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General Discussion

Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points
Posted by Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points

What should I create?

HI, If you have time : p

So, if you check the cooking blog, and the learnX site, the cooking site is better coded etc.. they are both not 100% finished, but close.. though, I was reading a post that was from two years ago on treehouse, saying that some websites are very basic. Right..

So, if what I do is 'basic', right.. What sites I should code? SOme complex e-commerce HTML/CSS site? I'm building a portfolio now so I can apply for a job.

Meanwhile i'm learning JavaScript, which is not really hard and here is a piece of code after two days http://codepen.io/Aurelian/pen/ZLQeGP , though this is 'sort of' logicall, espeically if you are familiar with the syntax. Took me all day to do that. But I learned a lot. As well as did some treehouse courses etc..

But, what do you think would be the best for me to code? In the cooking site, if you were to look on a recepte, i want to make it interactive with the modal. The Home page has javascript for carousel, but at the moment i set in for few minutes as I'm working on that.

What portfolio, or themes should I copy? What is the 'industry level'. I'm pretty confident with my CSS, on what I can do, anything I want. Without stuff like making CSS carousel .. no. ( I could probably learn that too.. but for what..).

So what should I build? I focus full time JavaScript now, but I still need to produce few sites before I can apply as I have no portfolio, apart form the other sites that are just a practice.

I Understand PHP OOP, and did JS prototyping once(though I don't fully understand that), but with practice I get used to it eventually, though I'm sure I can do simple web stuff with JS in few days of learning, heck I spend about 12hours a day now full time.

I'll tag Tim Knight and Kevin Korte if you guys are going to have time : p what do you think? The CV is almost ready, the portfolio.. need more sites and will need to review my code as well, since I didn't do that too.

And this job requirements for a front-end are crazy..

Just a junior front-end position,

You must live and breathe a few of these technologies/standards: HTML5 CSS/SCSS/SASS Javascript (jQuery, CoffeeScript, JSON, Ajax, Backbone.js, React.js, Node.js 

Knowledge of modern front-end tools/frameworks (Gulp, Grunt, Bootstrap, Susy, Breakpoint etc) 

Web standards and compatibility/browser/backwards compatibility Linux/apache/bash/deployment PHP Any experience with Wordpress or Magento will move you to the front of the queue.

oh of course pure JS, CoffeScript JSON, AJAx, react, backbone, node.. woah..

ALthough the range was from 18-28k pounds.

I could do HTML5 CSS/Sass, jQuery, (learning JS), I know what Ajax is. Any CSS framework. Gulp and Grunt is to do with JS.. Susy a Sass framework i think.

I got some 'weak' WP experience : p

I suppose, if i get my JS skill a bit up, I could be ready.

Anywas, what do you think about me, Tim, Kevin? Would you hire me on a honest note? I don't know if you did see the code or not.. but i hope you get what I mean.

Before I go from the place I'm now, and start to work in a mc-donald job or something somewhere, which will happen soon.. Id' like to be as prepared as i can before I live.

So once ig et my CV and portfolio as good as i can, id feel ok i suppose, because I'm flying in the air with what I'm doing, which is nothing I can show really.

3 Answers

Andrew Hunt
Andrew Hunt
7,665 Points
Andrew Hunt
Andrew Hunt
7,665 Points

Not that I'm Tim or Kevin, but for what it's worth I think those sites look really nice - particularly like the learnX site!

It's definitely stressful trying to find a job (I'm also looking in the UK - London). To be honest from everything I've seen (and heard) a lot of recruiters (in particular) seem to throw all kinds of tech into their ads without necessarily knowing what everything is.

As an example I took part in some training last year and the lecturer told us about a job ad he'd seen in about 2013 (for a senior dev role) with an essential requirement of 10 yrs + jQuery experience (when in fact that technology had only existed since 2006 or 7!)

Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points
Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points

You're Andrew! JavaScript teacher here at Treehouse!

Thanks :) the blog site I did with inspiration, the learnX was for someone, the other sites are just practice.

Oh, so there is a recruiter that doesn't know about this stuff?

: p 10years o experience in the first place is illogical in my opinion :D

Good to know there's a recruiter that does this stuff too.

Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points
Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points

Aurelian,

I think what you've been doing is great. I think you have enough to start reacting out to agencies or working to do more freelance for other people. There's never a point where you're "done" in my opinion. You've done awesome putting this stuff together... so I would just say, put yourself out there to win a few projects and jobs.

Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points
Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points

Hi Tim.

I feel I don't have enough to show, and I think I rush too fast right now in the first place - let's be honest, who want's to work in a 'low job' like McDonald, so I try to compress everything lol I don't know If that's a good idea, but few weeks left : p

Okay :D I will definitely do that! I will spam the whole upper UK with my CV and portfolio xd I feel that there is a gap in what I'm doing, (I know I have a little gap in JS - can fix with time) but in general. : p But if you say so, then, I believe I'm headed in the right direction!

Thank you!

Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points
Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points

The way I look at it though is you can use what you have to make more things. Be it friends and family... just to keep building it up. But I've had job applicants come in with less. No one is expecting you to be an expert for a junior position. They want you to be passionate and trainable.

Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points
Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points

The problem with friends and family is that they want to do projects that are out of my hand lol but I'm trying, now I might do few sites, hopefully, if I knew more back-end I could do anything, but I'm learning JS.

I though when comming to the job with Junior Front-end web developer, you need to be an expert in what you are doing, know HTML and CSS in and out, and be aware of everything etc.. then when it comes to JS, be able to do the basic stuff that website needs with JS, like modals, hamburger menu etc.. and then some fancy stuff. Plus know pre-processors, using tools like Gulp and so on, Website optimization etc.. know JS OOP, and even for a front-end developer PHP OOP lol

So hence I was focusing soo much with HTML and CSS, which I'm pretty much happy with it tbh at the moment, I feel I can find my self in my own code, where's before use od id's and .. was horrible.

So what is that a junior-front end web dev supposed to do? Or I : d The job applications I see, are.. very robust on what they want a junior front end to know, which for probably 95% I won't get it because of what they want, there are few that are exactly what I do, but I see one of these ad's every few days lol

Or is that a perfect candidate.

Well, I really want to learn and move forward, though I need to know the fundamentals before I can get a job i suppose, because it takes a while to learn stuff too, 4weeks learning laravel, they might just hire someone else : d I don't know.

There is still a lot of stuff to learn just to be at the basic level for me, and It's impossible to learn this in 20days.

But I'll finish off the CV, hopefullly tomorrow, and I'll start sending it, I can't possibly run out of companies to send my CV, right? If I was to send 100job applications a day, if there are that much in the first place. Though i'd be applying to the whole upper side of the UK< i suppose there should be plenty of some sort of jobs.

Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points
Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points

Juniors aren't experts Aurelian, that's why they're juniors ;). When we hire junior I'm definitely not looking for expertise in everything... that would be a senior position.

Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points
Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points

Oh, so the HTML/CSS, Sass learning I did.. Would be better if I was to focus on more on JS in the first place, and not to try and be 'expert' in the HTML and CSS lol and get the 'big' picture first : d not that it matters now, but it'll definitely help in life : p

Oh well, so I just go learn JS, and then, JS and then JS and once I sat long enough, well, and then PHP.. and then once I'm full stack, specialise in one. Big picture first right. S, need to learn JS and PHP, to a good level so i an do wahtever I want, and then, specialize in one.

Because who cares if I do back-end or front-end, if I'm a juniro right. Though specialization is better for marketing, as there is psychology behind it too.

If you had garbage, and you need a plumber, and here are the companies: Plumbers, Garbage Specialist , you would probably get the Garbage Specialist, right. Or something like that.

But I'm new! lol I should just get full stack and then do one in deep, but can always market my self as specialist in one right.

So I could either choose JS or PHP at this moment, it wont' really matter : d though JS would be better, in my opinion.

Meh, i write too much : d

Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points
Tim Knight
Tim Knight
28,888 Points

Aurelian,

Like I've said before... I can tell you're passionate but I feel like you're worrying way too much. Any learning you do is going to help you in the big picture of your career in web development be that JS or whatever. The stuff you did with Sass too is great. Learning PHP will definitely help you too. Even if you don't become a PHP expert you'll be able to better understand PHP that you might have to style and work around. There just isn't this point where you say "okay I have it all figured out, I'm an expert now." The learning process is always there and everything will help you.

Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points
Aurelian Spodarec
Aurelian Spodarec
10,801 Points

Thank you for all of your advice, and help! Really helped me! With the CSS architecture and some other things, as well as this. I felt with your advice I really jumped quite far from the previous point I was in the last few weeks.

I will continue doing what you said, and just go with it! :) See what happens :) thank you!

UPDATE Ups lol I don't like treehouse system because it goes up, but to reply to the answer I need to see it.

Andrew Hunt
Andrew Hunt
7,665 Points
Andrew Hunt
Andrew Hunt
7,665 Points

Thanks for the advice Tim, I think that's useful info for a lot of us starting out!