Is a career as a web developer right for you?

We've seen new coding schools and bootcamps flourishing for a few years now, all filled with an impressive number of profiles, from high school graduates to career changers, and which promise to land a web developer job after just a few months of training.

Today we find ourselves in a situation where the number of junior developers is exploding, the market sometimes struggles to integrate them, and we end up with more and more profiles who hit a wall of reality, become demotivated and stall.

The reason? We often sell a profession whose market is thriving, with salaries much higher than average as well as many other qualities that make people dream.

But the reality is that this is a profession that requires a genuine personal investment in terms of continuous learning to stay up to date on technologies, and the developers who stand out and find a job in no time as juniors are often passionate people who truly care about their profession.

So if you've ever asked yourself "Is the web developer profession right for me?", I'm going to give you my view of the profession, facing reality head-on, with both the good and the bad sides.

What does "web developer" actually mean?

If I had to give a concise definition of the profession, I'd choose this one:

Web development consists of creating technical, creative and functional solutions to address a real-world idea, need or problem, all while using web technologies and infrastructures.

Here are a few examples of very different missions a web dev can carry out, drawn from my personal experience:

• Creating a website to showcase a craftsman's services
• Creating a video streaming platform for sales training
• Creating an app for diagnosing used vehicles
• Creating a game to raise awareness about the climate emergency
• ...

Does that resonate with you? Then let's continue!

What skills are required?

When people think of developers, they think of code, which for many people looks like an incomprehensible and impenetrable language, when in fact it's nothing of the sort.

Code is actually just a simplified language derived from a base language (often English), from which keywords have been extracted in order to instruct a machine to perform specific actions while remaining understandable to a human being.

This is what we call programming languages, and there are many of them with different syntaxes, but the logic behind them is very often similar.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to be particularly good at math to be a good developer (except in certain specific situations or professions).

I explain all this in more detail in an article titled "Myth or reality: do you need to be good at math to become a developer?"

So then, what qualities are needed to consider a career in web development? Here's what I consider to be the minimum required:

• Loving logic and finding solutions to problems
• Having a genuine thirst for learning
• Being able to do thorough research to find an answer
• Being creative (in finding solutions)
• Being rigorous
• Enjoying English and technology
• Not being afraid of spending 7 hours a day in front of a screen

For a more detailed list, I invite you to read my article "The 10 qualities shared by good developers", but the list above already gives you an idea of whether or not this profession could suit you.

The advantages of being a web developer

Many would cite salary or the job market, which is true up to a point, but I would strongly advise against relying on these advantages to choose this profession.

For me, these are consequences that will result from your choices, your passion and your investment, but they should not be the reason behind your choice. A salary can provide a comfortable situation, but it will never spark a passion.

Personally, advantage number one of this profession is the prospect of never getting bored.

You constantly have to learn new technologies, new skills and, above all, new business domains, since every new client brings their own business world with them, which you'll need to learn in order to build a suitable solution.

Personally, I've worked with clients in national education, professional training, wine-making, and pharmaceuticals, and I've learned an enormous amount about all these fields as a developer.

Then, among the other advantages, I could mention:

• The possibility of working remotely, or even moving abroad
• The satisfaction of creating solutions to people's everyday problems
• Being able to use your creativity (artistic and technical)
• Being continuously stimulated intellectually
• Career growth prospects
• The possibility, over time, of choosing your projects depending on how open the company is
• ...

But of course, a developer's life isn't always rosy, far from it!

The disadvantages of being a web developer

Here are a few of the disadvantages that come to mind. As far as I'm concerned, they weigh little in the balance compared to the advantages mentioned above, but that's not the case for everyone.

• Having moments where you lose track of your hours when a busy period hits
• Sometimes spending several hours fixing a blocking bug
• Being responsible for the proper functioning of your sites and apps, even on weekends, which can cause some stress
• Sometimes having to show flexibility and redo part of a project if the specifications have changed
• Getting very little physical activity during the day (weight gain, insomnia, etc.)

Conclusion

I believe that the web developer profession is the kind of career choice that should only be made if you truly feel a passion for this field, not because it's a trendy job, nor because the job market is more open than for other professions.

Just because someone sold you a "dream job" doesn't mean it's necessarily right for you, don't follow this path out of mere opportunism, but only if you have a genuine interest in it.

If that's the case, and after reading this whole article you still think this profession is right for you, then regardless of your gender, age or background, give yourself the means, let yourself be carried by your passion and motivation, and everything will go well!

I hope you enjoyed this article, and see you soon on the blog.