Thank you Community - I just got my first Front-End Web Developer Job. Here's my story :)

9 Months. 9 Months (Sept. 2017) since I graduated from University and entered the real-world. I had such a naive outlook on the job market and limited knowledge of its competitive environment. I tried so many angles on getting back up to the Bay Area to work as a Front-End Web Developer. Recently after announcing my achievement on Twitter, I was encouraged by Quincy to share my story here. I hope that I can inspire and motivate others to keep pushing and to NEVER, EVER GIVE UP. Let’s begin!

The Beginning

My coding journey got serious when I started to feel lost, yearning for direction post-grad. I tried creating side projects and watching tutorials, but I never felt fulfilled or had a true purpose. One afternoon I was searching the web for motivation and success stories…how did people achieve such a feat? It wasn’t until I discovered Lupe Camacho’s story and 100DaysOfCode that I realized I needed to code everyday, immerse myself in supportive communities, and never lose hope.

#100DaysOfCode and Twitter Communities

What a challenge. I read through the requirements and to be honest, I was intimidated. But for some reason, in the back of my head I thought, “100 Days? Yeah I can do that.” And so I went for it, day in and day out documenting my progress and sharing it on Twitter. The support was unreal, and to see others right there with you was so reassuring. January 11, 2018, the 100th day. I can’t believe it - I accomplished the challenge :blush: I’m so grateful that Alexander Kallaway created this challenge, it taught me more than just coding. I learned about self-discipline and finishing what you started. After all this, I was still in search of a Web Developer job. And so the months went by…

freeCodeCamp: A step in the right direction

Naturally, I sought out learning materials and decided to pick back up on freeCodecamp (new site looks great btw!) Some of my proudest projects come from the Intermediate API-based projects. I fell in love with the curriculum and my involvement in online communities grew immensely. They were projects I added immediately to my Resume because it felt good to validate what was written on paper. Throughout this journey, opportunities to further my skillset kept appearing. Most notably, the Grow with Google Challenge Scholarship

Scholarships and Nanodegrees, courtesy of Udacity & Google

Surprisingly enough I was awarded the Udacity/Google Challenge Scholarship (Front-End Web Developer Track) the day before completing my 100DaysOfCode challenge. It was for a 3-month course learning HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Phase 2 was the 6-month Nanodegree opportunity and I knew that would take me to the next level. So at the end of 3 months, I completed Phase 1 and waited for the Phase 2 decision. I felt like I put my all into Phase 1. Lo and behold, I was also accepted into Phase 2! It’s now April 2018, 7 months post graduation. The ups and downs were there for sure, but I knew I had to keep going. I reached out to my online communities like CodeNewbie, 100DaysOfCode, and others for advice, support, and inspiration.

Month 9: The Offer

May 2018 rolls by and I’m still applying. Still getting rejected. Still wondering if I’m good enough to be a Web Developer. I hear they call it, “imposter syndrome.” Some days it’s easy to shake, other days it leaves you feeling defeated. The first week of June, I spot an email regarding a position I applied to the week before. I’m excited, someone’s noticed me! And it’s in my field! Emails turn into phone calls, phone calls turn into interviews, and then…the BIG DECISION. June 21, 2018 I get the job as JUNIOR FRONT-END WEB DEVELOPER!!! :raised_hands::raised_hands::raised_hands: I immediately head to Twitter to share my news with my virtual buddies, people who I’ve seen get jobs, complete the 100DaysOfCode challenge, the whole nine. Even as I type, the love is still coming. I couldn’t be happier, not only from the job but because of the amount of genuine support and care we share with each other. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. Enough about me, this last section is all about YOU :pray:

A dear friend once told me: The “No’s” will always be there, you only need one “Yes”

1. Preparation

Practice, Practice, Practice! I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying: “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” Set aside time out of your busy days to really study, especially with a whiteboard! Here are some resources that have helped me along the way:

2. The Hidden Job Market

Literally learned about this last week, get this: More than 60 percent of jobs are not formally posted (Hidden Job Market Source). I was talking to a career advisor from my alma mater when she told me about this. With that being said, have a look at the article or even google “Hidden Job Market”. There’s a lot of tips for networking, informational interviews, and more!

3. Community

If I learned anything from this whole journey, it’s that community is everything. Front-End, Back-End, DevOps, you name it. I mainly use Twitter because that’s where I’ve found a lot of these communities, but they exist! Reach out to me on Twitter too! I’m going to list a few Twitter communities down below:

4. Desire

You’ve gotta want it, plain and simple. I don’t say that to overwhelm you, but 9 months ago, I was naive. I thought by receiving my degree I could just waltz in to a company and get a job. Sometimes it doesn’t work like that. You’ve gotta put the work in, go through some pain, and overcome that pain. You’ll come out a stronger, more disciplined person who knows what it takes to be great. Try visualization techniques, writing your goals down, and speaking them into existence. With this job, things started changing when I acted like I already had the job. I tidied up my room, wrote my goals down, and visualized them. Of course, you have to back those actions up with pure work. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

5. Self-Care

Probably THE most important out of everything I’ve discussed. Take care of your body please. Do what you must but please, do not destroy or risk your livelihood like coding for 10 hours straight, no breaks. Get some fresh air, stand up and stretch and come back. You’ll thank yourself later trust me :100: :100: :100:

This was by far the most reflective I’ve ever been in my coding journey. I hope you enjoyed reading and feel motivated to take on what the world and this job market throws at your. As always, have fun with what you do and as I said before: NEVER, EVER GIVE UP.

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You sir, the one I admire, true passionate programmer.

This is because I’m here, see people help people, great progress, awesome works, and success. Yes, thanks community.

Be patient on programming my comrade. Happy programming.

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Thank you @aontofon. This will definitely help me and motivate me to keep pursuing my dream of being a web developer. Cheers to you.:vulcan_salute:

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Of course @genchau YOU CAN DO IT! I know you can, it’s only a matter of time, Cheers! :smile:

Thank you so much @NULL_dev I love these communities because of all those reasons you mentioned. Happy coding! :hugs:

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Congratulations! Nice writeup.

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Thank you, I appreciate you for reading!

That was a great read Antonof, I am so proud of you!! Thank you very much for sharing it with us, it has motivated me. :slight_smile:

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Thank you for sharing your story with us in such detail.

May 2018 rolls by and I’m still applying. Still getting rejected. Still wondering if I’m good enough to be a Web Developer. I hear they call it, “imposter syndrome.” Some days it’s easy to shake, other days it leaves you feeling defeated.

Your words perfectly captures the reason why I think so many aspiring developers fizzle out during the job search. They remind me of an old quote from Thomas Edison:

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

It sure sounds like you faced this demon that and triumphed!

The “No’s” will always be there, you only need one “Yes”

I think everyone who’s in the midst of a job search should write this on a sticky note and put it on their bathroom mirror so they see it every morning. Such powerful advice.

Congratulations! It sounds like you really put in the work, and did everything you needed to do to land your first developer job. And now your hard work is starting to pay off!

Keep learning and keep pushing past the frontiers of your skills. Stay involved with the CodeNewbie community, the 100DaysOfCode community, the freeCodeCamp community, and all of us learning alongside you. Keep us updated on your progress, and the exciting insights you pick up from working as a developer.

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Been kinda weepy today and I am not a crier. After the rejection today from a really great company, this post, and your response is what I needed.

I am going to make a graphic of this:

and make it a wallpaper on my one monitor. Thanks for this community. It is one of the only things that keeps me motivated. Plus I am stubborn. LOL.

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Thank you! I was happy to share :smiley:

I love it!!!

Continue to dream, learn, network, and then some! I’m happy to see you still fighting and working toward your goals. Show these companies and the rest of the world who YOU are. Even if it means being stubborn :hugs::hugs::hugs:

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story :blush:

I am beyond happy and WILL continue to stay involved with all the communities and individuals that inspired me with their own triumphs, words of wisdom, and continuous support! I want to make sure that I continue to learn, network, and code.

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First of all A big Congratulation :clap::clap:
And thanks for sharing your motivational story of achievements.
100ofcode and freecodecamp are awesome resource to continue to achieve coding goals. I have started my journey on 3rd of May 2018 (thinking of never too late) and waiting of that day when I also can share my dream job story with my follow campers mean while read all of your story and working on my content :sunglasses:

started following you on twitter.

Cheers,
Monika

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Thank you so much! Yes they are, I love those communities :smile:

Congrats on taking on that journey, keep hustling and focusing on your goals! It’s possible, we have to believe in ourselves first and visualize our success. I appreciate you for reading my story :blush:

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Thank you for sharing your story !
The post is very inspiring and motivates me to keep going and NEVER, EVER GIVE UP.

YES ! All we need is to keep in mind that hard work will definitely be rewarded ,
Practice and Persevere.

Thanks to FreeCodeCamp for helping us in this journey. Congrats for the job @aontofon ! All the best.

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congratulations :grinning::grinning::heart_eyes:

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Thank you :raised_hands:

Thank you! I’m happy to hear that. You’ll get to where you want to be and thank yourself for persevering and improving everyday.

Congratulations and best of Luke in your new assignment

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