How to become a web developer without any degree

Well, the time has changed now as well the mindset of people. People now prefer to learn useful things by themselves online than going to an institution, attending boring lectures, and getting a degree. But here a very big question falls, can anyone become a web developer without any degree? The simple answer is, you don’t need a degree to prove that you are a web developer. Even many companies including Google don’t bother with degrees but they want the one with the best skills.

Meet me, I’m Zubair Baloch, a full-stack web developer running a small web services team and I don’t own any degree. Not only in Web Development but literally, I don’t own any degree right now when I’m writing this article.

And below is my journey of how did I become a full-stack web developer without any degree but still I earn the same as or even more sometimes than a regular web developer with a job.

Journey started

I started my journey with a help of a friend, who was a programmer but I could also learn online so If you don’t have a programmer friend, that doesn’t matter. I started learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on YouTube. YouTube is the best learning Platform ever, you just need to be a good researcher to get the best channels. However, other platforms such as Udemy are also a good choice. That’s because you have an instructor who is ready to answer all of your questions unlike on YouTube. It’s hard to get replies from the channel owners. So I wish I would know about Udemy at that time. I would prefer Udemy if you can afford to purchase courses for yourself. But if you don’t that does not matter, If I can learn from only Youtube, then definitely you can do the same.

There are so many creators only creating videos for web developers including Traversy Media, Kachkol Asa, and Dev Ed. Check out their channels, they are really doing a good job with their missions.

When you get the courses and start watching videos, the first and the most important thing you must remember is to PRACTICE. That’s the key. Practicing is the only way you can get your wings stronger. I remember I used to create web designs for literally no reason, just because I love creating them, picked a website, and started cloning for fun. I have cloned Netflix, YouTube, and many more popular sites for practice. And kept doing this for almost 2 years, just because I loved to do it, but it does not mean that you have to do this for 2 years as well. Just keep practicing until you know that you can clone any website now. And recently I just found a really cool website to practice your CSS skills, the site is called CSS Battle. I really enjoyed it, must check that out!

Becoming a full-stack web developer

Learning HTML, CSS and JavaScript are not the requirements to become a full-stack web developer or even a web developer. You are a web designer when you learn HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript. By vanilla JavaScript, I mean simple and core JavaScript. You must know a server-side language to fulfill the requirements of a full-stack web developer. There are several server-side languages you can learn, including PHP, Python, and even JavaScript. Yes, JavaScript is also a server-side language.

I learned PHP during my time, and I really enjoyed PHP. I thought there is no better language than PHP. But of course, there is, PHP is a really powerful language but Python can beat PHP in my opinion. As Python has great reliable and very secure frameworks in it. And you don’t need to write a bunch of codes, unlike PHP. If you learn python, then not only in web development but python can be used in many other fields, such as android app development, machine learning, data science, and much more!

Well, we are not here for Python vs PHP. We are here to get a server-side language. If you want to get a better understanding of these languages then you can find out no the attached link.

My high suggestion is to learn PHP & MYSQL first and get an understanding of how terms like functions, loop, and classes work. If you get those programming logics then you can learn any programming language within a week. That’s true, every programming language has the same logics behind it, it’s just the syntax, speed, and line of code you need to write that makes them different. So after learning PHP, try to create some site’s clone or create your own. And just keep practicing until you are able to create a good functional website.

After that then you can jump into Python. Python itself is much easier than PHP, but with only Python, it’s very very hard to create a website so we take advantage of frameworks such as Django or Flask to create our websites. And they can be a little hard for beginners that’s why I suggested learning PHP first.

When you learned HTML, CSS, JS, and any server-side language, you can call yourself a full-stack web developer without any degree. That’s how it works!

But don’t stop learning, the more you learn and practice., the more you are valuable and master in the field. And when you are a master in a field then it means that you’re going to make a lot of money. Speaking of money, let’s see how people can earn after learning web development.

Earn money with your skills as a web developer without any degree

Now that you are a full-stack web developer, the big and most important question falls in. How am I going to earn money with my web development skills when I have no degree?

There are tons of options you can go with, people even don’t like 9-5 jobs now, everyone wants to become their own boss. Myself, as a web developer, I have earned only through Freelancing, there are tons of options that I’m stepping in such as content creator, blogging, course creation, and much more! You can do the same. I suggest getting started with Freelancing and getting some understanding of what real-life problems look like and how to solve them. That’s how you can master your skills, practicing and solving real-life problems.

There are tons of freelancing platforms you can go with but I suggest Fiverr. I have created another blog post explaining how to get your first order on Fiverr, it can help you a lot in getting your first payment as a web developer.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, yes, you can become a full-stack web developer without any college degree. You just have to know the name of the languages you should learn and then start learning them online on Youtube, Udemy, or other learning platforms. Steps are listed down for your ease.

• Introduction to web development
• Learn HTML, CSS, and Javascript
• Choose a Server-Side Language and then learn it
• Practice, practice, and practice!
• Start freelancing and earn.