Where Is Your Portfolio?

Portfolio word is often associated with actors who carry their photos and list of movies they had worked in. And they call this portfolio.

By seeing this, some producer decides whether or not they want to cast her in the movie. And by this interaction we learn that portfolio is important.

If you go for a coding job, they might ask you for a degree in computer science. And often degree is a proxy for them knowing that you know to code. And since this has been happening from long time ago, they keep asking for that degree.

But unlike some fields like medicine, where you have to learn from a certified hospital and get your degree, coding is something you can learn on your own.

Imagine instead of degree, you are asked to show a portfolio of your coding skills, then if you are passionate enough – you could get a job at 18 years of age. And that’s already happening on the Internet. And I suspect – more and more companies would follow. And eventually you will see this change in the offline world too.

So what should you do?

If your skill is something you can learn on your own, start a portfolio of your work in progress. And keep learning. Your portfolio is how you will get paid. No age bar, degree bar or any kind of affiliation required. Do you have a portfolio of your work?