How to become a Web Developer without a Degree?
You can become a full-stack web developer without a degree. You can use
- free online courses on youtube and other platforms,
- paid courses on Udemy or Udacity,
- classes on Skillshare
- or you can enroll for a web development Bootcamp.
Becoming a web developer without a degree is easy and straightforward these days. There are plenty of resources to guide you. There are many companies that employ web developers without requiring a degree.
Using online courses is one of the best ways to become a web developer without a degree. For example, Udacity has a program to help you become a web developer in just 4 months.
This program helps you to design and develop powerful modern web applications that form the foundation for the apps, websites, and systems that people and businesses use every day.
Here is the path you must take to become a web developer without a degree.
LEARN HTML, CSS AND JAVASCRIPT
To become a full-stack web developer, you must first learn the fundamentals of web development by understanding the core web technologies. These are HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
HTML is used for structuring a web page. It has elements that define the content of the web page. It is easy to learn and work with. CSS is used for styling web pages. It is used to add colors, sizes, columns, animations, fonts, responsiveness, and more.
Javascript is used to make your web pages dynamic and interactive. It is the first programming language that you will learn as a web developer. Make sure you understand Javascript so well. It is one of the most popular technologies in web development.
Once you have a good understanding of core web technologies, you can move on to learn CSS and Javascript frameworks. These frameworks are easy to pick up and they are good for rapid development and writing organized code.
Some of the most popular CSS and Javascript frameworks include Bootstrap, Materialize CSS, Tailwind CSS, Bulma, Foundation, React, Angular, Svelte, Vue, and many others. Make sure you have a solid understanding of CSS and Javascript before you move on to frameworks.
You can learn all of these technologies for free on SkillShare with a one month free trial.
LEARN A SERVER-SIDE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
The next step to take to become a full-stack web developer is to learn a server-side programming language. Server-side programming languages allow you to develop backend infrastructure for your web applications.
There are many server-side programming languages to choose from. Some of the popular ones include PHP, Python, Node.js, Ruby, Java, Kotlin, Elixir, and many others. Once you have an understanding of one programming language, it becomes easy to work with other languages.
To make your work easy and quick, you can use backend web frameworks such as Express.js (Javascript), Django (Python), Ruby on Rails (Ruby), Laravel (PHP), Phoenix (Elixir), Play (Java), Ktor (Kotlin), and many other. Make sure you gain a good understanding of programming fundamentals before you use frameworks.
You can also use server-side programming languages and backend web frameworks to develop Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These APIs allow two or more computer programs or applications to communicate with each other.
LEARN A DATABASE TECHNOLOGY
Another technology to add to your web development arsenal is a database. Databases are used for storing, maintaining, and accessing any sort of data. Databases are critical to many businesses and organizations; this is why your understanding of databases must be exceptional.
Relational and NoSQL databases are the most popular types of databases. Working with databases is not hard, most relational databases use Structured Query Language (SQL). Some of the most popular relational databases include MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL server, etc.
You can also use NoSQL databases like MongoDB, Firebase, Cassandra, etc.
For a start, learn only one technology in each category. After learning HTML, CSS, and Javascript, you can learn
- One CSS framework – Tailwind CSS is a great place to start.
- One Javascript framework – React is the most popular
- One server-side programming language – Node.js is highly recommended
- One backend web framework – Express.js is highly recommended
- One database technology – PostgreSQL for relational and MongoDB for NoSQL.
The combination of the above technologies is enough to help you become a successful full-stack web developer without a degree.
I have written a comprehensive guide to becoming a self-taught web developer, you can learn more from there.
PRACTICE AND BUILD A PORTFOLIO
Gaining recognition as a web developer without a degree does not come easily, you need to show through your work that you have valuable skills. This requires you to have a portfolio of web development projects.
You need to build a portfolio to showcase your work. You can do this through a website, a youtube channel, or by participating in open-sources projects. A website is a great place to start. You can build your own website using the technologies you have learned and let it speak for you.
You must also learn basic and advanced deployment as you practice and build your portfolio. You must be able to deploy your web applications to shared hosting like Bluehost or to other servers using AWS, Linode, or other platforms.
CONCLUSION
It is worth noting that becoming a web developer without a degree takes a lot of effort, dedication, discipline, and practice. You will not have guidance from lectures or a curriculum from an established university. You will have no one to be accountable to but yourself.
Online courses like the one offered by Udacity are helpful because you will have a lot of guidance, direction, a curriculum, and accountability. All in all, you don’t need a degree to become a web developer.
