Where can I find projects that are similar to real life programming jobs?

10 points·grasptheworld··5 comments

Hi HN.

I am teaching myself programming and CS concepts.

Where can I find some projects that are similar to those made in real world programming jobs, such that I can make myself hirable?

I am mostly interested in python at this point.

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Try looking at what people are asking for on freelancing sites. Also look at curricula from coding bootcamps, if available; they tend to be more industry-focused rather than theory-focused.

Finally, look for open source software in the industry that interests you, and read its code (some will be good, some will be bad).

Thanks there @nitrogen. I'm taking a look a what kind of jobs people are posting at upwork so I can find projects to study.

Pick a stack, then choose an open source project in that stack to contribute to. You can start by contributing docs and tutorials, then try to understand the code base and fix small bugs. Work your way up to bugs and features with the most votes. That guarantees people are using your work, which managers appreciate. It also establishes authority in that software, which can lead to jobs if it's popular enough.

i've heard good things about http://www.freecodecamp.com/ - you learn to program while building things for nonprofits. mostly javascript- rather than python-focused, but worth a look.

Big, estabilished open source projects? Real life programming jobs are usually about working on large and old code bases (these kinds of jobs are also the least desirable, so they could be a good entry point for someone looking to get into the industry).

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