I am looking into getting started in web development and I came across The Odin Project. Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to pay for a course right now. I currently work in a senior desktop support and systems admin role and I am seeking to pivot into web development. Is this realistic? What advice or websites would you recommend for me? Thank you very much in advance!
The Odin Project is an excellent resource. I’d recommend working your way through both the “paths” they have - take both the Ruby and JavaScript paths. To land a job you’ll want a thorough understanding of the back end and while Ruby doesn’t have as high of a demand anymore, I do think it’s important to build skills in more than one language to be a compelling candidate. If you don’t want to take the Ruby course, I’d recommend learning how to build a back end in C#/Java to make yourself more well rounded.
They also recently released a React course - I haven’t checked that out yet, but it’s a highly marketable skill and the rest of their curriculum is great so I’d imagine that is too.
In any case, they do a great job in teaching you how to “think like a developer” instead of just how to follow a tutorial- which should give you a good foundation for building your own portfolio. TOP played a huge role in landing my first job - but you do need to hold yourself accountable to studying every day if you want to succeed through self-studying.
This is really good advice! Thank you!
It’s an excellent resource. Go ahead and get started.
Thank you! That’s the plan on Saturday. I reserved a study room at the local library so I can buckle down and put in some time.
It’s more important to work each day than to do a lot of work in a day. Spend a bit of time to work out a schedule for yourself that includes about an hour a day to work on things.
That’s indeed a better approach!
I used Odin Project as well as FreeCodeCamp when I was starting quite some years ago. I recommend FreeCodeCamp over Odin Project if you’re going to only use one but highly recommend both for different styles of learning. FreeCodeCamp had at the time (which could have changed now) a much wider range of things to learn. Odin tends to send you off on your own to read different things from different sources which isn’t a bad thing by any means but to me it felt less structured in that sense.
Either way, check them both out. Odin was more Ruby language centric too IIRC.
Odin does seem to have a pure JavaScript path. I will check out FreeCodeCamp as well.
Oh I just saw that haha. Decided to check for myself after my comment. Honestly do both. Start with Odin then try FreeCodeCamp. Odin does less hand holding so it’s a good lesson in that alone.
I get the value of doing it on one’s own but I need more hand holding in the beginning so rhat I can build some foundational knowledge. Once I have that, I enjoy deductive learning very much. I will use both resources.
The Odin Project literally changed my life. It’s hard but so worth it. Go for it 💯
I really appreciate your sharing this as I have hopes that it will do the same for me. I am mired right now in desktop support and I hate every waking minute of it. I hate the sense of over entitlement of users. I am sick of being treated as the help despite being employed by the same agency they are. The “customer service model” of desktop support is flawed and encourages bad behavior on the part of the end user. Not even baristas, waiters and waitresses, or customer service of any field should be treated like “the help.”
✊ hang in there buddy and keep trucking. I was similarly in a low place when I started Odin. I’d just dropped out of college (for the second time).
Decided right then that I was going to become a developer and kept working away at it with a blank mind. I made tons of mistakes but felt liberated by working towards my goal.
Good on you for pushing through! I am going to do my 1-2 hours of learning tonight. My clothes washer broke last night so I have to go to the laundromat. Hey man, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. I can’t afford to fix the damn thing too. 😆
