Web development is NOT saturated in 2024

“Web dev is saturated in 2024”

People love to say sh*t like this.

And if you say it too, I don’t blame you.

With so much hype about AI,

I can understand why you’re skeptical about learning to code.

But, here’s the no-BS truth:

Web development isn't going anywhere.

And I’d even argue that it’s where the big bucks reside.

You know I don’t like fluff, so let’s break it down.

Here are 3 steps to become a top 1% web developer in 2024 (lay-offs, AI hype, and a rough tech market,…)

1. Build a BIG project

Back in 2015, the bar was extremely low.

Every developer:

• Followed the same courses

• Built the same projects

• Had the same skills

But times are changing now (duh)

This means that you must change your ways accordingly.

Simple portfolio projects don’t work anymore.

You need to solve real-world problems.

“But Achraf, what real-world problems can I solve?”

Well, I have good news for you:

Everyone has problems.

And they all fall into one of the following niches:

• Saving time

• Making money

• Improving health

• Improving relationships

You can start by figuring out a problem you personally have.

It should fall in one of those categories.

Then you can follow this roadmap:

1. Think of an idea on how to solve it

2. Study competitors who have solved this problem

3. Build a small MVP and gather feedback on it

4. Add more features and keep scaling the project

The goal here is not to build the next big SaaS,

But to show employers that you REALLY know what you’re doing.

2. Become a stoic

In 2023, there was a recession.

The economy has become significantly worse.

But what you need to realize is,

Markets always go up and down.

And it’s literally outside of your control.

“If you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it.” – Jeanne Calment

You need to change your mindset from:

“I can’t land a developer job because the competition is bigger than ever”

to

“The competition is huge, but it’s my opportunity to show that I’m better than the rest”

There is no space for B or C players.

You need to become an A+ player.

Take responsibility for where you are in life.

Don’t blame anyone or anything.

Keep moving in the face of adversity.

The A player finds ways to make it happen.

The A player understands the competition is huge, but it excites him deeply.

It’s all about your mindset.

2. Learn with purpose

I’ve seen so many developers try to learn everything.

You will get nowhere with this mindset.

Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely learn the basics:

• How the Internet works

• HTML, CSS, Javascript

• Git & GitHub

But after that, you should focus 100% on building projects.

What is important is not learning the hottest tech, but to build sh*t with it.

Example: Instead of learning MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Prisma,….

Watch a YouTube video on each, and pick the one you like most.

Then build a real-world project with it (as explained earlier)

There will always be new tools, new competition, new challenges…

It has always been this way, especially in this fast-paced industry.

Become fearless and play the long-term game.

That’s how you’ll achieve any dream of yours.

Hope this helped.

Achraf