How Long Does It Take To Become A Web Developer?

Many people who want to become a web developer always ask: how long does it take to become a web developer? It is instructive to note that what is more important in learning web development is interest; and not duration. If you do not show genuine interest, you will fall by the way-side. Coding is not for those who give up easily when learning new things.

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Table of Contents

• Front-end and Back-end Development
• Skills are more important than degree
• Where to learn web development?
• Going to a school
• Attend a boot camp
• Paid Online Tutorials
• Train Yourself
• Web Development Opportunities
• Conclusion

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Front-end and Back-end Development

What to learn is divided into two paths – front-end and back-end development. It makes sense to learn front-end development for a start.

Front-end development comprises HTML and CSS. These are two key important coding languages for front-end designs. Then, there is JavaScript as a basic client-side programming language. With these three, you will be proficient enough to take care of the visual part of a website.

The back-end development side is the non-visual part where core programming languages such as PHP, Ruby, Java and Python are needed with database – MySQL.

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Skills are more important than degree

Web design and development is a highly skill-related career. It will be an added advantage if you have a degree in Computer Science and also possess web development skills. You won’t be considered if you have a degree in Computer Science without the requisite skills in web development.

In web development, skills is everything. Apart from acquiring the skills, you have to understand the fundamentals of web development regarding how web servers, databases and different applications interact altogether.

You can aspire to become a web developer no matter your background. It doesn’t matter if you have a degree or you are a drop-out. What matters most is the interest to learn.

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Where to learn web development?

To become a web developer, you can learn in different settings such as going to a full-fledged school where it may take you up to 1 – 2 years to complete the training, go for a boot camp, learn online through paid tutorials and the last option is to teach yourself with free materials that are available online too.

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Going to a school

Going to learn web development in a school is a bit expensive and time consuming but the training is thorough. You have to pay for tuition, get an accommodation and feed yourself.

The school gives you well-made course materials and videos too. Attending a school gives you a hands-on training approach and experience. You are also given projects to work on.

You are also taught the business side of web development which includes how to draw up a proposal and how present yourself professionally so as to get jobs as a freelancer.

Certificates are awarded after the training. You may be awarded with a Diploma in Web Development or an Advanced Diploma in Web Development or given an Associate Degree in Web Development. It all depends on the institution being attended. You have got to make inquiries to know what is being awarded after the duration of the training.

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Attend a boot camp

Boot camp is a far shorter way to get the skills required to become a web developer. Boot camp can also be a bit expensive but not as expensive as going to a school.

At boot camp, you would need to get an accommodation because it will be stressful go to from home. You also pay for the training which may cost you around $400 to $500.

Training materials in the form of handbooks and videos will be provided. The duration of the training won’t go beyond 4 – 8 weeks.

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Paid Online Tutorials

This is another way to get trained if you are interested in acquiring web development skills. The online learning through tutorials is done at your own pace. But the difference here is that it is not as time-consuming and expensive like attending a full-fledged school. This may take up to 6-months to complete.

There are paid online sites such www.udemy.com for learning web development. All you have to do is to register on the website, pay for the training and start learning.

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Train Yourself

This is the most inexpensive way to become a web developer. Self-tutorial is recommended for disciplined and goal-oriented people because you have to set a timeline for completing the courses. If you fail to set deadlines or milestones, you will be like a ship without a sailor.

There are more than enough materials online to train yourself in web development. You may like to visit www.w3schools.com, www.lynda.com, medium.com, www.codeacademy.com, www.coursera.org and www.edx.org. If you want video tutorials, visit www.killersites.com.

Start with learning HTML, and then move to CSS, before going for JavaScript. Don’t stay more than four weeks on each of these web technologies.

The general advice after learning all of these is to also learn how to design websites with open source software like WordPress and Joomla. Also, learn Bootstrap to crown it all.

After these, you can then move to programming languages like PHP and ASP.net. There is certification for all the tutorials. So, ensure that you get certificates for each of these web technologies.

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Web Development Opportunities

As a web developer, there are many opportunities opened to you after the training. You can either work independently as a freelancer or be an employee for a company. You can earn around $50,000 to $100,000 a year.

As a freelancer, you must understand the business part of web development. You can research on how to write web development proposals online; you must also know how to make presentations to clients and to cost the job appropriately too.

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Conclusion

The question about how long does it take to become a web developer has been answered by throwing up different options that may be suited for you. There is a lot flexibility when you choose to teach yourself either through paid or free tutorials. Boot camp or going to school to learn is good for people who are not motivated enough to teach themselves or people who require live training.

Whatever the case, the ball is now in your court. You have to take the best possible decision that will make you succeed in your pursuit of becoming a web developer. Good luck to you!