How to Transition to a Career in Web Development During a Pandemic

My web development journey began about a year ago, in the spring of 2020, a few weeks after I had begun working from home due to the pandemic. Like many others, my industry was on indefinite hiatus and my preexisting doubts about my future in that industry weren’t going away any time soon.

I started learning Python, hoping that it could make me better at the job I had at the time. Due to pandemic-related circumstances, I was unemployed a few months later and unsure of what to do next. A few months after that, I attended one of Juno College’s Coding 101 Webinars and was introduced to HTML and CSS.

Now, I’m in the middle of Juno’s Web Development Bootcamp and hope to be working as a web developer later this year. Although my own transition to a career in web development is currently much more “transition” than “career”, I would like to outline my steps for a successful pivot to web dev:

Step 1: Spend several years listening to your friends/family/coworkers suggesting that you learn to code.

This one is pretty easy. Simply spend some time around people who want to see you succeed and inevitably one of them will suggest that you learn to code. I was lucky enough to have a coworker (a web developer) who felt so strongly that I should learn to code that he bought me a copy of Learn Python the Hard Way. My parents had also been on my case about looking into attending one of Toronto’s many coding bootcamps for years before I made a genuine effort to do so.

Step 2: Lose or lose interest in your job.

In my case, it was a little bit of both. For several years prior to 2020, I was working in the exact field that I wanted to work in and was optimistic about the future of my career. However, I eventually realized that the priorities and goals I had when I was 20 didn’t suit me as well at 25. The pandemic forced me back into the job market and lead me to the decision that I would have to gain some new skills in order to find jobs that I truly wanted and would still want further down the line.

Step 3: Dabble.

Maybe you’ve decide that it’s time for you to pivot but you haven’t decided exactly where you want to pivot to. This is when you start googling, seeking advice, and trying out different coding languages. Where you start won’t necessarily have much to do with where you end up so start throwing things at your keyboard and see what sticks. I started with Python because it was accessible to me at the time but I haven’t continued learning it at all since I started learning front-end languages about six months ago. Despite that, learning Python still gave me experience with things like object-oriented programming and the command line, which is invaluable to me now as a front-end developer.

Step 4: Take the leap.

If the last step was dipping your toes then this one is diving into the deep end. If you’re serious about making a career change to web development, data science, or something similar, you’re going to have to make a serious commitment. For me, this was enrolling at Juno. First in a pair of two-week introductory courses and now in their full-time nine week bootcamp. Whether your goal is to start freelancing on Fiverr or to make six figures working for Big Tech you will need to devote time, money, or energy (or most likely all three) to gain the necessary skills and experience.

Step 5: Get started on your new career.

Unfortunately, I don’t really have much advice to give on this topic. Stay positive and uh… hopefully it will all work out. Oh, what’s that? You already got a job!? Where? Are they hiring?