It’s been a long year! You are done with your final assignment, you’re almost done with your exams and you are wondering what lies ahead of you. You then graduate, you’ve got your qualification and you’re ready to take on the world, believing that you now know everything – Smooth sailing from now on.

If only that was the case.

We’ve all been there: Determined, ambitious and slightly naive in the ways of the world.

As someone who has now gone through this experience, I will be going through my experiences with you and discuss what you should expect after graduating from college or university.

In the Beginning

I started studying web development a few years ago after I finished high school. There were so many things I did not know about web development. I didn’t know all of the languages that we had to work on and there were some late nights where I struggled managing my code due to various errors.

I did manage to solve those errors eventually. With enough determination, hard work and a few sacrifices along the way, one can accomplish anything.

At the end of my second year, I got a job offer to work at Lava Lamp Lab. As to be expected, I was quite surprised. Knowing that all my hard work has finally paid off.

To be honest, I was nervous, which is normal for someone transitioning from student to employee.

Life of an Employee

It took quite a while to adjust to my new surroundings. The work environment, getting to know the employees, getting settled at your desk and knowing what type of role you have at the company.

My first task involved the testing of an app. They gave me this task as soon as I had familiarised myself in the first two days working there. Testing is quite essential when it comes to the development of web apps and websites.

When I tested the app, I discovered multiple errors that could’ve caused functionality issues, which could have negatively impacted the client and the company.

I already knew testing was important while being a student, but this experience has proven that testing for a company includes higher stakes and that a developer needs to do regular tests and check-ups to make sure that everything is functioning perfectly.

Life of a Student

What I’ve also learned is that college doesn’t teach you everything. Colleges and Universities only give you the necessary basic skills to apply for a job. The problem with the web development and design industry is that everything changes within a blink of an eye.

Keeping Up with the Times

Like the ever-expanding growth of technology, we must adapt to the new trends of web development to keep up with the times.

Web development languages like Perl and Objective-C were once popular back in the day, but now they have been replaced by languages like PHP and Python.

Company Preferences

Each company has a different preference in web development. When I did two internships for two different web development companies, I noticed that one company solely worked with WordPress and the other worked on Visual Studio. Lava Lamp Lab uses Laravel, a framework that wasn’t taught to us in college, to develop their web apps.

What to Expect

As a web development student, you will only be taught the basics, because every company is different when tackling design and development projects.

If you are a student, your lecturer would have most likely given you scenarios that require you to solve, but like what Harry Callahan once said: “Experience is the best teacher of all.”

Every Day is a Challenge

You will be forced out of your comfort zone and you will need to adapt by learning as much as you can.

Every day is a challenge! You will come across a variety of problems you don’t know how to solve. Don’t just sit around and hope that the error will fix itself. You will need to do research regularly to see if you can fix it by yourself, but don’t get stuck with it for most of the day.

If you truly cannot solve your predicament, ask your fellow employees if they can help or ask for advice on the issue. This is the best way to learn from their experiences and for you to get familiar with routines that would possibly assist you in the development process.

Conclusion

Now you know everything! May my experience guide you in the right direction to a successful and fulfilling career in the web development and design industry.

Good Luck!