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Tawny Bartlett
24,674 PointsHow to specialise, and how to gain confidence ... any advice?
Hi there,
I was just looking for a bit of advice really if anybody can offer me some.
I am having an increasingly difficult time figuring out exactly what I should know to have the confidence to say "I'm ready to build a career in this".
I have a very varied job role where I work. I know HTML and CSS, I've recently learnt Less and can confidently edit and read PHP but not write it from scratch. I am not confident in Javascript or Jquery yet and so am focusing my attention there at the moment.
I have learnt a good deal of Magento and Drupal. I have delved into vhost work and am slowly getting to grips with server stuff and Apache. I also know Git very well.
I live in the UK. I'm really finding it hard to focus my learning path as I feel that I need to learn EVERYTHING to walk into an interview confidently. As a frontend developer/designer, I know it's best to focus on Javascript, CSS and HTML, but surely security stuff like vhosts and permissions are important and are needed knowledge?! And what if you don't know how to fix something?
Any advice would be fantastic. I really need to know what's expected of me. I am moreso interested in Frontend development. I have looked at the business courses in here about the job roles but would love to hear people's stories!
Thanks in advance!
Tawny
Tawny Bartlett
24,674 PointsI'm so sorry I didn't reply before. Thank you both Jake and Mark for your replies. It's really interesting to get external input and hear your opinions.
I will work moreso on CSS, Javascript and HTML, and for some reason my job atm is requiring a lot of PHP knowledge too so I'm delving a bit more in that also, but I will attempt to "specialise" moreso in the frontend languages.
You've definitely boosted my confidence and sent me in the right direction. I really did appreciate this when I read these but never got around to replying. Thank you!
1 Answer
Jake Rorrer
17,788 PointsHaving to do everything depends on where you work. At a larger company or an agency you would probably be more specialized... In theory, the workflow would be something like designer mocks up the site in Illustrator/Photoshop, then passes the assets to the front-end developer who codes the site in html/css and adds jQuery/javascript for interactivity. From there the back-end developer builds the server-side programs using something like PHP or Rails. Often the lines between these roles gets blurred and a designer may be expected to not only design the assets but also make it come to life with html/css. Sometimes the back-end developer also has to do the front-end in html, css and jQuery or Javascript because they are the only coder in their team, department or company.
If you are a freelancer, work for a smaller company, or work in a department where you are the only IT person, then you will likely have to know a little bit about all of these things. Services like WordPress and Drupal do a lot of the heavy lifting on the back-end so you don't need to be an all-out PHP wizard or completely rely on a back-end developer to get the job done. To me it sounds like you already have a lot of marketable skills focused on front-end and design. I would say keep refining those and never stop believing in yourself! You'll get there...
Tawny Bartlett
24,674 PointsI'm so sorry I didn't reply before. Thank you both Jake and Mark for your replies. It's really interesting to get external input and hear your opinions.
I will work moreso on CSS, Javascript and HTML, and for some reason my job atm is requiring a lot of PHP knowledge too so I'm delving a bit more in that also, but I will attempt to "specialise" moreso in the frontend languages.
You've definitely boosted my confidence and sent me in the right direction. I really did appreciate this when I read these but never got around to replying. Thank you!
myackley35
34,574 Pointsmyackley35
34,574 PointsHi Tawny!
That's a very common problem with folks that are diving into design/development. It's really easy to get overwhelmed with what you think you need to know to be a Front-End Dev, but developing that confidence will take you a long way. Keep building things with HTML/CSS/Javascript and keep pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone (if you find you're going a little too far you can always dial it back). Building things, especially working with other people, will help build that expertise and you'll start feeling a little more "at home" with this stuff. As someone who has interviewed designers/devs in the past I can tell you that confidence and being resourceful is everything in interviews and especially on the job.
For most jobs the HTML/CSS/Javascript stack is a pretty common base but usually there are some other things that get thrown in also depending on the position. PHP, Wordpress, Bootstrap/Foundation, and Sass seem to be commonplace for most client work. For product development positions it can really vary between a lot depending on the product (Angular.js, PHP, Wordpress, Bootstrap/Foundation, other CSS and JS frameworks).
It's going to be tough to master everything and doing so might be a little difficult. All you can do is try things out and see what you like to do and what you don't.
I hope this helps! Keep building and keep learning!