Getting a Coding Job For Dummies®

Getting a Coding Job For Dummies®

by Nikhil Abraham
Released August 2015
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119050940

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Book description

Your friendly guide to getting a job in coding

Getting a Coding Job For Dummies explains how a coder works in (or out of) an organization, the key skills any job requires, the basics of the technologies a coding pro will encounter, and how to find formal or informal ways to build your skills. Plus, it paints a picture of the world a coder lives in, outlines how to build a resume to land a coding job, and so much more.

Coding is one of the most in-demand skills in today's job market, yet there seems to be an ongoing deficit of candidates qualified to take these jobs. Getting a Coding Job For Dummies provides a road map for students, post-grads, career switchers, and anyone else interested in starting a career in coding. Inside this friendly guide, you'll find the steps needed to learn the hard and soft skills of coding—and the world of programming at large. Along the way, you'll set a clear career path based on your goals and discover the resources that can best help you build your coding skills to make you a suitable job candidate.

  • Covers the breadth of job opportunities as a coder

  • Includes tips on educational resources for coders and ways to build a positive reputation

  • Shows you how to research potential employers and impress interviewers

  • Offers access to online video, articles, and sample resume templates

    • If you're interested in pursuing a job in coding, but don't know the best way to get there, Getting a Coding Job For Dummies is your compass!

    Table of contents

      1. Cover
      2. Introduction
        1. About This Book
        2. Foolish Assumptions
        3. Icons Used in This Book
        4. Beyond the Book
        5. Where to Go from Here
      3. Part I: Getting a Job in Coding
        1. Chapter 1: Seeing the Big Picture
          1. What Is Coding?
          2. Why Coding Matters: Past, Present, Future
          3. Tracking the Explosion of Coding Jobs
          4. Companies Hiring Coding Professionals
        2. Chapter 2: Exploring Coding Career Paths
          1. Augmenting Your Existing Job
          2. Finding a New Coding Job
        3. Chapter 3: Working as a Coder
          1. Writing Code by Using a Process
          2. Compensating a Coder
          3. A Week in the Life of a Coder
        4. Chapter 4: Understanding Key Coding Concepts
          1. Developing for the Front End and Back End
          2. Storing Data in SQL and NoSQL Databases
          3. Saving Your Code in a Repository
          4. Optimizing Code for Search Engines
      4. Part II: Technologies Used When Coding
        1. Chapter 5: Creating a Website
          1. What Do HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Do?
          2. Common HTML Tasks and Tags
          3. Common CSS Tasks and Selectors
          4. Common JavaScript Tasks and Commands
          5. Practicing Your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
        2. Chapter 6: Programming with Ruby and Python
          1. Introducing Ruby and Python
          2. Coding Advanced Functionality
          3. Choosing between Ruby and Python
        3. Chapter 7: Creating Mobile Apps
          1. Defining Types of Mobile Apps
          2. Creating Mobile Web Apps for Any Phone
          3. Coding Native Mobile Apps for iPhones and Android Devices
          4. Identifying the Parts of an App
        4. Chapter 8: Analyzing Big Data
          1. Understanding Big Data
          2. Decoding Data with R and Python
          3. Visualizing and Interacting with Data
      5. Part III: Getting Your Coding Education
        1. Chapter 9: Coding on Your Own
          1. Assessing Your Goal, Time, and Budget
          2. Learning to Code Online and Offline
          3. Staying on Target to Achieve Your Goal
          4. Just Ship It
          5. Collect Feedback
          6. Iterate on Your Code
          7. Share Your Successes and Failures
        2. Chapter 10: Going to Boot Camp
          1. Discovering Coding Boot Camps
          2. Filtering Boot Camps by Topic and Quality
          3. Understanding the Coding Boot Camp Curriculum
          4. Choosing the Right Boot Camp for You
          5. Applying to a Coding Boot Camp
          6. Preparing to Attend a Coding Boot Camp
          7. Finding a Job after a Coding Boot Camp
        3. Chapter 11: Exploring Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees
          1. Getting a College Degree
          2. Enrolling in an Advanced Degree Program
          3. Interning to Build Credibility
        4. Chapter 12: Training on the Job
          1. Taking a Work Project to the Next Level
          2. Learning on the Job and After Work
          3. Freelancing to Build Confidence and Skills
          4. Transitioning to a New Role
      6. Part IV: Launching Your Career Path
        1. Chapter 13: Building Your Portfolio Site
          1. Introducing Sarah Rudder’s Portfolio Site
          2. Introducing Matt Rudder’s Portfolio Site
          3. Creating Your Own Portfolio Site
        2. Chapter 14: Networking for Opportunities
          1. Networking in the Real World
          2. Building Your Online Network
          3. Creating a Winning Resume
        3. Chapter 15: Interviewing and Becoming a Star
          1. Getting the Interview
          2. Surviving Interviews
          3. Becoming a Star Employee
      7. Part V: The Part of Tens
        1. Chapter 16: Ten Interview Questions Decoded
          1. Can You Walk Me through Your Resume?
          2. What Recent Project Have Your Worked On?
          3. Why Do You Want to Work Here?
          4. What Feature Would You Add to or Remove from Product X?
          5. What Team Conflict Have You Resolved?
          6. What Is Your Ideal Company and Job?
          7. What Is Your Superpower?
          8. Which Three Strengths and Weaknesses Would Your Friends Use to Describe You?
          9. What Do You Know to Be True that Most People Disagree With or Find Surprising?
          10. What Questions Do You Have for Me?
        2. Chapter 17: Ten Job Search Strategies
          1. Publish Your Code
          2. Blog Regularly
          3. Learn New Technologies
          4. Update and Refresh Your Resume
          5. Review Your Public Information
          6. Attend Hackathons
          7. Teach Yourself a Popular API
          8. Build and Release Something People Want
          9. Consult to Fix a Painful Problem
          10. Do a Trial Engagement
        3. Chapter 18: Ten Coding Myths
          1. You Must Be Good at Math
          2. You Must Have Studied Engineering
          3. You Can Learn Coding in a Few Weeks
          4. You Need a Great Idea to Start Coding
          5. Ruby Is Better than Python
          6. Only College Graduates Receive Coding Offers
          7. You Must Have Experience
          8. Tech Companies Don’t Hire Women or Minorities
          9. The Highest Paying Coding Jobs Are in San Francisco
          10. Your Previous Experience Isn’t Relevant
        4. Chapter 19: Ten Coding Job Websites
          1. Part-Time and Contract Coding Jobs
          2. Full-Time Coding Jobs
      8. Talk the Talk
        1. Big Data
        2. Employment
        3. Mobile
        4. Infrastructure
        5. Web Development
      9. About the Author
      10. Cheat Sheet
      11. Connect with Dummies
      12. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: Getting a Coding Job For Dummies®
    • Author(s): Nikhil Abraham
    • Release date: August 2015
    • Publisher(s): Wiley
    • ISBN: 9781119050940