Portfolio Projects: Learn while you build!

As time as gone by and I’ve been trying to really work on a few wow portfolio projects but more often than not, I started many, finished none. That excitement to build something to show off what I can do got farther ahead of me than my work did at first. On top of that, trying to buff up my technical skills, again the excitement got ahead of me. There is so much you can learn but only so much time while job hunting, dealing with life, etc.

Feeling discouraged, I decided to go to the web with a question of “What can I build that will help me both learn the language I’m learning while also helping me solidify and strengthen the languages I already know?” Surprisingly, there are MANY projects out there for that, many even with tutorials to help you through it for those parts that you’re learning or trying out something new in your known language. Some say to leave the projects till you learn your language but I’ve seen MANY on Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Tik Tok affirm that learning WHILE creating your project can often times be better if you’re a hands on learner and need those projects for your resume sooner rather than later.

From clones and bots to simple starter projects to reaffirm new knowledge, here are a list of my top 6 projects you can do for your portfolio while learning!

1. Discord Bot from Free Code Camp(Language: Javascript) This is a great hour long project that can be useful for yours, a friend’s, or even a discord group you’re a part of. A nice win and start to your projects really and hey, free bot!
2. Robinhood- Style Android App from Free Code Camp(Language: Kotlin) This is also a fairly quick project to do and its an android app as well! If you’re more into developing mobile apps, this would be a great start to that. Bonus, is tracks Covid cases so it’s relevant. Nice right?
3. Instagram Clone from Free Code Camp(Languages: React Natve, Firebase Firestore, Redux, Expo) For those who are interested in social media, this is a great one to do to learn the ins and outs of a site as popular as Instagram. While this one is a good day’s work, its something that will really help you understand what is going on with the app as others like it. (Currently I’m working on this and it is very interesting and helping me learn while solidifying and expanding my current knowledge)
4. Amazon Clone from Clever Programmer (Languages: React JS) If you’re interested in E commerce, this is a great one to do. It’s one of the more hearty projects and nearly 9 hours but it is well worth the time.
5. Spotify Clone from Clever Programmer (Languages: React JS) If your goal is to work more in the streaming side of things, I would suggest this project. It’s not too long nor too short and it will help you both appreciate and understand what your streaming services are doing for you.
6. Facebook Messenger Clone From Clever Programmer (Languages: Full Stack React and Firebase) This one is one I personally will be doing next, but It is something that those interested in chat applications and coding that side of the industry should try out. This too is a shorter project but understanding how our chats work is important as both a coder and a user.

There are even more projects out there for most if not all programming languages and it’s lucky that we live in an age where our peers and “older siblings” of the industry are willing to share their knowledge with us. If lessons are getting too boring or repetitive with you, I suggest coding some shiny new projects for your portfolio and learn that way to change things up.