The Proof is In The Pudding 🍮 

This is a screenshot from one of my income sources from last year in the month of September, all of my income is from software development / online entrepreneur work. I have other income sources beyond these in the screenshot. The reason I include this is because it’s very easy to lie on the internet, so I try and share as much as possible to show others what is possible to achieve. I was broke and homeless at 19, then hit six figures in tech when I was 21 as a college dropout. I’m 25 now, and the peak of my yearly revenue was around $500,000.

Just Getting Started 🚀 

If you're new to learning code, the first question that will probably come to mind is, "What's the quickest way for me to start earning money with programming?" The answer to that question will depend on your skill set. The more software skills you pick up, the more money you can earn.

There are many different jobs in the software development industry. Front-end developers make the front end look great for consumers; back-end developers set up APIs to interact with data sources and secure information, DevOps engineers deploy applications to different environments, and so on.

Once you’ve developed these skills, you will have two different paths. Working for another company to give your services in exchange for money at a job, or starting your own business to generate cash, let’s talk about them in order.

The Conventional Route 🗺️ 

The most common way to earn money is by getting a software engineering job. You can either find jobs in your city to work as a developer or tap into the global market and work remotely as a software engineer. To go this route, you'll need to learn software development; there is an abundance of learning resources online that you can use to learn for free or to pay and learn how to code.

The Economy 🏦 

The jobs report for December put out optimistic numbers for the U.S. Economy, adding 256,000 this past December. This is a positive trend from the previous few years where we saw a dramatic downturn in the number of jobs created, specifically in the the tech industry.

Free 🤝 

FreeCodeCamp has many online interactive courses that you can take, giving you hands-on experience with front-end and back-end development. This is my most recommended resource to anyone learning how to code as a low-risk/low-barrier way to learn how to code.

Premium 💰️ 

Pluralsight is the absolute best premium learning platform I have used and still use today. Experts from around the world in every IT industry create courses for you to learn how to code, work with AI, or learn about cyber security. I still use it today.

The Chicken And the Egg 🐔 🥚 

Most people just getting into tech have the chicken-egg problem: How do you get experience if you haven't worked a job first? There are a couple of different ways to do it.

Tap Into Your Network 🗣️ 

The easiest way to find someone in need of software or a website is to reach out to the network of people that you already know; this can be parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, coworkers, or anyone that you know, and ask them if they know somebody who needs a website and that you're offering your services. Then, offer them free or low-cost services so that you can build up your work history and that's how you'll get experience to be able to put on your résumé and give to employers.

You can also leverage freelance or contracting work, there are plenty of sites online, such as Upwork and freelancer.com. Many of these sites are very competitive because you're often dealing with a global market of developers where the cost of living is much lower. So you'll be competing against people who are willing to do the same work for much cheaper, so you will have to be aware of that; however, it can still be an excellent opportunity for you if you're looking to get experience now so that you can earn big money down the road once you have to built up your résumé. That way, you can still offer competitive pricing to people as long as you're willing to market yourself.

The other thing that you can do is if you find either small businesses or nonprofits that have websites that are seriously in need of improvement, you can reach out to them and offer to give them your services for free. They are easy to find in online Facebook groups or other online communities where small businesses list themselves. It's a win for both parties. They will be winning because they're getting a better website, software, or mobile app, and for you, it will be even more valuable work experience that you can put on your resume. When applying for developer jobs, education is good, but experience is king, and this is how you get it if you are starting.

The Indie Hacker 💻️ 

Indie hackers, like solo entrepreneurs, build a product themselves without a large team. To be an indie hacker, work on a side project, and turn it into a full-fledged business. Don’t do a tutorial project and try to market it unless you add more features; develop an actual service or a SaaS (Software as a Service) product that can solve other people's problems. If it has the right product-market fit, you can get traction in your project, which could turn into a business. You can also use that as work experience on a résumé. There is a large online community of indie hackers where you can connect with others to develop ideas or even collaborate.

Open Source Community 🌎️ 🖥️ 

In the developer community, there are many open-source software projects. You can go online and find many projects on GitHub and see if they have open issues or are accepting open-source contributions because that will look very good on your résumé. You can use that as work experience.

The Mindset 🧠 

For all of the methods mentioned above, if you are trying to build experience, you will work in exchange for experience instead of money until you are good enough to be paid. This can be a difficult mental shift, but I guarantee it is well worth the effort. I started out as a developer working for others for free until I became good enough to land my first software engineering job. Entrepreneur Alex Hormozi's video below provides one of the best explanations of this mindset.

TL;DR 📕 

In summary, to make your first $10,000 as a developer, you need to learn and develop skills to build software, then either land a job or start your own software business. Get resume experience by offering your services for free to friends, family, or coworkers until your work history is good enough to get hired, and you will be well on your way to making your first $10,000 as a software engineer.

Let’s Get Connected 📱 

If you’d like to learn more, comment or email me. I mentor 1:1 people who want to get into tech and learn how to increase their income to six figures 💰️.

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