I taught myself to code and landed a dev job in 9 months. No bootcamp. No degree. In this video, I share my self-taught journey ???
? Perfect for: career changers, beginners in tech, self-taught coders, immigrants in tech, anyone learning to code in 2025 and need some motivation.
? Resources & Links Mentioned in the Video ?
Step 1.
? Build your portfolio website (HTML/CSS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldwlOzRvYOU
Youtube channels that have tons of helpful info:
Traversy Media: https://www.youtube.com/c/TraversyMedia
Web Dev Simplified: https://www.youtube.com/c/WebDevSimplified
Step 2.
? All Free Courses at freeCodeCamp: https://www.freecodecamp.org
Step 3.
? Educative.io – Courses for web dev, system design, interview prep & more (10% off): https://www.educative.io/explore?aff=VAW5
This is an affiliate link. If you purchase through it , I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Step 4.
Interview preparation:
? AI Mock Interviewer - https://www.educative.io/mock-interview?aff=VAW5
? Free resource where you book mock interviews with real people - https://www.tryexponent.com/practice?utm_source=pramp&utm_campaign=pramp_landing_cta&utm_medium=referral
Open source is a great addition to your portfolio:
? I’d recommend checking out platforms like https://goodfirstissue.dev/ or looking for beginner-friendly labels on GitHub repos
Practise Algorithmic problem solving:
? LeetCode: https://leetcode.com
? HackerRank: https://www.hackerrank.com
Here is a break down what I did:
0:00 - Intro about my free self-taught journey
0:35 - My starting point [ burned-out architect → newbie dev ]
1:42 - Consuming ALL FREE info on "How to learn programming" to figure out my tech path
2:09 - 3 main ways to learn programming
??? Step-by-step breakdown of my learning path:
3:17 - Step 1: HTML & CSS [~2–4 weeks]
4:09 - Step 2: JavaScript [~2–3 months]
4:46 - Step 3: React [~2–3 months]
6:00 - Step 4: My first job [~2 months]
7:43 - Unexpected move to Canada and challenges as an immigrant
9:57 - Tips for everyone who wants to break into tech
11:29 - The biggest mistakes I made (so you don’t have to)
12:46 - Your background doesn't define your potential! If you made this far - you’re the real one ?
? Got questions about the self-taught path, tech jobs in Canada, or interview prep? Drop them in the comments — I reply to everyone!
? Like + Subscribe if this helped you — and don’t miss upcoming videos on life in Toronto, remote work, and my journey in tech
? Follow me on Instagram for tech memes & life updates: https://www.instagram.com/galinie_codes/
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