“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways” - Robert Greene.
What counts as an essential skill?
Before we ask what essential skills are needed as a web developer, we must determine what exactly is an essential skill? Essential skills are skills needed for any project type, any job title, and with any employment type. Without specifying the project, job type, or employment type, we can’t specify skills such as knowledge of a specific programming language. Instead, we must have skills that carry over regardless of our pursuit. In this article we will be discussing the five essential skills for every starting web developer.
Ability to Continuously Learn
A big component to being in the tech industry is keeping up with it. There is no bigger hindrance in your web developer journey than to think you know everything. As technology improves, so does the code needed to run it. By constantly learning new syntax you can keep yourself up to date on any changes as well as expand your knowledge foundation.
Ability to Read Pre-Written Code
Everyone has their own format style when it comes to coding. Just like writing in general, code is technical but it can be organized in many ways. Think of code structure being the same as sentence structure while explaining a story. You can tell the same story, but how it is explained depends on the structure of each individual sentence. Just like I won’t type the same as anyone else, you won’t type the exact same code as someone else. This means being able to read various code formats is essential to understanding pre-written code. Whether you are looking at a tutorial, working with a team, or working on a pre-written project, being able to decipher pre-written code is a skill you will always need.
Ability to Efficiently Find a Solution
From project to project you will find yourself wanting to try something new you’ve visualized, but don’t know how to program. Maybe you want to create a fancy new animation, create a type of website you have not designed before, or even use a programming language new to you. Whatever you are doing to expand your knowledge, your imagination will always get ahead of your experience. Nine times out of ten you will not know the answer to something you are trying out for the first time. This is where your ability to FIND an answer comes in. By knowing where to search, what keywords to type in, and sorting through the possible solutions, you give yourself the ability to find answers to questions you may have with your code/project.
Ability to Visualize and Materialize
Without the ability to visualize content you will not know what to create and without the ability to materialize your idea then you will not know how to create. The ability to visualize and materialize is essential for any project to come to life.
Ability to Communicate
Communication is key to anything that involves a social setting. To progress in your web development journey you must be able to communicate with a team, a client, a boss, or an instructor. You could code anything, but without the ability to communicate your product, the value of it, and your ability to benefit the client/potential employer, then you cannot display your potential to those that make web development a job path.
Conclusion
When getting into web development there are five essential skills everyone needs. The ability to constantly learn allows you to adapt to any/every project. The ability to read pre-written code allows you to decipher code that may have been written by someone else. The ability to efficiently find an answer allows you to find solutions to problems you cannot solve by yourself. The ability to visualize and materialize content allows you to not only come up with ideas, but also have the capability to bring that idea into reality. And lastly, the ability to communicate allows you to articulate your potential value to others.
Summary of Essential Skills
- The ability to constantly learn
- The ability to Read Pre-Written Code
- The ability to efficiently find a solution
- The ability to Visualize and Materialize
- The ability to ommunicate