was thinking HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

I've heard that there is a huge demand for web developers at the moment, so does that mean if i learn the relevant skills and build a portfolio then it wouldn't be that hard to get a job?

Thanks guys

@rootOct 15.2017 — #Yes you will learn on a daily basis, most people forget that School is not the end of learning, you carry on learning new things up until you stop sucking air. So its not beyond yours or anyones capacity to learn, its just the longer you leave it and the older you get the longer it takes to learn new tricks.

@TrainOct 15.2017 — #The day we quit learning is the day we start pushing up daisies.

@Rookie102authorOct 15.2017 — #Ah, so yea that makes sense learning continuously is a must in the tech industry.

So can anyone provide any answers about the "AMP" mentioned above? And also about entering the industry if possible as I also mentioned above.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

@TrainOct 15.2017 — #AMP is the new kid on the block , so to speak, so this is the ground floor.

@jedaisoulOct 15.2017 — #Precisely. Whether you like AMP or not (and there are cons as well as pros) it has the potential to revolutionise the internet. Amp compliant sites will out perform sites built with current CMSs and frameworks by a significant margin. So market forces will drive its adoption.