I know it’s a difficult question to answer, and definitely varies from person to person. Im willing to put in more than one hour a day because I really want to get out of my living situation right now, even though more than an hour a day with a 40 hour work week is probably burn-out levels of working.

I’m using freecodecamp right now, if that helps

Im 22 old and want to change career.

Ive BS in marketing but im really not into it

Ive always been that techy guy in the class, been sitting on pc all day long but never considered being actually paid developer before.

Ive made lot of small projects that involves libraries, like ive made hotkey one the keyboard that extracts text out of screenshot using tesseract OCR on github and it was made long before windows power toys's OCR feature.

As i mentioned ive bit moderate experience in desktop application particularly windows applications, little bit powershell scripts.

Ive made all my stuff on good old pascal language delphi IDE, but never tried to learn anything else.

Feels like sitting in sinking ship right now so i decided to change the course of my career

Ive basic developer knowledge like

how network works

how sockets work

How domain, ISP, DNS works

Not bad at reading technical or library documents

And basic algorithms

Additionally Ive experience with figma

Ive no experience in data base storage/structure and how to deploy the finished product

Currently im at the odin project bootcamp Aiming at PHP(with laravel) , javascript, little bit python to make bots.

My question is, How long it might take to become self sufficient full stack web developer? and actually working with real projects

how long does it usually take to finish a fullstack web dev course and how long does it take to become a professional one.... Some may differ as some can master it quicker but in general does it take 6 months - 1 year ?

I just started learning coding from scratch (with some prior coding experience) from the rate im learning id say it will take me 6 months to a year before a have a portfolio made. Id just like to know the average timeframe before starting to look for software engineering/development roles by being self taught.

I'm looking into learning something serious to get an actual job, I'm in 1st year of college and looking to get a job this summer (don't know if that is possible). I have at least 4 years of Java experience, which I mostly used for Minecraft plugins and modding, almost all of it was open source projects/projects for private servers. Now I'd like to get into something that could earn me money.

How much time would I realistically need to become a fullstack developer and would I be able to land a job this summer?

I've started delving into backend development, and holy fuck there is a lot to learn. Currently, I work as a front-end developer and build 'fullstack' applications using Next.js. However, I want to expand my knowledge beyond building basic APIs. My goal is to transition into a more fullstack role within a year, but I'm not sure if it's feasible. Can I acquire enough competence in a year to contribute effectively as a fullstack developer? If not, what would be a more realistic timeline? Additionally, I would greatly appreciate any advice, suggestions, or tips on how to approach learning and which concepts, techniques, and technologies I should focus on.

I'm not full set on becoming a fullstack dev because I can already tell its going to be stressful as fck. I just want to expand my knowledge to help me decide better what type of dev i want to be or what stack should I stick with.

I've taken a 1-year break to learn coding. I have made enough money in digital marketing, I want to shift toward tech as I find it more in tune with what I want to do with my life.

It's my 3rd week of learning, Spending 8 to 10 hours every day. Great substitute for my Gaming habit.

I am currently targeting Full-Stack (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Node, Express, SQL, & DSA too) Is it something that's achievable in 1 year to land a decent job?

Well i am an undergraduate student currently, and quite interested in the web dev n all

My skills currently: HTML, Css, Bootstrap

Projects : I made some sample projects like: layout wise clones of different websites like amazon etc.

Next i'll be starting JavaScript As per for the content i am learning it from the udemy web dev Bootcamp by angela yu

If i invest somehow around 5-6 hours per day for it, As per now how many months it'll take to learn the full concept With projects too. I am quite interested & It's a part of my field of interest so i can event investment more than 5-6 hours. Can somebody guide or help me with it ?? Thank you all drop your suggestions below

Heyy, I was just curious to get a time reference that it generally takes to learn full stack java if studying for 2-3 hours a day

How long might it take to start learning web development to get a job besides studying at my university if I give 2 hours daily?

Considering he/she is quick to learn.

Introduction, Background, & Disclaimers

⠀

The post is finally back! I've posted this guide to GitHub here in case it gets taken down again.

THIS IS NOT A PROMOTION! None of the resources listed here belong to me, they are ALL FREE! I am not trying to promote myself or anyone else, just wanted to provide a resource for everyone. Thank you.

Hello everyone, in this post I will be writing a detailed guide on how to get a full-stack engineer job the self teaching way. This will include a more efficient version of what I did so you don't waste time. I will be going over what you need to learn, resources, and what you need to do after. It is critically important that you take EACH section to heart

A little background about me, I have been a construction engineer for a year when I decided construction was not for me and I wanted to go somewhere else. I took quizzes on what I should become, I landed on fullstack development and I haven't looked back since. Since then, I have learned a lot, built great projects, made connections, worked a contract, and landed a full time job. This process took me 8 months and it may take more or less time for you depending on who you are.

I want to preface this by saying, this is NOT the only way to learn full-stack development and there are many other stacks you can learn. This guide is focused on MERN & PERN which are very popular in the USA. For instance, the Odin Project for JavaScript is a great alternative.

Do NOT be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of content here. It is a lot, but it will all become secondhand knowledge with time. Take it one section at a time and do what you can. Now without further ado, let's get started.

Roadmap

Here is a general roadmap of how your process should look like, I will provide you with resources and guidance at each step.

• CSS & HTML

• JavaScript

• Git & GitHub

• Build a project with Git, vanilla CSS, HTML, and JS

• Node.js & NPM

• React.js

• TypeScript

• Build a project with React.js in TypeScript

• Express.js

• MongoDB & PostgreSQL

• Build a full-stack project with either MERN or PERN (or BOTH)

• Bonus material, and projects with bonus material

• Build your portfolio & resume

• LC & Sending out Applications

Always remember that you need to tailor some things to what works for you. This is by no means a size fits all approach, but it will work if you follow it as closely as possible.

A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT PROJECTS: You need to build something UNIQUE and OF YOUR OWN DESIGN/STRUCTURE. Do NOT look up easy examples of projects because they will NOT get you far. You must hold yourself up to a standard. This will give you a better understanding of full stack development and systems design which is critical for a lot of jobs.

Now, let's break down each section.

CSS & HTML

CSS & HTML are the bread and butter of every website. They determine the overall structure, content, and looks of every website. Here are the only things you need to cover them so make sure to follow along the course:

• HTML Crash Course

• CSS Crash Course

Great, now you know how to build a basic website. Let's move on to JS.

JavaScript

If you are a full stack engineer, this can be the only language you ever need to know, Thus, it IS critical that you come to learn it DEEPLY and understand how it functions. It is always up to you how you want to learn but I will recommend this e-Book which is FREE and EXHAUSTIVE and will contain all the info you will ever need on JavaScript as a vanilla language. You need to go through both Parts 1 & 2 to understand JS as a language and how it interacts with the browser.

Not all of the book will make sense to you now, but I promise you will use its information once you move on to React, Node, and LeetCode. Furthermore, watch the event loop video which is important to understand JS in the browser and will allow you to do some cool stuff.

• The Modern JavaScript Tutorial

• What is an Event Loop Anyway?

Congrats, you now understand HTML, CSS, and Vanilla JS

Git and GitHub

Git is a version control system that allows you to manage your projects and code via versions. Furthermore, it will allow you to post things to GitHub and host them online. GitHub, which I'm sure you've interacted with at this point, is an online platform where you can share and post your code on the internet. It is crucial for hosting websites and servers. Git Bash is a CLI for Git that will allow you to execute Git commands in the terminal.

• Git Bash

• Git & GitHub Course

Now that you've learned these two. Let's move on.

Build a Project

Now that you learned Git, HTML, CSS, and JS, you will be building your first project. Use git init to start a project and take it from there. I will leave the details to you.

For each and every single project step in this process, you NEED to THINK of what YOU WANT to build and build it! Since this is your first project, be realistic with what you can accomplish but CHALLENGE yourself. What you have learned so far will NOT be everything you need to make this project happen. Google is your friend as you will need to visit MANY websites to learn how to make a certain thing work.

Here's a big hint: there are a lot of great free API's online that you can use for your project (Star Wars API, Weather API, Google Maps API, the list goes on).

Furthermore, you have to make your projects dynamic and mobile friendly. Look up CSS media queries as a starter on how to do that.

Challenge yourself, prepare to be humbled, learn, and build an AWESOME first project. Start strong!

Node.js & NPM

So far, we've made JS run in the browser, but how can we run it on our computer? That's where Node.js comes in. Node is a JavaScript runtime which allows your computer to understand and run JavaScript. All you really need to understand is that.

Node Package Manager (NPM) will allow you to install and manage packages via node, which allows you to customize your project with pre-built packages and services. This one is fairly straightforward and you will naturally pick it up as you're building projects.

• Node Crash Course

React.js

Congrats, you've reached the big boy stuff. React is the single BIGGEST JS framework and the most widely sought out skill if you are looking for either a front end or full stack job. It is CRITICAL that you become REALLY good with React. Thankfully, this scrimba course IS A PERFECT FREE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT for React. Go through it step by step as the instructor says. This is how I learned React and became VERY good at it.

• Scrimba Learn React for Free

TypeScript

TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that adds static typing to data. What does that mean? It means that your IDE will know exactly what data type each constant/variable will be and will make your life A LOT easier. TypeScript's power comes when you're building a project as it builds a structure where you will KNOW if your code will run. Anyone who built a JS project knows how many times you will run into runtime errors.

It's important to understand that TypeScript does NOT actually run in your browser. It gets compiled down to Vanilla JS when it's being run. It is fairly straightforward and you will mostly pick it up just by using it.

• TypeScript Crash Course

Let's move on.

Build a project with React.js in TypeScript

Now that you know TypeScript and React, build a React TS project using the same general guides for your first project (unique, ambitious, and awesome). Again, I will let you decide what you want to build for yourself. Make it a front end only, don't worry about servers and databases for now. Some resources to help:

• React & TS environments

• Create React App TS

Once you've built a project you're happy with, let's move on.

Express.js

Express is a Node.js framework which makes running a server/API REALLY EASY for any project. Understand that when building your projects, your front end and back end will run on DIFFERENT ports. For instance, I like to run my react apps on 3000 and express apps on 4000. Now, let's learn some Express:

• Express Crash Course

MongoDB & PostgreSQL

MongoDB is a NoSQL database, which means each data type is unrelated to other data types and it uses it's own query language. That's not to say these schema do not interact with each other. PostgreSQL, on the other hand, is a SQL database which means it uses Structured Query Language (SQL) to work and the different tables can interact with each other. You should definitely learn both, but it doesn't hurt much if you just learn one. Some jobs will look for SQL others will look for Mongo, up to you but I recommend both.

• MongoDB crash course

• Mongoose crash course

• Get started with PSQL

• SQL for Beginners

• PG Node

You should learn PG node if you want to use PSQL in your node environments.

Build a full-stack project with either MERN or PERN

Congratulations, you now know everything you need to build your first full stack project. As with the other two, build something UNIQUE TO YOU. You will be putting these projects on your portfolio, be proud of them. You have two options here:

• Build a PERN or MERN project.

• STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Built 2 different projects with both (one MERN one PERN).

• Here is an EXCELLENT tutorial project, again from Traversy Media. You don't need to use every technology he uses, but they are covered in the Bonus Material section so you should try to learn them.

Bonus Material

This is incredibly important if you want to stand out, here is some extra stuff you can learn to take your full-stack projects to the next level.

• Material UI - A library of components that makes building frontend projects easy and uniform. Highly sought after in candidates and I use it on each and every single one of my projects.

• Redux & Redux Toolkit - A state management library that makes managing global state in your projects really easy. Strongly recommended.

• React Router - A library that helps manage pages on your apps.

• JWT & bcrypt - Straightforward packages that help secure your backends:

• Socket.io - Websocketting is a powerful alternative to traditional REST API's. This establishes a two way connection between your server and frontend where the server can send information to the client at any time! It allows you to build things like multiplayer games, chat apps, streaming services, and more!

• Next.js - A powerful React/Express framework built on top of React Router. It allows your website to be statically served by the server (SSR). Improved performance and overall security!

Whatever you decide to learn (I recommend all) you MUST either build a project with all these technologies or implement them in your old projects.

Build your Portfolio & Resume

To build your portfolio, you will need to host your projects online. To do so, you must get familiar with Heroku; where you will host your servers, and Netlify; where you will host your websites.

• Heroku (Backend)

• Netlify (Frontend)

• For databases, there are a lot of options for SQL, but you should use MongoDB Atlas for MongoDB.

Now that you're familiar with these two, push all your projects to GitHub and use Heroku & Netlify to host them as needed. Pin your projects on your GitHub, make a clean readme for each one, and a readme for your profile to stand out.

For your resume, you will highlight your projects and all the skills you learned. Here is mine as an example

LC & Sending out Applications

You may or may not need to LeetCode to land a job, however I strongly recommend it because it will teach you a lot on how to improve as a developer. Sure, it gets a lot of hate from the dev community but it's part of the game you need to play to get a job. Better to learn and work than to complain about it. Here are the only resources you need:

• Go through this repo pattern by pattern and look up how to solve problems of each pattern until you understand them and can solve them.

• A very helpful and structured guide for LC problems

Build your LeetCode experience and solve problems as much as you can.

Now that you have a resume, GitHub, projects, and LC under your belt you can start applying. I won't get too much into this because it is beyond the scope of what I'm trying to convey so you will need your own research. Build a strong LinkedIn and AngelList profile. Apply to companies on both, email them, call them, sell yourself. You NEED to hustle on the jobs you REALLY want if you want to get them. After enough applications, you will land something. Each failure is a learning experience for you, so your soft skills better be sharp as a knife. Good luck.

• Referrals are King

You can still land a job by cold applications, and that's what I did. There are plenty of guides on this section online, I'll leave that research to you.

At this point, your projects and the knowledge you've built while working on them will CARRY you through your interviews. Believe in yourself and what you've accomplished.

Closing Remarks

This by no means is a one size fits all, and you will likely deviate from it a little bit and that's completely okay. I intentionally left a lot of details out because you will need to be comfortable running on your own, be ready to do LOTS AND LOTS of research to get what you want.

Wishing you all luck on your journeys. Stay strong, ambitious, patient, and hungry my friends. Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or input and I will be glad to answer.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone for the feedback, I will be updating this list to be better. I plan on keeping it up-to-date as much as I can so it can always be a go-to on Reddit.

I am here to commit in front of this community that "I am going to learn full-stack web development in 3 months." This may trigger someone but try to understand me there is a reason for it,

1.) I am from a lower middle class background in a third world county and don't have the financial power to continue coding forever

2.) I have been a lazy bum for the last 2.5 years and I am about to graduate in 3-4 months (The degree is not related to coding) all I have done is learn html a month ago and stopped practicing again. (Hence the 3 months time)

I don't know whether it is possible or not but I am going to try my best to make it possible.

I will give updates on this sub everyday from today even if I did or did not code. (If it is within the rules of this sub please let me know)

If I succeed people will take this as an good example and know it is possible

If I fail people should take this example and learn from it and improve their own journey

That is all.

Edit: 23-6-2025

Well changed it up I am looking at game development now and learning about it no more web dev for me.

Every week, I interact with dozens of freshers trying to become Full Stack Developers, and the most common question I hear is:

‘Is it really possible to become a Full Stack Developer in 6 months?’

Here’s the honest 6 Month roadmap I share with them, no shortcuts, no marketing fluff.”

Month-by-Month Full Stack Roadmap (Beginner → Job-Ready)

Month 1 – HTML + CSS (Master the Basics First)

What you should learn:

• HTML5 fundamentals

• CSS3 (Flexbox, Grid, Media Queries)

• Responsive design

• Basic UI/UX rules

Projects you MUST build:

• Personal portfolio

• Landing page

• Login/Signup page

• About/Contact page

• Basic business website

By the end of Month 1 →

You should be able to build clean responsive pages without Googling every step.

Month 2 – JavaScript (The real programming starts)

Topics to master:

• Variables, Arrays, Objects

• Functions, Loops

• DOM Manipulation

• Fetch API & JSON

• LocalStorage

Mini Projects:

• Calculator

• To-Do App

• Weather App (using API)

• Form Validation

By the end of Month 2 →
You’ll understand REAL programming.

Month 3 – React (Game-Changer for Getting Interviews)

Core concepts:

• Components

• Props

• Hooks (useState, useEffect)

• React Router

• State Management

• API integration

React Projects:

• Movie Search App

• E-Commerce Frontend

• Dashboard UI

• Notes App

By the end of Month 3 →
You can apply for Frontend Internships.

Month 4 – Backend (Pick ONE)

Option A – MERN Stack (Node.js + Express + MongoDB)

PROS: Fast learning curve, tons of jobs, beginner-friendly.

Option B – Python Django + MySQL

PROS: Structured, stable, used in enterprise apps.

You must learn:

• REST APIs

• Authentication (JWT / session)

• CRUD operations

• Middleware

• Database schema design

Backend Projects:

• Blog API

• User Login/Signup API

• Product API

• E-commerce cart & order system

By the end of Month 4 →
You’re officially a Full Stack Trainee-Level Developer.

Month 5 – Build Portfolio Projects (The REAL Job Magnet)

You need 3–5 strong full-stack projects like:

• Full MERN E-Commerce

• Job Portal

• Social Media App

• Admin Dashboard

• Learning Management System

• Blogging Platform

• Fitness Tracker

• Expense Manager

Publish everything on:

• GitHub

• Live Hosting (Netlify, Vercel, Render)

• Add screenshots

• Add a video demo

By the end of Month 5 →
You have a portfolio stronger than 90% of freshers.

Month 6 – Job Prep (The Most Important Month)

Daily checklist:

• 20 interview questions (React + JS + Backend + DB)

• 1 DSA problem (Beginner level only)

• 10 job applications

• Resume building

• LinkedIn optimization

• Mock interviews

You should be able to answer:

• Explain event loop

• What is a promise?

• Difference between var, let, const

• How does authentication work?

• What is REST?

• React lifecycle?

• CRUD in backend?

• Normalization?

• API response codes?

By the end of Month 6 →
You’re ready for internships, junior roles, freelance gigs, and start getting interview calls.

What helped me succeed

• Consistency > Intelligence

• 2 hours of daily coding is enough

• Real projects > Certificates

• Don’t memorize… BUILD

• Don’t compare yourself with others

• Use ChatGPT/Gemini as your coding assistant

• Push code to GitHub every 2–3 days

If you are planning to start now, here’s the truth:

It’s 100% possible for someone with zero background to become a Full Stack Developer in 6 months

but only if you follow a structured system and build real projects.

• Not watching random tutorials.

• Not memorizing syntax.

• Not waiting for “perfect time.”

Just building → breaking → fixing → learning.

Hello, sorry but I am very excited, because I got hired for my first apprenticeship, yet I am a bit worried.

So I applied today for an apprenticeship, everything went great, then I got a call from them telling me that I got the "job".

And I am very excited about this, but a thing worried me:

In the application I said that I was experience in C, Java, Python.

However they told me that I will need to know PYTHON, HTML+CSS, PHP, JS and more(?).

I have no problem in learning any of these, but I have 7 months to learn the ones listed above; so what I am asking for is just a bit of help on what should I learn first, and how should I plan my learning knowing that I will have to study those languages!

Help would be hugely appreciated :)

Thanks again, and sorry if I rushed a bit while typing this post but I am still excited/worried ahah 

Link to article

I wrote an article that showcases the things that I did to transition from being a learner to being a full-stack developer.

In the first six months of me learning how to code, I spent my time reading books and taking online courses in over half a dozen of languages (because I didn’t know what exactly to learn, so I just tried to learn everything...).

I was spending all my free time studying programming, but I was not becoming a programmer. So I decided to change the approach to learning how to code.

6 months later, I was hired for an internship to do front-end in React and back-end in Ruby on Rails (which I didn’t know at the time).

I just can’t afford a bootcamp and I want to try to learn as much as I can online. I don’t mind paying for some courses here and there, especially courses that may have a mentor available. Is it possible to learn enough to land a job if I commit to a solid 5 months? I have the time and patience, but lacking all experience in this field.

Also, what are courses you would recommend besides Codecademy and freecodecamp(I only say that because I plan on taking their courses anyways.) I’ve researched so much and have read about so many different experiences people have had, just thought I would ask Reddit. Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I want to make it clear that I would be looking for a junior level position or freelance work, of course. I live about an hour and a half outside San Francisco, so I know there’s a lot of competition. Also I really appreciate the insane amount of feedback, I am still getting through most of these comments and taking notes on all your suggestions. Thank you!!!