How to Gain Coding Experience?

If you’re looking to break into the world of coding and programming, firstly – congrats!

It’s an exciting, fast-paced and fulfilling industry to be part of. Our coding bootcamp students always worry that finding a job without experience will be tough. And the reality is that, yes, it will be difficult.

But the good news is that it’s definitely achievable. You’ll need to build experience and skills to woo a future employer, even if you’re just starting out.

Whether you’re an aspiring developer fresh out of a coding bootcamp or a self-taught program transitioning from another field, coding experience separates theory from a real-world application.

It’s not just about knowing how to code—it’s about applying that knowledge to solve real-world problems.

1. Start with Personal Projects

Personal projects are one of the best ways to gain hands-on coding experience. And yes, that is a screenshot of my personal server at home. Personal projects are amazing, I tell you.

With personal projects, you can encounter real-world challenges like debugging errors and designing user experiences, strengthening your problem-solving abilities.

When applying for jobs, recruiters often ask for examples of what you’ve built or how you’ve applied your coding skills. A solid portfolio can make a huge difference.

Here are a few beginner-friendly options:

1. Portfolio Website: This project will teach basic web development concepts like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while allowing you to share your progress and projects.
2. To-Do List App: It’s a great way to learn about data handling, user interaction, and functionality across various programming languages or frameworks like React or Vue.js.
3. Web Scraper: A web scraper is perfect for understanding how data can be extracted from websites and manipulated. Python’s BeautifulSoup or Scrapy libraries make this process straightforward and rewarding.
4. GUI Calculator App: Building a calculator helps hone your JavaScript or Python skills. It helps to practice the basics of input/output operations and real-time calculations.
5. Weather App: This is a great way to learn how to work with APIs, handle JSON data, and integrate dynamic content into your app.

2. Contribute to Open-Source Projects

Open-source projects are often large-scale, professional-level codebases, and by contributing, you get exposure to complex systems that you wouldn’t necessarily encounter in personal projects.

Additionally, many of the world’s biggest tech companies (Google, Facebook, Microsoft) maintain open-source projects, so contributing to these can provide industry recognition.

Getting involved might initially seem intimidating, but it’s easier than you think. Many repositories are beginner-friendly and have documentation to guide new contributors.

1. Find a Project That Interests You: If you’re passionate about web development, consider contributing to front-end libraries like React or Vue.js. If you’re interested in data science, explore projects built with Python or R.
2. Look for Beginner-Friendly Labels: Many open-source projects use labels like “good first issue” or “help wanted” to mark tasks suitable for beginners. These tasks are often small bug fixes or documentation improvements.
3. Understand the Project: Read the documentation, review the README files, and follow any contribution guidelines the maintainers provide.
4. Work on Issues and Submit Pull Requests: Once you’ve identified an issue you can work on, fork the repository, clone it to your machine, and start coding. When ready, submit a pull request, and the project maintainers will review your work.
5. Collaborate and Communicate: Contributing to open-source isn’t just about coding—it’s also about learning to communicate effectively with other contributors and maintainers.

3. Internships and Apprenticeships

Internships are invaluable for gaining practical experience and building your professional network.

You’ll learn how companies structure workflows, adopt standard operating procedures (SOP) and manage teams. Plus, internships often lead to full-time positions if you perform well.

On the other hand, apprenticeships usually involve one-on-one mentorship, working closely with a senior developer who guides you through the learning process.

Here’s how you can make yourself a strong candidate:

1. Polish Your Portfolio: Before applying, ensure you have a portfolio showcasing your personal projects, open-source contributions, or any freelance work you’ve done.
2. Leverage Online Platforms: Use LinkedIn, Indeed, or Glassdoor to find internships and apprenticeship opportunities.
3. Network: Networking can significantly increase your chances of finding an internship. Attend local tech meetups, coding bootcamp alumni events, or conferences.
4. Apply to Bootcamp Internship Programs: Many coding bootcamps, including CodeOp, offer career support and internship placement programs after you complete your course.
5. Prepare for the Interview: Once you secure an interview, be ready to discuss your coding experience, explain the projects in your portfolio, and possibly even complete a coding challenge.

4. Participate in Coding Challenges and Hackathons

Participating in coding challenges is a fantastic way to sharpen your problem-solving skills, enhance your algorithmic thinking, and improve your proficiency in programming languages.

Platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, and Codewars host regular coding challenges that cover various difficulty levels, helping you master both the basics and more advanced concepts.

Coding challenges are often designed to be time-constrained, which teaches you to work efficiently under pressure—a valuable skill in any developer’s career.

They expose you to problems that may not be part of your day-to-day work, such as dynamic programming, graph theory, and algorithm optimization.

5. Freelancing and Contract Work

Another way to gain coding work experience without a job is to offer your services as a freelancer or volunteer for other companies and nonprofit organisations.

Many companies and nonprofits rely on technology to accomplish their mission, but some may not have the budget to hire full-time developers. You can help these organisations gain valuable coding work experience by offering your coding skills.

I. Identify the nonprofit organisation or company.

Look for those that align with your interests and values. You can search for organisations online (Linkedin is a great place to start) or through volunteer matching websites such as VolunteerMatch.org, Idealist.org, DevelopForGood.org and All for Good.org.

II. Identify their needs

Reach out to the organisations and ask about their technology needs, problems, or pain points that they need help solving. They may need help building a website, creating a mobile app, or automating their operations.

III. Offer your services

Let the organisations know you are a beginner developer looking to gain coding work experience and would like to volunteer or freelance for them. Offer to work on a project at a reduced rate for 1 – 2 projects to gain experience and build your portfolio. Once you have gained that experience, you should charge full price for your services.

IV. Communicate your skills

Explain your skills and knowledge to the nonprofit or for-profit company. You can provide examples of your previous projects, coursework, or online presence to showcase your abilities.

V. Be flexible

Non-profit organisations often have limited budgets and resources. As much as being flexible regarding timelines, schedules, and communication methods is important, do not burn yourself out. Find a balance between work and family and ensure you get sufficient rest.

6. Join Online Coding Communities and Forums

Platforms like Stack Overflow, GitHub, and Reddit are great resources where you can ask questions, contribute to discussions, and even help others with their code-related challenges.

Being active in these communities can expose you to various coding problems and approaches, sharpening your problem-solving skills. Plus, you’ll connect with developers worldwide, which is invaluable for networking and finding potential collaborators or mentors.

7. Pair Programming and Collaboration

Pair programming is an agile software development technique where two developers work together at a single workstation.

One developer writes the code (the “driver”), while the other reviews each line of code as it’s written (the “observer” or “navigator”).

For beginners, pair programming offers an opportunity to see how experienced developers approach problem-solving, debugging, and optimizing code. It also fosters communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively—two highly valued traits in tech teams.

8. Enroll in Coding Bootcamps or Courses

Enrolling in a coding bootcamp or structured course offers a fast track to learning how to code, particularly if you’re transitioning from a non-technical background.

Coding bootcamps typically focus on project-based learning, where you’ll build real-world applications and develop a portfolio to showcase to potential employers.

At CodeOp, for example, we specialize in teaching coding to women+, ensuring that our curriculum is tailored to the current needs of the tech industry. Our programs focus on full-stack web development, data science, and more.

Bootcamps also offer mentorship and job placement support, making them a comprehensive solution for building coding experience quickly.