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ryukya13
Community Member

Tips and advice for a beginner programmer?

Nice to meet you every one. I want to disscuss something about my problems.

I am still a beginners in programming and it's hard to get a job in this field. The jobs usually require higher skills.

I can made some applications in JAVA,C,C++ and PHP languages. I ever made some protorypes for supply chain management  system, text mining and others. But I never actually published a real website or meet a real clients in programming jobs.

Do you have any advice about the steps I need to take to get a job in programming?

How can you convice your first client so they give you the job?

Thank you for your help and attention.

I hope you guys have a good day.

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "I can made some applications in JAVA,C,C++ and PHP languages."

 

That is meaningless.

 

NOBODY is going to hire you to do a project in Java, C, C++ and PHP.

 

Nobody is going to hire ANYBODY to do that.

 

You need to FOCUS on ONE thing.

 

There are THOUSANDS of different technologies and skills that are in demand on Upwork. Read through the incoming job feeds and see what people are asking for. Find something that a SMALL number of clients need... but which there are relatively FEW freelancers who do that.

 

And get good at it. Really, really good at. You need to feel like you are the boss of it. That you know that ONE THING inside and out.

 

That ONE THING is not even a whole programming language. Maybe it is a single API. Or a single library. Or a single type of project.

 

Make some projects using that ONE THING.

 

Put those projects in your portfolio.

 

And bid on jobs whose clients are asking for that specific skill.

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5 REPLIES 5
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "I can made some applications in JAVA,C,C++ and PHP languages."

 

That is meaningless.

 

NOBODY is going to hire you to do a project in Java, C, C++ and PHP.

 

Nobody is going to hire ANYBODY to do that.

 

You need to FOCUS on ONE thing.

 

There are THOUSANDS of different technologies and skills that are in demand on Upwork. Read through the incoming job feeds and see what people are asking for. Find something that a SMALL number of clients need... but which there are relatively FEW freelancers who do that.

 

And get good at it. Really, really good at. You need to feel like you are the boss of it. That you know that ONE THING inside and out.

 

That ONE THING is not even a whole programming language. Maybe it is a single API. Or a single library. Or a single type of project.

 

Make some projects using that ONE THING.

 

Put those projects in your portfolio.

 

And bid on jobs whose clients are asking for that specific skill.

Thank you for for your advice Mr. Preston. Your advice is really like a wake up call for me.

I will look for that one thing and work on it. I can't say much but once again I am grateful for your advice.

I hope you have a great day.

yitwail
Community Member

Felisia, you have 100% JS, although you've only completed 2 jobs, which I didn't think was possible. Regardless, not many begiinning programmers at Upwork have 100% JS, so you're in an advantageous position. You've listed Laravel framework in your skills. If you have actual experience working with Laravel, you might look for small Laravel jobs, because not every PHP programmer is familiar with Laravel. If there's a Laravel site you worked on, then you should add that to your portfolio.

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"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce
ryukya13
Community Member


@John K wrote:

Felisia, you have 100% JS, although you've only completed 2 jobs, which I didn't think was possible. Regardless, not many begiinning programmers at Upwork have 100% JS, so you're in an advantageous position. You've listed Laravel framework in your skills. If you have actual experience working with Laravel, you might look for small Laravel jobs, because not every PHP programmer is familiar with Laravel. If there's a Laravel site you worked on, then you should add that to your portfolio.


 Thank you for your advice Mr. John. Even if I have 100% JS, the truth is those job not related to programming itself. So I can't use it as a benchmark for my programming skill in job competition.  And yes I have experience in Laravel but I am worried about the security of the web. I am not relevant  with the security or networking part. My programming study and training in college mainly focused on the algorithm and data flow(for example SCM, DB design and analysis). 

But again,thank you for the advice maybe I will try to look for small Laravel project while looking for a specific focused skill.

yitwail
Community Member

Felisia, you're welcome. DB design/analysis is definitely a skill you can offer, so besides Laravel, you might also look for small DB/MySQL projects. And while it's true your JSS is based on jobs unrelated to programming, Upwork search algorithms don't take this into account, and some clients don't even read a freelancer profile before hiring them, so it still puts you ahead of many new Upwork freelancers. But if you intend to work primarily in programming and not translation, then you should change your profile title, and rewrite the beginning of your overview to focus on your programming expertise. Good luck!

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"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce