How I Became A Web Developer In 3 Months

Summary

In this video, the creator shares their inspiring journey to becoming a web developer in less than three months. Faced with financial struggles and working as a flight attendant, they discovered a passion for web development. Starting with minimal resources and learning from books, they built an internal website for their company, which led to career growth and a role in web marketing. The video emphasizes the ease of learning web development today, encouraging viewers to pursue the field by starting with real-world projects, and assuring that formal certifications are not necessary to succeed.

Takeaways

• 😀 Becoming a web developer changed the speaker's life, and they accomplished it in less than three months.
• 💡 The speaker had to support themselves financially from a young age due to family circumstances.
• ✈️ They worked as a flight attendant but realized it wasn’t their dream job, leading them to explore web development.
• 📚 Learning web development in the past was harder, with limited resources, but the speaker learned through books and self-study.
• 💻 They started by identifying a problem at work, where files weren't being synced, and proposed building an internal website to manage inventory.
• 🛠️ The speaker learned foundational web development skills like HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL, along with tools like Photoshop.
• 🏗️ The speaker emphasizes the importance of working on real-world projects to speed up learning and progress in web development.
• 📈 They successfully completed their first web project (a mini intranet) in less than three months, which led to a career advancement opportunity.
• 🎨 The speaker is passionate about creativity, combining design, development, and video in their web projects.
• 🚀 The speaker encourages others to pursue web development, emphasizing that formal degrees aren’t necessary and that building a strong portfolio is key.

Q & A

What prompted the speaker to become a web developer?

The speaker was in an uncomfortable financial situation and needed to find a sustainable career. They had always been interested in web design after a family project, and decided to pursue web development to improve their situation.

How did the speaker begin learning web development?

The speaker initially started learning from books, as there were fewer resources available online at the time. They purchased a large book on dynamic websites and worked through it, despite the difficulties and errors they encountered.

What was the first project the speaker worked on to gain practical experience?

The speaker identified a problem at work with managing furniture stock through Excel sheets and decided to build an internal website (intranet) to manage the inventory, even though they didn't yet know how to build websites.

What challenges did the speaker face while learning from books?

Learning from books was challenging due to the size of the books, errors in printed materials, and the need to wait for corrections online. This made learning frustrating and time-consuming.

Why does the speaker believe it’s easier to learn web development today?

The speaker believes it’s easier today because of the availability of free resources on platforms like YouTube, as well as structured learning websites like Codecademy and Treehouse, which weren’t available when they started.

What advice does the speaker give to people starting out in web development?

The speaker advises focusing on real-world projects as they accelerate learning, not giving up when things get hard, and starting with the basics like HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL. They also suggest not trying to learn everything at once to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

What is the importance of building real-world projects according to the speaker?

Building real-world projects helps you progress much faster because it provides practical experience, similar to learning a language through immersion rather than just studying from a book.

How did the speaker’s career evolve after building the intranet project?

After building the intranet, the speaker applied for a position in the newly formed web marketing department, which they got with the help of a recommendation from their boss. This opportunity allowed them to advance their career further.

Does the speaker think formal certifications are necessary for becoming a web developer?

No, the speaker believes that formal certifications or degrees aren’t necessary to become a web developer. They emphasize that having a strong portfolio is far more important to employers in this field.

What additional skills did the speaker acquire after becoming a web developer?

The speaker expanded their skill set by learning design software like Photoshop and incorporated video production into their web development projects. They also became a freelancer, giving them the freedom to choose their own projects and hours.

Outlines

00:00

🛠️ Overcoming Challenges to Become a Web Developer

The speaker shares their journey to becoming a web developer in less than three months. They recount their difficult financial situation, having to support themselves from age 17 while their father was in a war-torn country. Initially, they became a flight attendant but soon realized that it wasn’t their dream. After recalling a positive experience with web development during a family project, they decided to self-learn using books, despite limited resources at the time.

05:00

🚀 Real-World Projects Accelerate Learning

The speaker emphasizes the importance of working on real-world projects to accelerate progress in learning web development. They compare learning from books alone to learning in a real-world environment, arguing that the latter provides faster and deeper understanding. They give the example of someone learning a language by immersion versus studying alone, drawing parallels to their own experience of building an internal project for their company, which led to a promotion and a shift into web marketing.

10:01

🎨 Embracing Creativity and Freedom in Web Development

In this section, the speaker reflects on the life-changing impact of pursuing a web development career. They highlight the creative freedom it offers, noting how it allows them to work with different media—text, images, video, and sound. After building enough skills and confidence, they transitioned to freelancing, which gave them control over their own hours and projects. They discuss the challenges of being financially independent but appreciate the freedom it provides. They also mention their hybrid role as a front-end developer and web designer, now mostly working with WordPress.

💻 Tools and Tips to Start a Career in Web Development

The speaker encourages aspiring web developers not to be discouraged by a lack of resources or experience. They reassure the audience that no formal degree or certification is necessary to succeed in this field, emphasizing the importance of building a portfolio over academic qualifications. They share their personal experience of feeling imposter syndrome despite having built numerous projects. The speaker advises beginners to focus on mastering the basics and working on real-life projects to make steady progress and be ready for junior positions in as little as three months.

Keywords

💡Web Developer

A web developer is someone who builds and maintains websites. In the context of the video, the speaker narrates how they became a web developer in less than three months, emphasizing the skills they acquired (HTML, CSS, PHP, etc.) and the projects they worked on, such as creating an internal website for their company.

💡Self-Learning

Self-learning refers to the process of acquiring knowledge or skills without formal education or instruction. The speaker describes how they taught themselves web development by reading books and working on real-world projects, highlighting the importance of persistence and practical learning in their journey to becoming a web developer.

💡Real-World Projects

Real-world projects are tasks or challenges that simulate or mirror real-life situations. The speaker emphasizes that working on a real-world project, such as building an internal inventory website, accelerated their learning process. They encourage others to learn through practical application, stating that this approach can speed up skill acquisition.

Highlights

Became a web developer in less than three months, although it felt longer due to continuous learning.

The turning point was when I realized the potential of web development during a family project where I built a webpage.

Worked as a flight attendant, which was a great job, but it wasn’t my passion. I desired a more fulfilling career.

Applied for an IT department job, even without web development experience, and started working in first-line support.

Identified a problem in the IT department where an Excel sheet wasn’t synced properly and decided to build an internal website to solve the issue.

Learned web development by reading books, which was challenging due to errors in the books, but pushed through with determination.

Started learning HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL, which were the foundational skills I needed to build my project.

Built the internal website, which became a 'mini intranet,' in less than three months and presented it to my boss, who was shocked by the outcome.

A year later, a new web marketing department was created, and I applied for and secured the job, thanks to my initiative with the intranet project.

Progressed rapidly by working on real-world projects, which accelerated my learning and skill development.

Realized that today, learning web development is much easier with online resources like YouTube, Codecademy, and Treehouse.

Gained confidence in my skills over time, and after working for others, I eventually became a freelancer, building my own company.

Overcame imposter syndrome, even though I had built complex projects, and later got a web developer certification, but never had to show it to any employer.

Encouraged others that you don’t need a degree or certification to become a web developer; real-world experience and projects are what matter most.

Emphasized that starting small, focusing on the basics, and working on real projects is the key to rapid growth and securing junior developer positions.

Transcripts

hey youtube

today i want to share my story of how i

became a web developer in less than

three months and why i believe it's

easier today than it was back then

now the truth is i didn't even realize i

had achieved it in such a short time

because you never stopped learning but

he did change my life and that's the

story i'm gonna share today

so as a young adult like many people i

was in an uncomfortable situation

and i had to sustain myself ever since i

was 17

not because my father didn't want to

help me but at this time he lived in

another country and there was war over

there so he tried his best and even

within war he was trying to help me the

best he could

but you know

it's like i had to man up you know i

wanted to help him too and i know he had

a lot on display so i had to fly you

know on my own

so like i said financially it was really

uncomfortable and i couldn't keep

studying so i had to drop

my studies and i decided to go and stop

working

now the thing is i didn't want to pick

any job and just be bored and

since i was good with languages

i applied as a flight attendant i got

the job so i started traveling

it was kind of cool you know i made

decent money i was traveling a lot met a

lot of nice people the thing is

flight attendant is a great job but it

was just not my dream

so i was looking for myself like many of

us and i started thinking and reflecting

on my life and i remember the feeling i

had the day i built a web page it was a

family project and i loved this

so i decided to start digging and trying

to find information and bear in mind

there weren't as many resources as you

can find today here on youtube for

example so i started looking through

books of course i went through websites

but i started you know looking at buying

books and learning on my own and

precisely at that time so i was working

as a flight attendant like i said but

there was a job opening in the it

department

so i decided to apply and i got the job

i was good with computers so i got a job

it was just to help fix you know first

line of support

so i got a job and then i had my plan

because now it became a reality because

i wanted to be part of the web team

so my plan was to identify the issues

and how i could help

with the web

so i quickly identified an issue within

the it department because we had a list

of furnitures and it was an excel sheet

it was supposed to be synced on the

network but

you know my colleagues used to make

copies and it was never synced and that

led to a lot of issues with people

needing the furnitures

so i thought why not build a website

internally so that we can manage the

stock

basically i wanted to build an internet

now the issue is i didn't know how to

build websites and much less web

applications so i had to learn

so like i said i bought some books

about a really thick book i mean

i was just discouraged by looking at the

size of this book but it gave me a

promise that it could teach me how to

build dynamic websites so

i used this book there was a project

like i think it was i don't know a book

rental or something like that but i just

wanted to grasp the concept and i

thought if i figured this out then i

could build this mini internet

so i started learning and because now i

had a better schedule you know i had a

regular nine-to-five schedule then i

took any opportunity to actually start

learning more and more

at noon in the evening even at nights

and i kept working so so hard

now trust me

learning from a book

it's crazy hard especially at that time

when

there were many errors in the books and

then you had to wait for the online

version to be corrected but in the

meantime i mean you would go

crazy and that's why in the beginning i

said that i believe that today it's

easier but more on that later

so i learned with the book but at this

time i didn't know if i wanted to be a

front-end developer a back-end developer

a full stack developer or a web designer

because i always loved the design part

more but at the same time

i was intrigued by the code and all the

magic feeling you know when you code

something and then you build it yourself

so i had to learn

the basics html css php mysql

and that was that was a good start as a

skill set and it was a lot to learn plus

i had to learn a few softwares like

photoshop i knew photoshop a little bit

already but you know i wanted to get

better at it so

got a long story short i had to learn a

lot of skills to be able to complete

these projects

and by the way in my opinion

if you want to progress fast the key is

to first of all don't give up but that's

true for everything in life

because the first time it's hard the

second time it gets easier and on and on

but you already know that

but the real takeaway here is that

if you build a real world project you're

gonna progress so fast

so of course it was hard it was really

hard like i said today you can pretty

much learn anything for free here on

youtube

and if you want something a little bit

more structured you have websites like

codecademy or team treehouse and many

others so really there's no excuse

nowadays

but the thing is like i said

if you craft i mean if you

study because you have to complete a

real war project you're going to grow so

much faster you're going to progress way

faster it's a little bit like if you

want to learn a language

just

in a book

by yourself

or

you want to learn a language you have

the book but you go to a foreign country

and then you're stuck there and you need

to talk to people

you're gonna learn on the spot you're

never gonna forget the vocabulary you

will know the expressions you know the

language inside out i mean if you stay

there long enough

but

you know i can practically bet that

someone that stays two years in a

foreign country

and someone that studies at home

just by themselves for two years

the level is going to be so different

i think we can all agree with that

so back to my story

i completed the mini internet project in

less than three months and i hadn't told

anyone i was working on it i mean at

work

so once i finished i went to my boss and

showed him the mini intranet

and i had built the documentation

everything

he was shocked he was really shocked but

positively shocked

and to cut a long story short a year

later a new department opened it was the

web marketing department okay it's

laughable because nowadays you know all

companies have

some kind of web marketing department

but at the time

in that company there was web it was

commercial and

at this time they decided to merge web

and commercial with marketing and do a

web marketing department

there was a position i applied and my

boss put a very great word for me and i

got the job job that many people wanted

and

when i left the department he told me

i probably shot myself in the food

because i wanted you to stay here in the

department but you deserve it so go and

have fun

and i did

so when i say that embracing a web

developer and web designer career

changed my life it's an understatement

because basically i went from feeling

financially insecure

uh just lacking confidence to actually

embracing a career that i love having

fun being paid to be creative while not

getting bored i mean okay it's not all

always

like this sometimes you get bored but

most of the time i don't get bored i

have fun

and there are a lot of challenges plus

the web is evolving and nowadays for

example i use more and more videos so i

do a lot of video production that i

incorporate in my websites and my

projects

and when i think back about all of

what happened to me and i look at my

friends some of my friends that had a

better startup in life than i had

and

then i saw them going to jobs that they

hate and it kind of made me sad for them

i even tried to put word for them to let

them know okay maybe you need to do

something else but what i realized is

when you don't have the choice

you're gonna do it

so if you're in a spot right now where

you don't make a lot of money you don't

know what to do with your life and if

there's any chance that you could like

or even love web design

it's a great career

for me gives me a lot of freedom like i

said i'm a creative person and

i've explained in another video

all the jobs that i tried in my life but

the thing is

with web design

i'm feeling myself actually with all

things creative but what i like with web

design is that you got text you get

images you got video you got sound get

everything everything creative and the

cherry on the cake is that after a few

years working for other people i had

enough skills and confidence to actually

start flying on my own so i became a

freelancer and you know building my own

company

it feels great i can choose my own hours

i can feel the freedom now i work a lot

because yes you get to choose your own

hours but if you don't work you don't

get paid so

you need to get past that barrier of

being scared to find your own money but

once you've done that i mean it's great

now i consider myself a hybrid front-end

developer web designer even though i've

done some back-end development and

sometimes i still do lightweight but

sometimes i still do

even though nowadays

most of the projects i do are wordpress

projects because where i live this is

what the target demographic wants if i

want to make a living where i live i

need to do wordpress

and

to be honest i don't want to reinvent

the wheel every time i start a project

but still

i still love web development and i'm

trying to incorporate some kind of

manual custom web development in each of

my projects

now

as mentioned in the intro the reason why

i'm doing this video is because i want

to give you hope

no matter where you are in life if you

like web development and web design you

don't know where to start fear or not

because you can start for free you can

learn a new craft a new skill set and

you can make a living you can quit being

scared of what you're going to do or

financially how you're going to cope

you can do it

and these are not just words me and many

others have done it

so as long as you have a way to watch

this video i assume you have some kind

of device and you have an internet

connection and of course it's better to

have a computer it's better to have a

computer than a tablet if you want to

become a web developer but some people

can learn on tablet if you have one but

if you can get your hands on a computer

even an old computer that's all you need

to get started you don't need all the

fancy bells and whistles even though

with time you want the bells and

whistles you want a fast computer

because you want to try a lot of stuff

but just to get started just to learn

html css php mysql even with an old

computer a very cheap one you can get

started now one thing that really helped

me back when i was getting started and i

want to help you with this is that i

really thought that you absolutely

needed a degree or some kind of

certification to get hired and i could

not be further from the truth because

in our discipline you don't need a

certification you don't need a degree

now of course some companies they're

going to ask for a degree up front

because you know they they're really

trying to choose between all the

applicants

but most of the employers

what they need is to see your portfolio

now the funny thing is

at the time i still had that mentality

so even though i was already a developer

and i didn't realize it because i had

impossible syndrome i had built a mini

internet then i was building a lot of

stuff

but still i had imposter syndrome so i

went back to take evening classes

and i got myself a web developer

certification

but the thing is i never had to show it

to any employer

not even once in my whole life not

i don't even know where it sits right

now i know i have it i don't know where

it is

and i know it may be hard to believe

especially if you come from an education

where your parents told you that you

absolutely need a degree of

certification to make it in life

now don't get me wrong i'm not saying

that it's bad to have a degree or

certification but what i'm saying is if

currently you have no money you need to

make some money you don't have a lot of

time and resources then

i want you to feel safe and know that

you don't need to get into debt to

change your life

just don't try to learn everything at

once otherwise you're gonna feel

overwhelmed start with the basics work

with a real life project and see

yourself progress

and if you put your time heart and soul

into it in three months time you'll be

applying for your first junior positions

and start a new chapter with your life

you