What Can You Do with Your Coding Skills? A Codecademy Guide

Coding has become the language of the digital age, with proficient users gaining a competitive advantage in the job market. Due to the high demand for professionals with strong coding skills, there has been a sharp rise in the number of online coding courses and platforms. But with so many of these available today, how do you know which platform to choose?

Codecademy sets itself apart from the numerous coding platforms accessible online by offering a long list of coding courses, each designed to be flexible and rich with lessons, challenges, and resources. You’re not just watching YouTube videos. Instead, you’ll find yourself constantly writing lines of code, building solutions, and receiving feedback in real time.

At the end of each course, you won’t just come out with relevant technical skills but also with a portfolio of projects that demonstrate your grasp of these skills.

What Projects Can You Build After Learning to Code Online?

Codecademy provides well-rounded training, equipping learners with a strong coding foundation. As you go through your chosen Codecademy course, you will work on two types of projects: practice projects and portfolio projects.

As the name suggests, practice projects allow you to test a skill you just learned with a little bit of guidance. The portfolio projects, meanwhile, come at the end of every Codecademy career path and give you the chance to build a project on your own using all the skills you’ve acquired throughout the program.

While you work on these projects autonomously, you’re encouraged to optimize them by interacting with other coders on Codecademy’s community forum. This way, peers can review your code and offer ideas to improve it.

Once you’re satisfied with your project, you can add it to your portfolio, which you can, in turn, leverage if you’re searching for a tech job.

Here are some examples of portfolio projects that you can create while learning to code at Codecademy.

• Kelvin Weather. Deploy your JavaScript skills to develop a weather application with a temperature converter. Your application is expected to convert Kelvin to Celsius and Celsius to Fahrenheit.

• Fashion Blog. Put your HTML knowledge to work as you design a fashion blog. You’ll create lists, insert pictures, links, and other HTML elements for an interactive design that resembles real blog pages.

• Magic 8-ball. Develop your own magic 8-ball using Python. This is a fun project developed for a fun game of fortune-telling.

• Java Variables Mad Libs. As the project name suggests, you’ll utilize Java to build a version of the popular word game, Mad Libs.

• Dog Years. Apply your C++ and math skills to build an application that converts a dog’s age to human years.

• The Box Model: Davie’s Burgers. Identify and correct faults with a fictional restaurant’s online application using CSS. You will finish the project by adding model properties while keeping HTML and CSS elements intact.

Is Learning to Code Online Worth It?

Learning to code online is worth it if you want to learn one of the most in-demand skills today, learn how to think differently, become a more versatile professional, or start a career in tech.

With over 50 million learners, we highlight how learning to code with Codecademy has impacted the lives of three learners.

Manuel Sousa: “It’s mind-expanding.”

Initially an economics major, Manuel S. decided to drop out of his program due to a lack of passion for the field. Manuel then became a professional chef for several years. But after hearing so much about the future of tech and coding, Manuel changed directions a third time. And as they say, the third time’s a charm.

He enrolled in a coding bootcamp and supplemented his learning with Codecademy courses. Now, Manuel works as the VP of Engineering and deputy CTO at PaxFamilia, a wealth platform for financial advisors.

Asked about how coding has impacted his life, he said: “I liked cooking, but I also like coding because of the mental challenge. I’m a deputy CTO, so I don’t just code anymore. I communicate a lot with different interested parties in my company—with people who may not have a technical understanding of the codebase, with juniors who are lost, with bigger clients, and stuff like that. It’s really interesting how tech can be incorporated in so many scenarios. Personally, for me, it’s mind-expanding.”

Regina G: “Tech knowledge never goes to waste.”

For Regina G, the desire to pursue a tech career arose from witnessing tech’s positive impact on people’s lives. She decided to be a part of the transformation and signed up for Codecademy Pro.

“After being a software engineer for a short stint, I realized my heart was more into business operations—but tech knowledge never goes to waste,” said Regina. By learning coding skills, she was able to communicate with technical people, which, in her words,  “helped them take me more seriously.”

Her skills have also allowed her to become part of the tech community. “I would 100% be nowhere without the people and friendships I’ve walked away with by being part of this world.”

Regina currently works as the COO at Mochary Method, a company that creates software to help business owners run their companies effectively.

Kate M.: “I find it really rewarding to be employed as a programmer.”

The modern-day tech industry no longer requires a college degree as a prerequisite for working in the field. Kate M. proved this true by enrolling at Codecademy and eventually landing a job as a full stack engineer.

“I used Codecademy to make sure that I had a strong foundation moving forward. And then recently, I learned React. You know, that’s a hot, new language. It’s really marketable…I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time.”

“ [Now,] I find it really rewarding to be employed as a programmer—that it is my income that’s supporting my family. I learned to code because I wanted to, not because it was my major. You don’t need to have attended college. You don’t need a degree. All you need is to just start programming,” Kate shared.

Want to know what other users have to say about Codecademy? Read more Codecademy learner stories here.

Learn to Code Online with Codecademy

Codecademy’s courses have reached over 50 million learners in 190 countries, demonstrating the platform’s broad appeal to those seeking a career in technology or simply interested in learning an in-demand skill. This is made feasible by its innovative approach to teaching coding without the use of a physical classroom or teacher.

Join a global network of coding enthusiasts and professionals who are revolutionizing the tech industry. Sign up for Codecademy today.