Explore
Front-end & full-stack
Web Developer
Making the website work on the browser you forgot existed.
Typical pay
$55k-$130k
How you get in
Self-taught, bootcamp or degree plus a portfolio
Outlook
Solid, with a competitive junior market
Web developers build and maintain websites and web applications. Agency work means many small projects and constant context switching; product work means one codebase you know deeply.
A day in the life
- 9:00aStand-up, then triage bug reports
- 9:45aBuild a new component from a design file
- 12:00pLunch
- 1:00pFix a layout bug that only appears on Safari
- 3:00pCode review for a teammate
- 4:30pDeploy to staging, write the release note
How to get in
Self-taught with a portfolio
Duration
6-18 months
Cost
$0-$1,000
Credential
None — deployed projects are the credential
- Learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript properly before touching a framework
- Pick one framework and build three real, deployed projects
- Contribute to open source for a public track record
- Freelance small sites while applying to junior roles
Bootcamp
Duration
3-6 months full-time
Cost
$10,000-$20,000
Credential
Certificate — the portfolio carries the weight
- Complete a full-stack bootcamp
- Ship a capstone that solves a real problem
- Use the alumni network — it is the most valuable part
- Expect a longer job search than the marketed rates suggest
Computer science degree
Duration
4 years
Cost
$40,000-$200,000
Credential
BS in computer science
- Complete a CS degree
- Land an internship — this matters more than coursework
- Build web projects outside class
- Enter with more doors open than the other two routes
What people love
- · Portfolio matters more than credentials
- · Remote and freelance friendly
- · Immediate visible results
- · Freelance work is genuinely available
What wears people down
- · Framework churn never stops
- · Entry level is crowded
- · Browser inconsistencies waste real hours
- · Scope creep on agency and client work