How I Became a Web Developer Without a Computer Science Degree

First, let me introduce myself. I am Gzim Asani, a Microverse alumni who just completed my journey with Microverse and got my first job offer! In this article, I explain my personal experience with web development and my learning process.

Before Microverse, I had zero coding experience and knew absolutely nothing about computer science and coding languages. My bachelor’s degree was in Applied Sciences with majors in Economics and Management.

I know that there are a lot of sites and schools that claim to give you the necessary skills to land your first programming job, but Microverse gives you not only the programming skills but also the soft skills you need to succeed, like:

• Communication skills
• Interview tips
• Advice on building your resume, CV, portfolio, etc.
• And much more!
  

The team at Microverse is with you at every step, and you do not just follow tutorials—you are required to finish over 50 coding projects, which get evaluated and reviewed, so you get tips along the way.

So far, this is the best decision that I have made, and I will be forever grateful to Microverse. My journey started when a Facebook ad about Microverse caught my attention, and I decided to take the chance, given that I had just lost my job because of COVID-19. After a few emails with the Microverse team, I learned that I needed at least basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JS to start my learning journey.

The basics: HTML & CSS

First, I started learning HTML and CSS through freeCodeCamp and CodeSchool, which are great resources to get going with basic HTML and CSS. I used freeCodeCamp a lot since it is very beginner-friendly, and you code along the way, which gives you great motivation and confidence as a beginner.

All the basic topics that you should have tried at least once before joining Microverse are part of freeCodeCamp. You also have a chance to learn about responsive web designs, such as Grid and Flexbox. You’ll go over these again during Microverse’s HTML and CSS module, but it will be much easier if you at least saw and tried the basic concepts before.

Diving into JavaScript

I began my journey learning Javascript through freeCodeCamp as well, which taught me the JavaScript basics. At the same time, I took this Udemy course which was very helpful for me since JavaScript is hard to grasp at first. The combination of freeCodeCamp and Udemy did the trick to prepare me for Microverse.

Also, the free book Eloquent Javascript: A Modern Introduction to Programming by Haverbeke is a very good choice since it teaches the basics and dives into the more advanced stuff. This book is recommended in a lot of JavaScript forums as a must-read, and for a good reason—it covers a huge scope of programming, even if it seems ruthless when you first start it.

The book was tough for me to get through at times, and it’ll be for you too if you are a JavaScript newbie like I was. If you start with this book, please do not skip the coding challenges because once you finish reading this book, you will be able to say with confidence that you know a thing or two about JavaScript.

Get familiar with Git, GitHub, and Operating Systems

I never knew that I needed Git before I learned what you could achieve with it! Git lets you keep track of every code change that you have made, so if something goes wrong, you can always go back to before you made that mistake. Git also includes the code history, which you can check anytime you need.

GitHub is just an online version of Git, and you’ll work with GitHub all the time with your Microverse partners. Learning the basics of GitHub ahead of time will spare you and your partners a lot of time at the beginning of your journey.

Also, choosing the right operating system can save you time and increase your productivity. Personally, changing my operating system from Windows to Linux has saved me a lot of time, since installing dependencies with Linux is always easier, and I saw my coding partners struggle a lot with Windows.

A few more tips

During your journey in Microverse, you will not stop after learning HTML, CSS, and Javascript. You’ll continue learning about React in the frontend, and Ruby and Ruby on Rails in the backend.

Remember that the journey to learn web development of any language starting from zero will be very hard. You’ll doubt yourself a lot along the way, but keep the consistency and never compare yourself to others because everyone has their own pace.

Try not to get stuck in rabbit holes and tutorials—remember that going back to relearn something is not necessarily bad!

At the end of the day, you learn with practice, and if you want to take the next step and start to learn web development, I would suggest Microverse because of my personal experience. They gave me the sources, materials, and structure of learning to succeed, and the team was by my side whenever I needed. The only thing asked of me was commitment and to not give up.