Thinking of switching your career into a frontend developer? Finding it hard to figure out where to start from? No need to worry, we’ve got you covered!
As you may already know, frontend development is among the most in-demand web development skills as of 2022. We have come to you with 5 easy steps to help you switch gears on your career and become the next promising Frontend Developer.
Although most of you are already familiar with the term ‘frontend development’, let’s revise the concept. Frontend development deals with the client-facing portion of the website.
As a frontend developer, you will develop the design of the website or an application, which covers the user interface (UI) elements. It means that you will design the layout and overall feel of the website by coding the webpage. (1)
A frontend developer is responsible for the following aspects:
Being a frontend developer, you must ensure how the website appears in terms of element placement, how elaborate the user journey is and how well the website adapts to various screen sizes.
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Whenever you think about a career change, the first thing that hits your mind is the justification behind it!
While having lived through the greatest pandemic of this century, the world has seen a great economic shift. While forced to work behind closed doors, many people have been left wondering about job security and financial constraints, amongst other things.
Becoming a frontend developer can be a personal choice or it can be circumstantial. But here is why you should consider changing your career path into a frontend development role:
Want to make a big career move? Take some time to check out the complete guide to switching careers!
Before you can switch your career into a frontend developer, you need to identify the skillset you will require for it. You need both technical and non-technical skills to make your career change into a successful one! (2)
A frontend development course requires you to have knowledge of three basic web development languages. Apart from these basic languages, you can further develop expertise for associated frameworks and libraries.
If you are new to the world of technology, you need to get yourself registered for our Unmudl Bootcamp on frontend development. Don’t miss this opportunity to become familiar with frontend development skills and get yourself registered now!
HTML, also known as HyperText Markup Language, is the standard web development language. It is used to define the basic structure of the website.
As a frontend developer, you will utilize HTML language to categorize your content either as image, video, list, heading, audio, paragraph or other elements.
CSS or Cascading Style Sheets is used to style the web page that has been created using HTML. It determines the overall presentation of a website or an application.
By using CSS, you will be able to define the color, font, and spacing of the content documented via HTML.
JavaScript is the programming language that is used to add complex and dynamic features to a web page. It enables a website to bring life to its otherwise static state.
By using JavaScript, you will dynamically enable various content elements on your website, including multimedia, maps and graphics.
Once you have mastered the web development languages, you can use frameworks and libraries as building blocks for effective and efficient frontend development. The use of these frameworks and libraries differs based on the requirements.
The demand for expertise in the usage of frameworks and libraries has been ever-increasing within the development community; whereby 42.62% of software developers worldwide opt for the React.js framework for frontend development.
Some of the popular frameworks and libraries you can begin to experiment with include Vue.js, bootstrap, jQuery and Angular.js.
Testing or debugging is an essential component of frontend development. It is the process of testing and resolving issues within the code.
To test and debug your code, you can use tools like Visual Studio to keep a check on your errors. Debugging software helps you, not only in testing your code, but also in identifying potential shortcomings.
A version control system is a tool that allows you to keep track of changes made to your source code.
Once you pave your career as a frontend developer, you might get an opportunity to work on a project solely or collectively in a team setup. In either case, you will be making changes to the source code from time to time.
Instead of making changes directly to the source code, you can use a version control system to create branches for individual contributors. These branches contain code changes made by a developer.
The changes are only added to the source if you approve them. This helps you in keeping the source code organized. Git is among the popular version control systems that you can discover!
A responsive web design is all about creating websites that can fit themselves to the screen size.
To make it happen, you will use HTML and CSS languages to automatically enable the website to resize itself. You can automate this by making the website elements shrink or expand according to the screen dimensions. As a result, the website with the same content can be visible to the viewers on different devices.
Apart from the aforementioned technical skills, you can further polish your frontend skills with SEO, CSS Preprocessors, web performance and command line. These, in return, will help you with a swift career shift, irrespective of your previous profession and age bracket!
Though changing a career is heavy on the pocket, it requires emotional grit to make your way through the challenges. As you slowly establish yourself as frontend developer, you will realize the need for possessing strong interpersonal, analytical and communication skills.
Depending on the nature of your frontend role, you’ll either work in an onsite, remote or hybrid workspace. You’ll have to excel in your communication style to discuss technicalities with your team members in an effective manner.
While working under a leadership at your workplace, you will be in need of both strong verbal and written skills to put forward your message. This skill helps you effectively deliver your ideas and concerns while progressing through frontend development. (3)
The most important soft skill you should develop is an analytical skill. As a frontend developer, the expectation is not just limited to application development but how meticulous the approach towards the solution is too!
You must have been puzzled by the thought of taking a jump into frontend development without realizing the finances associated with it. You can take a deep breath as we have got great news for you.
As per the numbers shared by Built In, the average base salary of a frontend developer in the US is $106,075. Furthermore, an additional $11,193 on average makes up for the compensation offered by the companies.
However, you must keep in mind that the compensation that you’ll get will depend upon a multitude of factors. Your journey from switching your career to establishing yourself as a credible frontend developer will definitely affect your financial circumstances.
To kickstart your competitive career as a frontend developer, we at Unmudl offer affordable courses, certification and bootcamps. Enroll yourself with us before it's too late!
Irrespective of the professional field you belong to, changing careers is no less than a hallmark. It can be besetting to go through such a major change. You can quickly go over our list of to-dos in order to quickly get over the transition phase of a career change.
Here is how you can make a career shift into the frontend development:
You can self-start your career in the frontend development field by learning from online resources. The best thing about web development is that anyone can learn it. However, to pursue it as a formal career, you will need to get a diploma or certificate.
There are numerous platforms that offer extensive certification in the field of frontend development. To succeed as a frontend developer, all you need to do is search for a course online and get yourself enrolled.
If you are a mid-level or senior professional, starting from zero does seem appalling. Learn how you can make the most out of your professional development while changing your career!
You can even hire a course instructor to learn frontend skills for a successful transition in your career. Further down the lane, you can get connected with like-minded professionals who have recently embarked on the same journey as you.
If you want to start your frontend career today, check our Unmudl platform and discover countless courses of your choice!
If you have covered the basics of the frontend development, now is the time to build a portfolio to showcase your frontend skills.
A high-quality portfolio can help you stand out from the crowd, especially if you have recently gone through a career change.
You can leverage your portfolio as an opportunity to pitch your expertise to the hiring managers and company owners.
Your portfolio must reflect your brand and your progressive attitude. It must comprise of your best frontend development projects, a short bio, personal information and a note on your work ethics (4).
Your portfolio is a subjective yet unique representative of your expertise. You, however, need to choose the projects carefully. You can take help from your mentor or browse through countless of examples online to make a sense of it. At the end, make sure your portfolio is dynamic enough to meet the requirements of recruiters, and keep on updating it religiously.
Now you are ready to take a plunge into the professional world as a frontend developer. Most of the companies will require you to have a professional experience of one year in the frontend development. However, there are scenarios where unpaid experience is also considered. (5)
As a newbie in the frontend industry, just like others, you are constantly baffled by this requirement. But as a professional, you already own the experience. Being a career changer, it does not make you any less than others.
First, you can kick off your frontend professional career as a volunteer. You can lend your services to the people in your circle or community. This will not only add a section to your portfolio but also give you much needed confidence in the long run. (6)
If you want to work with a team of developers on a project, you can look out for open source ones. Open source projects are those projects to which any developer can contribute. You can explore such projects on various open source platforms.
You can consider freelance opportunities to establish your professional repute. You not only get an opportunity to showcase your proficiency but also get feedback from employers. This can help you brush your skills and add valuable additions to your resume.
Once you decide to change your career, you need more than professional experience and knowledge to persuade your recruiters. You can come across both technical and non-technical interviews against your application for the frontend development role.
The purpose of the interview is not only to gauge your technical knowledge but also to find out about your enthusiasm for the position. With a career shift in mind, you need to exhibit a sense of trust, professionalism and eagerness. (5)
Before you appear for an interview, make sure to research the company you have applied for. You need to have a strong understanding of their values, mission and goal. This preparation further helps you ask the right questions at the end of your interview.
For the technical part, revise the basics of frontend development. Today, most companies conduct technical tests and you must be prepared for it. You can get an idea about the kind of test from the post description shared by the recruiter.
Last but not least, your communication skills can advance your chances of becoming an employee. Keep a confident body language, speak with clarity, answer wisely and ask appropriate questions.
Information technology is the most rapidly changing industry. You constantly need to update your skills and observe new advancements if you wanna stand out from the crowd.
Becoming a part of the coding community helps you keep yourself up-to-date. You can share your projects with others, get help in case you encounter an error and receive feedback on your project. (7)
Furthermore, interacting with people from the same professional background empowers you to make better connections, share ideas and even land a job opportunity. You will find valuable input on how to start your coding career, find useful resources and the much-needed motivation to retain your decision of a career change. (8)
Stack Overflow is one such example of how community developers can help recommence your career as a frontend developer.
The decision to change your career is a challenging one but with the right tools and resources at hand, you can quickly overcome the transition.
We have shared with you a 5-step process coupled with a list of required skills to change your occupation. These steps certainly give you the much-needed guidance to shift your career into a frontend role.
We, at Unmudl, aim to empower your career change by offering you an opportunity to upskill yourself and get a certification!
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