upthechels1960:
I'm an intermediate and very comfortable with html, and css. I am familar with reactjs too. I have built a landing page and weather app with react. my problem is, I want to start deep-diving into these strong portfolio projects like the ones you mentioned here but I don't know how to start all by myself except I watch a tutorial and code along. Is that how you built these big projecs?

Nelson0019:


Good Day Bro

Your thread has really motivated and enlightened me, and I am begining to seriously consider taking up coding and web development.

I am a tech savvy individual, and really want to venture into coding.

I am a medical students, but still have enough time to venture into most activities.
I don't know if you can give me an insight on how I can go about starting, and what I need to know, fears, expectations, and all what not.

Any opinion will be highly appreciated Bro.

Thanks

TheManOfTheYear:
Hi guys, yeah so I'm dedicating this thread for the purpose of outlaying my job hunting experiences so far in getting my first full time tech role.

This might give aspiring learners and complete beginners an overview of what to really expect (or so I hope).

TheManOfTheYear:
Really didn't want the mods to take this thread to front-page. Arrgh!!

Now the sequence looks kinda disrupted.
Hmmmm

LUAN:
I find it difficult learning with my phone app like sololearn,..how do I learn with phone because I don't have a laptop for now

TheManOfTheYear:
So yesterday I submitted my task to the Europe based start-up.
I really struggled with the task, especially some features not working from the Redux area.
But I submitted anyway.

The recruiter contacted me today that they received my submission. They are reviewing it, but she told me whatever the feedback is, it would be "actionable".

Meaning if they aren't satisfied, they'd give me feedback so I can complete it based on the feedback.
If they are impressed enough, I'd proceed to a technical interview.

The position is a junior position, and they really committed to training enough juniors for their company.

Now, assuming I get the job, I would undergo a three month probation period. Afterward, a laptop and workstation upgrade would be sent to me. A mentor (a senior colleague) would be assigned to me etc

This is just to give an insight on how most foreign startups welcome a new employee. But like I say, the hurdle lies in getting in.

I've received a total of about 12 rejection mails so far. That's just the way it is, it's usually a game of numbers. Not necessarily merit. That's why your CV and GitHub are extremely important.
They are the first impressions. A one-page CV is ideal, though mine is two-pages.

A GitHub with good activity and solid projects is key too. So I believe.
The first impressions would get you the interviews. Then your expertise and knowledge can take over afterwards. Not the other way around.

I have a writing work to complete. Man must collect small change take hold body for now

TheManOfTheYear:
From my job search experiences so far, what I'd tell aspiring devs is to build real-time projects.
Mostly projects that require you to fetch API data, solve a basic need in everyday life.

Brush up on your basic CSS, because most of the take home test I've gotten forbade me from using CSS frameworks, component libraries and stuffs.

Learning GraphQL and REST APIs would really play a
great role here. Alongside their client queries like Apollo, Axios, FetchAPI etc

You may likely be given a design to replicate alongside the task.

Of course I'm speaking from a front-end point of view.
I can't really say what's applicable to other fields.

Just last week, I had a phone call interview with a Nigerian based start-up in Yaba.
The guy seemed to like my personality because I could accurately describe the milestones I achieved in my previous internship experiences.
Learning some professional tech terms helped me there.

But a phone interview is just a preliminary stage. Waiting to hear a call back from them for the next stage.

I'm not really that interested in Naija companies lol.
Majority of them require on-site presence, me wey love remote work.
And considering the economy, the salary would be pretty low especially for juniors.

Let's see how it goes.

laidenews:
Exactly, he will give up and then come back to it if he’s really determined.

Learning to program/code is no beans.

TheManOfTheYear:
So yeah, I've been coding since 2019, I wasn't consistent actually, it was on and off, I could say the stress of school was a major reason for the initial inconsistencies.

I'm coming from an Industrial Chemistry major, but I've always loved computers, I've always been tech savvy.

Well, Sololearn and W3Schools were my early teachers in the field of web development. I learnt HTML and CSS using those two platforms. They are awesome resources for beginners, I definitely recommend.

TheManOfTheYear:
I started searching for sites that pay writers to write for them

TheManOfTheYear:
What airsaylongcome stated is true.
One of the US based start-ups I applied to just reached out to me to proceed with my interview process.

They are based in Delaware, which I believe has like 6 hours difference.

Well, they are giving me a take-home test, but I'm to submit in 3 days.
This is definitely easier as compared to the one the Europe based start-up gave me.

I'm on it already. Everything is overwhelming at this point. I'd stop making further applications for now

TheManOfTheYear:
Now if there's something I know everyone in tech agrees on, it's the fact that the tech interview process is broken.
Like, most interview process are too hectic and mentally draining even more than the actual job. (I'm speaking from a developer's point of view).

I don't know if the designers have it easier, but I suspect no one does. Even the PMs and the rest.

I'd always see tensazangetsu20, qtguru and the rest talk about data structures and algorithms, and how hectic it is to learn them. When majority of them wouldn't even be used in real life software development.

Well, for juniors like us, I wouldn't reckon we need to learn that. At least I've not come across any company asking DS and A for a junior role.

Except of course some FAANG-ISH companies and startups. I'd be documenting my interview experience in the last 2 months, unbiased.

TheManOfTheYear:
So yesterday I submitted my task to the Europe based start-up.
I really struggled with the task, especially some features not working from the Redux area.
But I submitted anyway.

The recruiter contacted me today that they received my submission. They are reviewing it, but she told me whatever the feedback is, it would be "actionable".

Meaning if they aren't satisfied, they'd give me feedback so I can complete it based on the feedback.
If they are impressed enough, I'd proceed to a technical interview.

The position is a junior position, and they really committed to training enough juniors for their company.

Now, assuming I get the job, I would undergo a three month probation period. Afterward, a laptop and workstation upgrade would be sent to me. A mentor (a senior colleague) would be assigned to me etc

This is just to give an insight on how most foreign startups welcome a new employee. But like I say, the hurdle lies in getting in.

I've received a total of about 12 rejection mails so far. That's just the way it is, it's usually a game of numbers. Not necessarily merit. That's why your CV and GitHub are extremely important.
They are the first impressions. A one-page CV is ideal, though mine is two-pages.

A GitHub with good activity and solid projects is key too. So I believe.
The first impressions would get you the interviews. Then your expertise and knowledge can take over afterwards. Not the other way around.

I have a writing work to complete. Man must collect small change take hold body for now

superboyspecial:


I hope you don't mind my asking: When you apply for jobs, do you send your CV with a cover letter or just the CV?
Currently on the job search and all I've received have been rejections
Rejections that would have been better if at least one was told where it is he is lacking, to maybe scale up but unfortunately, it's always the same kind of message.

Isvo:


Hi pls can I see your portfolio website

TheManOfTheYear:
Yes baby!!
The US start-up contacted me that I've moved to the next stage lol.

I'm proceeding to a technical interview with the CTO and the engineering team. Now I don't even know what to prepare on. This is where it gets tricky. God got us though!

Obviously the test I was given in the first stage was a react test that involved me cloning a particular web app and implementing an OAuth login (most challenging aspect), and Fetching API data using Redux Toolkit.

I was given 3 days to complete it. I submitted about 30 minutes to the deadline

Now, I have just a few days to prepare for this interview. Let's see how it goes.

TheManOfTheYear:
What airsaylongcome stated is true.
One of the US based start-ups I applied to just reached out to me to proceed with my interview process.

They are based in Delaware, which I believe has like 6 hours difference.

Well, they are giving me a take-home test, but I'm to submit in 3 days.
This is definitely easier as compared to the one the Europe based start-up gave me.

I'm on it already. Everything is overwhelming at this point. I'd stop making further applications for now

llaykorn:
Hi TheManOfTheYear

I really enjoyed reading about your experiences. I hope things turn really really beautiful for you. I'm an aspiring web developer too. I just started studying React with the fullstackopen course and I'm totally glad about what you're doing.

PapaNnamdi:

It's true , don't be in a hurry to learn it,


When JavaScript became frustrating, I just gave up the fact that I will make money from it immediately, and learnt at my own pace,
That was when I started enjoying JavaScript,

It's so flexible u can even use it for backend

TheManOfTheYear:
So yesterday I submitted my task to the Europe based start-up.
I really struggled with the task, especially some features not working from the Redux area.
But I submitted anyway.

The recruiter contacted me today that they received my submission. They are reviewing it, but she told me whatever the feedback is, it would be "actionable".

Meaning if they aren't satisfied, they'd give me feedback so I can complete it based on the feedback.
If they are impressed enough, I'd proceed to a technical interview.

The position is a junior position, and they really committed to training enough juniors for their company.

Now, assuming I get the job, I would undergo a three month probation period. Afterward, a laptop and workstation upgrade would be sent to me. A mentor (a senior colleague) would be assigned to me etc

This is just to give an insight on how most foreign startups welcome a new employee. But like I say, the hurdle lies in getting in.

I've received a total of about 12 rejection mails so far. That's just the way it is, it's usually a game of numbers. Not necessarily merit. That's why your CV and GitHub are extremely important.
They are the first impressions. A one-page CV is ideal, though mine is two-pages.

A GitHub with good activity and solid projects is key too. So I believe.
The first impressions would get you the interviews. Then your expertise and knowledge can take over afterwards. Not the other way around.

I have a writing work to complete. Man must collect small change take hold body for now