How do I get a job as a web dev?

Question

So basically I&rsquo;m a self taught webdev and a CS student and I want to get an entry level job in the industry. I made a website for myself to showcase some of the work I&rsquo;ve done but the problem is that most of the web apps/sites I&rsquo;ve built weren&rsquo;t meant to be shown off, they were tools I made to help me do things but I still learned quite a lot from those experiences.Backend development is my element, but I&rsquo;ve gotten really comfortable with front end work lately, particularly when I am using Tailwind and Sveltejs&hellip; I find that I don&rsquo;t even need to use component libraries for most things because I&rsquo;m good enough to design from scratch&mdash;even though that may not the most efficient solution. I still struggle here and there but nothing a quick session of Googling can&rsquo;t fix.Backend wise I&rsquo;ve worked with Flask, Django, SvelteKit, and Laravel.I will admit that my knowledge is very spread out, there isn&rsquo;t any one web technology that I understand on an intuitive level but I definitely have a solid grasp of the basics.To be honest any kind of job I can land in the tech industry will be life changing, I&rsquo;ve been stuck working in retail for way longer than I should&rsquo;ve been and if I can get a job in tech that pays something $20/hr as a starting point, I&rsquo;ll be content with that knowing I&rsquo;m advancing my career I just don&rsquo;t really know where to begin.If you were in my shoes and lived in the western United States, what would you do?

gregjor · Accepted Answer

Job market in the US very tough right now, especially for entry-level and junior people. You may know about the waves of large layoffs. To make matters worse companies increasingly use LLMs and no-code & low-code tools, eliminating jobs.
Recruiters won’t look at your web site, portfolio, GitHub repos, or leetcode scores unless they already have a strong interest in you. Much better to look for work through professional and personal contacts.
I have some free articles about job hunting and freelancing on my site typicalprogrammer.com. No ads, popups, or other nonsense.

_pktm_ · Answer

Thanks for posting this. A few thoughts come to mind.
1. What have you tried so far to find such a job?
2. Do you have a degree? I don’t personally believe they should be required but many employers hold a different view.
3. Are you open to a startup or do you prefer something more corporate?

How do I get a job as a web dev?

Thanks for posting this. A few thoughts come to mind.1. What have you tried so far to find such a job?2. Do you have a degree? I don’t personally believe they should be required but many employers hold a different view.3. Are you open to a startup or do you prefer something more corporate?

Thanks for posting this. A few thoughts come to mind.
1. What have you tried so far to find such a job?
2. Do you have a degree? I don’t personally believe they should be required but many employers hold a different view.
3. Are you open to a startup or do you prefer something more corporate?