I am currently working in consultancy and want to switch to being a web developer. The problem is that I have no confidence in getting out there because I have no commercial experience.
What do I need to know to get a job?
I know the basics of PHP yet I have yet to work on a big project. I am currently doing a freelance job theming an eCommerce website, have a Wordpress one lined up and a complete site project coming too. Once I have finished these is this enough to go out and start hunting junior positions? Many state they want 1-2 years experience. I have 0 years solid experience.
You know it doesn’t hurt to apply. I hate to say that a Junior position requires experience but generally that is the case. There are always exceptions though. If you make it the interview leave it to employer to make the decision whether you fit the bill nor not. Making it to the interview though is going to be the hard part with a explicitly stated required level of experience. Most people won’t budge on that end and if they do you may end up being called a Junior developer with entry level pay anyway. You really should be looking more for an entry level role. That is more suited for you given your experience level. The different titles are generally a reflection of your experience level or years with a company more so than a direct measurement of knowledge or expertise in a given field/area.
Most jobs in the development field require you to actually develop new code or maintain one. Designing themes or editing them isn’t part of this category.
If you are currently freelancing then look for projects that require you to develop something from scratch and or requires some type of library to make your application work correctly. You will run into situations where you must think outside the box which is great because once you figure it out, it’s one additional tool to your arsenal.
You can also create your own internal mini projects to help you learn to developer quicker.