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Do You Have What It Takes To Become a Web Developer in 2021?
I’ve been in the industry for five years, and I still feel like I’m growing in here. However, I generally feel like I’m qualified enough to talk about what it takes to become a web developer.
I have listed down five signs that show that you have what it takes to become a web developer in the industry today. Now, please take note that these signs aren’t black and white.
Even if you don’t have one of these signs, you can still become a fantastic web developer.
Being a Problem Solver
What makes workers in the industry, not just the tech industry, so valuable that it makes them get paid well? It’s because all of them have worked long hours by being problem solvers.
When you look at doctors and lawyers, their jobs make them fix something or solve your problem. If you break an arm or have a heart problem, doctors will fix and solve your sickness.
Lawyers help you fix your problems with the law and help you win as much value when they handle your case. These people are problem solvers, so they are paid so well and given so much value.
Web developers are among the highest-paid jobs in the USA because we can solve problems.
Before I became a developer, I always took on problems. I knew there was a way around it, and I knew that there was always a solution. However, when I was an engineer in my first three years, I felt like I was the worst problem solver.
In my first three years as an engineer, I was having a tough time because I was a self-taught developer. No one was training me or mentoring me, and I wasn’t able to do everything at that time.
That’s why web developers should work smarter and not necessarily work harder. In those three years, I was learning on my own the entire time, and I would ask for help from people here and there just so that I could solve my problems.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Going forward, that’s what I did for my two different companies. I’m about to build a third one, and I’m potentially going for a fourth company. What this means is that I’m going to get extremely busy managing a lot of things.
It’s so much work to do with my job, meeting with people, and building a mentoring platform. It’s just so much work, but instead of doing all of that work, I delegate. If I didn’t find a solution and didn’t delegate the work, I would be working 20 hours seven days a week.
Instead of working too hard, I needed to work smarter. I hired a video editor to edit my videos, a designer to help me make things look pretty, and a copywriter to write my blogs for me.
I’m about to hire a salesperson who will help me get clients for each of my companies. Instead of working too hard doing 140 hours a week to get everything done, I worked smarter.
Don’t Give Up
However, not everyone gets a chance at that. Plenty of people are still trying to figure things out, whether they want to work harder, smarter, or faster. One of the most important signs to have is that you don’t give up easily or don’t give up at all.
You have to be a go-getter, someone who’ll do whatever it takes to reach your goals. If you encounter something difficult, you keep going, and you don’t give up.
Because giving up is always easier than persisting.
In the tech industry, you will have different tasks, and you’re building things. Daily, you’re going to encounter bugs, problems, and projects that you’ve never done before. It’s going to be painfully hard, and it might become overwhelming.
As developers, you can’t give up when they give you these problematic tasks because we are problem solvers. They might not be easy to fix, you might encounter impostor syndrome a lot, but you should not give up.
Adapt to Different Situations
And this is where the next sign comes in. One of the signs that show you have what it takes to become a web developer is to adapt to different situations.
There might be times when you have to work longer hours, or there might be a time that you haven’t finished a project in time. You might have to work on languages that you’ve never really worked on before.
You’re going to have to adapt to all of these different situations so you can get the work done.
You Like Coding
Last but not least, I think one of the most critical signs that show that you can be a developer is to like coding. If you don’t like coding, your time as an engineer or a developer will not be fun.
You’ll be hammering on a keyboard for eight hours a day nonstop, with meetings in between. There will be times that you will encounter problems, working with really tight deadlines, and working with different people.
You might even have to travel to places you don’t want to go to, but these things will happen regardless of whether you like it or not. However, if you do love what you do, it helps. Being passionate about the job makes it easier.
