3 ms·

Ask HN: Woman (34) trying to become a front-end developer – is this possible?

• checker659 9y ago
  What is your motivation for the career switch? Just looking for greener pasture or you found your calling here?
• namaemuta 9y ago
  Sarah Drasner among other people were giving some free mentorship: https://twitter.com/sarah_edo/status/878950382759813120 https://twitter.com/sarah_edo/status/878950382759813120 Also you can go through https://www.freecodecamp.org/ https://www.freecodecamp.org/ to have a basic knowledge about how to code. IMO you'll have more chances of being hired by learning from others, making visible your work and meeting a lot of people in the field.
  • jagoda_k 9y ago
    Thank you very much for the comment, especially the freecodecamp link. I've completed some Code School and Codecademy courses, but neither of the "schools" offers a community I could join and work with. I'll also have a look at what Sarah Drasner said on the subject - and hopefully find there something helpful and inspirational.
    • namaemuta 9y ago
      Many of the communities nowadays use Slack or any other team collaboration tool to keep in touch and communicate quickly with each other, so it's not difficult to join them. Emberjs for example, has a very friendly community, if you are interested on it. Go step by step to avoid feeling overwhelmed by all the things you have to learn. Be also aware of the "imposter syndrome"[1] which many people feel despite of being great professionals. Try not to compare yourself with others too much and congratulate yourself when you achieve something important for you, even if it looks like something small. A big part of the job will be to keep a good state of mind and leave aside any negative thought like "this is too difficult", "I can't do this", "I'm too old for this", etc. Good luck! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome
• tmnvix 9y ago
  I am not a woman but I did start learning development at around your age (front end first with a little backend, then more backend, now a good deal of both). Prior to that I delivered mail. I now consider myself to be competent. I'm currently doing fullstack development with a combination of python/django on the backend, javascript/react on the frontend, and AWS for the infrastructure side of things. 90% of what I know was self taught. The other 10% was part of a formal course I did with the Harvard Extension School - a professional certificate in web technologies. I would say it was a good course that helped give me a solid grounding. It suited me at the time as I wasn't prepared to give up three or four years to study CS full time. I was also mostly interested in the practical side of things. The only downside was the cost. Like yourself, I was also a bit concerned about being seen as 'old'. Turns out it hasn't mattered at all. That might be partly because of the path I ended up taking. Once people knew what I was up to I started getting a lot of requests for help from friends and family. Pretty quickly this lead to a lot of work with designers that needed someone that could actually build stuff. That was great as I didn't have to deal with clients and had a lot of say in terms of what technologies I would use. If you'd asked me three or four years ago if I thought I'd be able to do what I'm doing now I'd have told you "hell no!". Obviously, I would've been wrong. You'll surprise yourself. You just have to be persistent. To answer your questions: What do you think are the next steps I should take? Try to find a graphic designer to team up with. Gradually introduce JS into your work (you can go a long way with very little). Would you consider employing a person like me? I don't see why not (not that I am an employer). How to find somebody who could help me with developing my skills? Meetups might be a good place to start. I've always found the people there to be very welcoming and they usually range from beginners to experts (who in my experience have always been very generous with their knowledge). What else could I do to increase the chances of being hired? A portfolio of projects is a must (it shouldn't matter much if they are paid or personal). As for the odd questions from people that are surprised to find you are a woman; ignore them, but don't ignore red flags.
  • jagoda_k 9y ago
    Thank's a lot for your extensive comment. It's good to know there are people out there who had similar doubts/problems and managed to overcome the difficulties. You seem like a living success story :) Persistency is the key word here, since it's a quality I keep on missing. Maybe I get discouraged too easily. Thank you for answering my questions and words of support.
• happy-go-lucky 9y ago
  To begin with, I would learn and come to grips with the syntax of a beginner-friendly language. Then, put to use what you’ve learned by trying to solve some beginner exercises. For example, you may want to take a look at https://github.com/karan/Projects https://github.com/karan/Projects and a recent discussion about the same at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14481941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14481941. Get yourself familiar with some algorithms and data structures. Personally I benefited a lot from Problem Solving with Algorithms and Data Structures using Python: http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/pythonds/index.html http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/pythonds/index.... Learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, some popular code libraries, a web framework, and a database language. After the above, I would choose to work on a problem of my own. Think of something interesting and start building it. Start with something small. When you’re stuck on something, seek help. Last but not least, find another serious learner and learn things together. You could also look for a mentor that’s willing to help. Hope that helps.
  • jagoda_k 9y ago
    Thank you very much for your advice. I'm a bit overwhelmed with the links' content but it's good to know where to look for valuable exercises once I know more. You're absolutely right about finding another learner to study with (not such an easy thing as it would seem though).
• bahjoite 9y ago
  You might consider registering a profile with Freelancer sites (e.g. PeoplePerHour, Upwork, etc.) and bidding for one-off jobs. This is a good way to gain experience, develop skills and build a portfolio of work.
• thinkxl 9y ago
  I started my self-taught career at 29, now 33, I've a full time job as front-end developer. I switched from sales in the construction area in a different country. I came here with no English, no friends, no contacts. So I think you can become a front-end developer. It went like this: * 29 to 30 freelancing * 30 to 31 full time at a mid-size design agency * 31 to Today full time at a big company Ping me if you need help or advice (if I can provide any) at twitter @_jolvera or email jolvera at posteo.de Edit: formatting