Personal projects help you learn skills you didn't know you needed and they give you a chance to learn new frameworks or programming languages. By playing with code and having fun doing it, you're making yourself a better developer because you're still learning. They allow you to learn and gain recognition for yourself. They are one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal of things to do with your time. So as you look to the week ahead, perhaps consider creating or working on a side project.
Types of side projects
I think there are 2 types of side projects:
- you want to make money with it (startup)
- you want to try new things, use frameworks, experiment, and gain experience.
A different approach is also required for the two. If you want to make money with it, you need market research, needs assessment, etc. If you just want to learn something for your own purposes, you can jump right into it, the requirement is to have fun and learn and present your skills through it. I will write about 2. in this article.
Size is matter
It is important that we choose a project that we can finish, I also made the mistake of starting several projects at the same time or choosing too big, I lost my interest in it and the projects remained in a half-finished state.
How much time you will have for it and how much time it will take to code it? Multiply by 2 the amount of time you need to code it and calculate with that.
I advise you that when you have thought up your project, reduce it to the core part and implement it (A usable state), then add the feature, so it will not be left in an unusable half-finished state.
Idea
If you don't have a portfolio website yet, create one. It will be useful to show your work, side projects, or anything that is you. If there is a technology or field where you want to learn something, then come up with a project in that direction. There are many ideas online, but the best thing is if you come up with a project that can be useful or fun for you to stay motivated.
First job
If you are just graduating from university or applying for your first job after a Bootcamp or as a self-taught person, side projects are the most important. Based on these, the companies gain insight into your coding skills. What you put in your CV that you know how to use a technology (e.g. react, javascript) you can prove with these projects. And it's also a good indication that you can develop independently, you can solve problems, and you are constantly learning.
How to present your side project?
I think the portfolio website is the best place to collect your side projects.
When you present the project include the GitHub link, a short description, images, and if possible a live website where you can view it, if it is not web development, you can show it through videos (e.g. for IoT projects).
Get feedback
Feedback helps you learn, and makes you and your work better.
Write a blog post about your project. You can write about the process, difficulties you encountered and how you solved the various problems, what you learned from it.
Thank you for your time. 🙏 If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment. 🙂