Web development is a growing field that is always changing which means you always get to be on top of your game. It can be a competitive field, especially if you are new to the field and are self taught. That does not make it impossible to start a career in web development but can be a struggle if you do not have the right abilities or just not quite good to pass coding tests at job interviews. This can become frustrating especially if you are job searching and have had constant rejection with every company you have applied for. With the right kind of help you can improve your web dev abilities and start making money with your skills.

Here are 5 ways to continually improve your skills:

Practice

Whether you are brand new to coding and just learning java or have been in the industry for several years the most important thing you can do is practice. This doesn’t mean practice when you feel like it or you have some spare time, it means practicing every single day. This will let you build your skills and really help you solidify what you know. Just like any skill, whether it is a language or playing an instrument if you do not use it consistently you will lose what you have learned. To keep your skills up and sharp you will want to practice your skills everyday whether or not you have a job in web development. 

Reaching Out

A lot of the career and workplace is focused on having a mentor of some kind or getting a personal coach. This could be a sit down lesson where you meet for one hour on a weekly basis, a coding camp, or something as simple as a phone call at the end of the week. To choose an effective mentor you will want someone who is several steps ahead of you. They will be able to teach you and understand where you are coming from. You can learn from them and perfect your skills while building a connection with a human to help you reach your goals. 

Expectations

The best offense is a good defense. If you know what you are up against you will be able to prepare yourself. Whether that is applying for jobs or trying to switch companies you will need to do some serious research. Look at YouTube, read Reddit articles and read everything that you can get your hands on if it discusses getting into the web development field. You may have to practice your interview skills and learn how to better present yourself. You may also have to learn a new coding language or solve some hard problems. 

Career

When you get out into the workforce you will probably not be a senior developer who runs the whole team of developers. You will most likely be a junior developer or even an intern and from there you can climb the ladder to senior developer if you want to. There are other ways to advance your career such as going back to school, whether that means taking several years off or doing a masters program online. Whatever your choice you can better your position and increase your salary when you are ready. 

Connections

You may have the best skills out there but if you do not know how to get along with people or communicate effectively with them you will struggle finding a job. A good way to jumpstart your career in the field of web development is knowing someone who needs a project done or someone who works at a place where they are hiring junior web devs. Being around people who know more about web development will help you develop your skills in the long run. 

What are some ideas or techniques that you use when you want to improve your coding capabilities? Comment below to start the conversation.