You can watch this article as a video at the bottom of the page!
1) Start learning
If you haven’t already started learning a programming language like python, php or javascript yet, then I suggest that this is the first thing you do. There is no reason to wait. I would argue and say that there isn’t necessarily anything “wrong” to learn. Let’s say you learn php and actually know how it works and similar, then it will be much easier to learn something new. Plus, you can use the stuff you have learned anyways. I started out by learning asp, then I switched to php and now I’m working as a full time web developer with Django. When you have much experience, employers will notice that on your portfolio or cv. The ability to learn new technologies and similar is very important for most employers. It’s usually more important that juniors are able and willing to learn, than what they already know.
2) Build a portfolio or a big project
It’s around 10 years ago since I got my job as a web developer. I didn’t have any education or work experience to show employers when I applied for jobs. Luckily for me, I loved learning programming and building things. I created a portfolio where I showed a couple of my projects. And this was actual live projects, so the employers could try them out and similar. One of the projects that got me noticed was a Norwegian version of freelancer.com, [guru.com](http://guru.com) and similar. I made a website where freelancers could sign up to find work, and where companies could find freelancers to work for them. The site had a lot of functionality like reviews, communications, payment gateway, search and similar. So even if I didn’t have any work experience, I could still show employers what I knew. So that is probably my best advice to you. Try to build something you can show in a portfolio. One of my best tip is to build a CRM or similar software. In a CRM, there are almost endless functionality you can add. Authentication, teams, subscriptions and a ton of other cool things. The project doesn’t have to be polished, it just has to work and NEVER crash.
3) Start applying for jobs
Since I didn’t have an education or similar, I had very low self esteem when it came to my skills as a developer. So I really hesitated when I started applying for jobs. I was living in a city called Ålesund, but I had decided to move to Oslo which is like 8 hours driving. I applied for a position in a company in Oslo as a php developer. A while after I sent the application, I got an invitation to a interview. I though, is it worth driving 8 hours just to get disappointed? But I drove there with my wife to take the chance. On the day of the interview, I really wanted to cancel because I felt like such a crappy programmer and thought I would never get the job anyways.
Luckily for me, my wife motivated me to take the chance. 30 minutes in to the interview, the boss offered me a full time position. And of course I said yes, I was finally a full time programmer. So with no education I finally got a job I loved :-) I know the situation is different in many other countries, but just give it a try. Learn to program, build a portfolio and start applying for jobs!