This article is written after an inspirational session with Annie in the Hashnode Technical writing Bootcamp III. Before the session as a newbie in tech, I didn't know where to start to build my portfolio. I'm glad I'm now confident and aware of what is necessary to include in a portfolio.
A portfolio conveys a message about who you are, your value, and your worth. A portfolio helps you to make a first impression.
Who am I?
I'm Tracy Nuwagaba, a newbie in tech, a self-taught developer on platforms like freeCodeCamp, Codecademy, and w3schools while learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and I recently got enrolled in a Bootcamp with the Zuri Team to get mentorship and learn node js.
I have been planning to build my personal portfolio but I always felt intimidated. I must say that a lot has changed after the session. The key things I intend to include in my portfolio are:
About section. I will talk about who I am, what matters to me, what I do(my expertise), how do I do it, and my goals.
Projects to showcase my skills.
Contact and social links for people to easily get in touch.
Skills and tools I use.
My blog.
This is all I can do to build my portfolio, planning to keep it simple and stupid.
As a beginner, I joined the SheCodeAfrica community which has helped to gain confidence and build projects. I have suffered from imposter syndrome for a while when it comes to building projects. Always felt like I wasn't good enough. But thanks to the team at SheCodeAfrica, I have now started building projects because of the encouraging words like
You can do it, Queen.
I love learning new things and that's why I chose software development because of the need to learn all the time. I tend to get bored easily if I don't learn something new. I have recently started building personal projects for my portfolio which is so much fun, I mean I'm learning CSS every day on the project. Here is what I'm building now Fylo landing page.
When I'm not coding, I love listening to music, watching TV series, and watching Tiktok videos that give me a peal of hearty laughter.
Do I need to have a portfolio if I'm a backend developer?
Are you still puzzled about this, if you are into backend development? I had the same question too. Well, the answer is yes. A backend developer still needs to have a portfolio to demonstrate his or her competencies, interests, and achievements. A portfolio also helps in building your personal brand and getting a job.
Conclusion.
I am currently working on my portfolio. Until next time, thanks for reading!