holy
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2024
- Posts
- 886
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- 1,557
DO NOT SPEND YEARS STUDYING BEFORE YOU'RE READY TO WORK. That's is bullshit. It's basically designed to justify institutional existence.
The actual path is:
1. Learn the absolute minimum needed to deliver value
2. Get paid to practice on real projects
3. Use that money and experience to level up
4. Repeat.
MONTH 1-2
Learn fundamental programming concepts. Pick one language and stick with it (javascript is the best choice for versatility and job market).
Use free resources like:
- The Odin Project (theodinproject.com)
- FreeCodeCamp (freecodecamp.org)
- CS50 from Harvard (cs50.harvard.edu/x/)
DON'T course-hop. Pick one curriculum and finish it.
MONTH 2-3
Build 3-5 small projects that solve actual problems. Please don't make a todo app. I'm referring to actual things that demonstrate you can think through problems. A budget tracker, a habit tracker with streak counting or a simple API that pulls data from somewhere and displays it usefully.
You could put everything on GitHub with good readme files explaining what it does and how you built it.
MONTH 3-4
Start applying to junior positions AND start freelancing on the side. Go to upwork.com, create a profile, undercut everyone on price initially. Your first job might pay $500 for something that takes you 40 hours. Take it anyway. You're buying experience and a 5-star review. You won't optimize for hourly rate yet.
You're compressing what normally takes 4 years into 4-6 months by removing everything that doesn't directly lead to getting paid. You're basically just building, shipping, getting feedback, improving. No CS theory unless you need it for a specific problem & no algorithm studies unless you're interviewing at companies that test for it.
Same pattern applies to copywriting:
- Month 1, study frameworks (AIDA, PAS, the Gary Halbert letters which you can find free at thegaryhalbertletter.com).
- Month 2, write 50 practice pieces mimicking successful sales pages.
- Month 3, offer free work to small businesses in exchange for testimonials and case studies.
- Month 4, start charging.
The actual path is:
1. Learn the absolute minimum needed to deliver value
2. Get paid to practice on real projects
3. Use that money and experience to level up
4. Repeat.
MONTH 1-2
Learn fundamental programming concepts. Pick one language and stick with it (javascript is the best choice for versatility and job market).
Use free resources like:
- The Odin Project (theodinproject.com)
- FreeCodeCamp (freecodecamp.org)
- CS50 from Harvard (cs50.harvard.edu/x/)
DON'T course-hop. Pick one curriculum and finish it.
MONTH 2-3
Build 3-5 small projects that solve actual problems. Please don't make a todo app. I'm referring to actual things that demonstrate you can think through problems. A budget tracker, a habit tracker with streak counting or a simple API that pulls data from somewhere and displays it usefully.
You could put everything on GitHub with good readme files explaining what it does and how you built it.
MONTH 3-4
Start applying to junior positions AND start freelancing on the side. Go to upwork.com, create a profile, undercut everyone on price initially. Your first job might pay $500 for something that takes you 40 hours. Take it anyway. You're buying experience and a 5-star review. You won't optimize for hourly rate yet.
You're compressing what normally takes 4 years into 4-6 months by removing everything that doesn't directly lead to getting paid. You're basically just building, shipping, getting feedback, improving. No CS theory unless you need it for a specific problem & no algorithm studies unless you're interviewing at companies that test for it.
Same pattern applies to copywriting:
- Month 1, study frameworks (AIDA, PAS, the Gary Halbert letters which you can find free at thegaryhalbertletter.com).
- Month 2, write 50 practice pieces mimicking successful sales pages.
- Month 3, offer free work to small businesses in exchange for testimonials and case studies.
- Month 4, start charging.
