I have been creating websites for over four years (I took my first course in December 2019). At first, I was motivated by the fact that being a programmer is a very promising and well-paid profession. However, I wanted to see if it was something that would interest me enough to follow this path for the rest of my life. It turned out that it was. My passion was increasing with each passing day.

I read books, took online courses (Udemy, Academind, Code With Mosh, YouTube), studied the documentation of various tools (Express.js, React, Redux, GraphQL, MySQL, RegEx, etc.) and created many smaller and larger personal projects (e.g. multiplayer chess, an application for managing the daily chores). What I liked most was the stage of project planning and devising the best implementation strategies.

My goal was to reach the point where I would feel competent enough to apply for a front-end developer position with a clear conscience. It happened in mid-2022 (when I finished my project - multiplayer chess), and on October 2nd I started my first job as a React developer at Scandiweb. I worked there for a full year, during which much happened. I learned how to work in agile management, to plan and estimate the time needed to complete a task, and, above all, to communicate with an international team of programmers.

At first, I was involved in "coding" responsive, interactive user interfaces based on the design in Figma and the posted requirements. Most often, this required downloading data from the server (GraphQL or REST API) and, at the end, making sure that the interface works and looks perfect on the most popular browsers and devices (using Browserstack). I received positive feedback on the results of my work and communication within the team, and so after a few months I became a code reviewer.

When my first project was almost finished, I focused on performance optimization, especially reducing page loading time (improving core web vitals). Over the course of a few months, I optimized several e-commerce projects, and then I was transferred to the “firefighters” team. There, we fixed all kinds of bugs just before the online store went live. I worked mostly on the front-end, but there were also server-side tasks (PHP, Magento 2). This was the biggest challenge, but it improved my debugging and sometimes even reverse engineering skills.

Thanks to this job, I learned what the entire process of professional website creation looks like, from A to Z. I learned my strengths (e.g. planning a task, thanks to which I rarely don’t think about something) and my weaknesses (e.g. sometimes I focus too much on details). And of course, I learned teamwork, which is not always easy, but it is incredibly rewarding to feel like part of a team.

Currently, I am still learning. I have improved my skills in the “backend”, including advanced concepts of Node, Express, Redis, and MongoDB. I am also constantly developing in the front-end; I have learned the SvelteKit framework, the Storybook tool, and more. I plan to start studying computer science at university in October. I am also actively looking for jobs related to website programming.

Thank you for your time.

PS. I hope I did not bore you.