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Best Coding Jobs for Beginners in 2023
Coding

Starting Strong: Best Coding Jobs for Beginners in 2025

10 minute read | November 13, 2023
Akansha Rukhaiyar

Written by:
Akansha Rukhaiyar & reviewed by Akita Emmanuel

Akansha Rukhaiyar

Reviewed by:
Akita Emmanuel

Ready to launch your career?

The demand for coders transcends virtually every industry. Whether it be healthcare or manufacturing, coding is one of the most in-demand professions in today’s digital world.

But it can be difficult, especially when you’re at the beginning of your career, to know where to start. Having plenty of options is a good problem to have, but it’s still a challenge to choose. 

That’s why we’ve created this guide. Below, we’ll tell you about some of the best coding jobs for beginners, what they do, and what’s required of them. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a firm understanding of the most lucrative and promising coding jobs for beginners. 

What Does an Entry-Level Coding Job Look Like?

As an entry-level coder, your daily to-do list will involve the following:

  • Coding using the programming language best suited for the project
  • Writing tests for codes that your team will execute later
  • Drafting code-based solutions to problems
  • Fixing bugs and developing software patches
  • Documenting technical programming progress and processes
  • Writing tickets for pending jobs and issues you want to flag

A coder’s work-life balance depends on the organization and job description. Some companies have standard 40-hour weeks. With some roles, you’ll have periods of low work interspersed with crunch-time days.

7 Best Coding Jobs for Beginners

Kickstart your coding career with these seven entry-level coding jobs:

Web Developer

A web developer creates websites and web applications, either for the website’s back end or front end. Full-stack developers contribute to all aspects of website creation. 

Job Role and Responsibilities

A web developer has the following responsibilities on a daily basis:

  • Writing clean and efficient code using HTML, JavaScript, or CSS
  • Developing responsive web interfaces that balance business and client needs
  • Debugging issues as they come up for seamless functionality
  • Engaging in website maintenance

Average Salary

The average annual salary of a web developer is $76,792.

best coding jobs, Web Developer average salary

General Requirements for This Role

A web developer requires the following in-demand skills and educational background:

  • An associate degree in computer science, web development, or equivalent knowledge through web development bootcamps
  • Deep understanding of web development principles, HTML, and CSS
  • Soft skills like analytical thinking, communication, and collaboration for smooth project execution
  • Excellent grasp over either front-end or back-end frameworks and version control systems like GitHub

Career Path and Progression

It’s common for junior web developers to later become senior web developers and then principal web developers. You could also freelance as a software developer or make a lateral move into software engineering.

Software Engineer

A software engineer designs and builds software applications, products, and information systems, writing software according to the given specifications. 

Job Role and Responsibilities

The daily responsibilities of a software engineer include the following:

  • Developing APIs and deploying large-scale applications
  • Supporting product rollouts and participating in technical design discussions
  • Maintaining software architecture and writing algorithms for software systems
  • Creating a proof of concept and prototypes for software development cycles

Average Salary

The average salary for a software engineer in the USA is $126,620 per year.

best coding jobs, Software Engineer average salary

General Requirements for This Role

Hiring managers expect software engineers to have the following prerequisites and key skills:

  • A bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or IT (or equivalent through software engineering certifications). You can also check out a Software Engineering Bootcamp
  • Technical knowledge of IT security and systems, application development, and network security measures
  • The ability to communicate across teams and simplify technical jargon for non-engineering departments
  • Project management skills

Career Path and Progression

It’s common for software engineers to assume more senior roles, which entails considering larger business goals and optimizing for scaling processes. 

Data Analyst

A data analyst studies data to identify patterns and trends. These insights help guide business decisions.

Job Role and Responsibilities

A data analyst does the following:

  • Executing the data analysis process in coordination with data scientists
  • Preparing data from various authoritative sources
  • Cleaning the data points by removing extraneous or incorrectly formatted information
  • Analyzing the data based on hypotheses using predictive models
  • Interpreting data to formulate actionable insights

Average Salary

Entry-level data analysts earn an average of $68,301 every year.

best coding jobs, Data Analyst average salary

General Requirements for This Role

To become a data analyst, you need the following skills:

  • A bachelor’s degree in engineering, statistics, economics, math, or business, with some focus on data analysis
  • Proficiency in SQL, Tableau, and programming languages like JavaScript and Python
  • Story-telling skills using data points, impactful presentations, and solid business communication capabilities
  • Soft skills like critical thinking and collaboration since data projects are long and arduous, involving multiple teams who need to do collective problem-solving

Career Path and Progression

Data analysts often graduate to data scientist roles, as both roles have many intersecting skill sets. Some data analysts specialize according to the industry. The demand for financial data analysts, marketing data analysts, and business analysts is high. You can also consider freelancing as a data analyst after gaining some experience.

Information Security Analyst

An information security analyst protects sensitive and confidential information within an organization’s IT infrastructure.

Job Role and Responsibilities

Information security analysts perform the following tasks:

  • Ensuring the organization complies with data protection laws like GDPR and industry-specific legislation like HIPAA
  • Working with product departments to assess whether an offering has adequate data security frameworks
  • Evaluating security solutions that make business performance more efficient with threat response
  • Writing software programs for security monitoring systems

Average Salary

The average annual salary of information security analysts is $69,854.

General Requirements for This Role

Information security analysts have the following background:

  • A bachelor’s degree in IT or computer science, engineering, math, or equivalent cybersecurity bootcamp knowledge
  • Cybersecurity certifications such as Certified Information Systems Auditor and Certified Information Security Manager
  • Ability to work remotely and handle inter-departmental communication via email
  • Background in security management frameworks and data privacy
  • Willingness to work under pressure and be on-call during a cyber breach

Career Path and Progression

Information security analysts progress to security architect roles or incident response positions. Once you have a few years of experience, you can also become a cybersecurity consultant for multiple organizations.

Mobile App Developer

When you become a mobile app developer, you can specialize in iOS, Android, Windows, etc. You will build native applications with a seamless customer experience.

Job Role and Responsibilities

Mobile app developers have the following responsibilities:

  • Working with various teams like IT, software developers, and e-commerce departments to develop mobile apps based on customer needs
  • Delivering across the entire app life cycle, from conceptualization to post-release troubleshooting
  • Optimizing the performance of mobile applications based on customer feedback

Average Salary

Mobile app developers earn a median salary of $102,794.

best coding jobs, Mobile App Developer average salary

General Requirements for This Role

Mobile app developers have the following qualifications:

  • A B.S. degree in computer science, engineering, or related IT fields
  • Coding skills and the ability to build apps using Java, Kotlin, or other programming languages
  • Familiarity with user experience principles for app usage
  • Deep knowledge of Android/iOS APIs
  • Strong communication skills for engaging with non-technical stakeholders

Career Path and Progression

Mobile app developers often transition to product owner positions, i.e., they take over user story creation and become the point-of-contact between mobile app developers and customers. You can also find promising mobile app development projects on freelancing platforms if you want a flexible schedule.

Blockchain Engineer

Blockchain engineers create blockchain solutions for businesses.

Job Role and Responsibilities

A blockchain engineer’s job entails the following:

  • Setting up blockchain systems architecture using statistical frameworks
  • Writing code to meet blockchain app requirements with the help of blockchain technology and developing scalable software for blockchain solutions
  • Designing blockchain-centric APIs
  • Contributing to blockchain documentation that aligns with business goals

Average Salary

Blockchain engineers earn an average salary of $139,952 per year.

best coding jobs, Blockchain Engineer average salary

General Requirements for This Role

A job as a blockchain engineer usually requires the following prerequisites:

  • A graduate degree in IT, computer science, or related fields
  • Deep understanding of blockchain development tools like Remix and Truffle
  • Creative problem-solving skills, as blockchain is a dynamic field with scope for experimentation
  • Advanced knowledge of data structures and cryptography
  • Strong programming skills

Career Path and Progression

You can branch out to other blockchain technology realms, such as UX design. Blockchain is transforming the legal industry, so many blockchain engineers transition to legal consultant roles if they have a law background.

You can also become a blockchain project manager who liaises between developers and clients.

Network Administrator

A network administrator ensures that the network of computers and operating systems are working as they should and are efficiently compatible. It’s a role that entails providing lots of technical support.

Job Role and Responsibilities

Network administrators spend their time on the following tasks:

  • Maintaining network hardware and software and protecting them from breaches
  • Resolving connectivity issues and troubleshooting issues reported by employees in relation to network equipment
  • Setting up appropriate networks according to business needs, such as VPNs
  • Facilitating the protection of user accounts, access rights, and permissions

Average Salary

The annual salary of network administrators is $85,664.

best coding jobs, Network Administrator average salary

General Requirements for This Role

The job descriptions for network administrators include:

  • A bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT systems, data processing, IT engineering, or related fields
  • Working knowledge of computer hardware and software, networking protocols, and operating systems
  • Excellent people skills and ability to exercise patience while troubleshooting issues for non-technical departments
  • Strong written communication and documentation skills to develop protocols for network security

Career Path and Progression

Depending on the cybersecurity certifications you obtain to upskill, you can transition to complex sysadmin roles that are more lucrative.

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Resources To Find Entry-Level Coding Jobs

The Internet is a rabbit hole of resources for coding positions. Cut through the noise with these resources:

Job Boards

Conventional job boards like Indeed and Glassdoor are good websites. But you should also check out more niche sites and our guide to coding bootcamp jobs:

You can also use these job boards to identify companies and apply directly through the organization’s website.

LinkedIn and Networking

Build an optimized LinkedIn profile to share your experiences as a novice coder. Connect with seasoned professionals in your industry. Engage with them organically to build your network. This network will pay off when looking for a mentor or referral during the job application process.

Online Coding Communities

You can tap into the following coding communities to learn from other coders:

  • Code Project has many discussion forums based on different categories relevant to coding. These include JavaScript, IoT, C++, etc. You can join this community of millions of developers who share their knowledge and experiences.
  • Programmers who want to learn more about React JS should consider Reactiflux, a discord server for coding enthusiasts focusing on JavaScript and React. This community holds frequent Q&As where you can get all your questions answered by Facebook engineers and developers.
  • The Dev Community has over 1 million developers who share their career wins, struggles, and doubts. You can discuss technical problems you face during your learning journey, discover recent programming trends, and seek advice related to a rewarding career in coding.
  • r/Programming on Reddit brings together over 5 million coding enthusiasts and job seekers who discuss coding projects, job market trends, and programming skills.

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Landing an Entry-Level Coding Role: Real-Life Examples To Inspire You

You can design your coding career path for an entry-level role in different ways. Here are two examples for some inspiration:

Felix Feng

best coding jobs, real-life examples, Felix Feng

Felix completed a coding bootcamp in 2016 and spent three months applying for jobs. He is now a senior front-end developer for a clothing brand in Canada. Felix applied to almost 300 companies. He gave 16 technical interviews and participated in 13 coding challenges and 32 phone interviews.

He advises not to rely only on job boards. After identifying a job he was interested in, Felix would look up the company on LinkedIn. Someone on the engineering team would then receive his application. That’s how Felix avoided sending his application in the void through a Google form. This strategy improved response rates during his job search.

Felix also has some scheduling tricks. He would simultaneously plan initial rounds of interviews at different companies and advanced rounds together at a later stage. Going through multiple ‘first rounds’ at other companies helped him build confidence. Instead of pursuing one company at a time, he treated the entire process like a video game with levels.

His final piece of advice is to study every day. Prepare for the coding interview process and build your knowledge base regardless of where you are in the job search journey.

Tim Kim

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Tim Kim did not have a computer science degree and went down the self-taught route instead. Using online courses and resources like FreeCodeCamp, Tim learned the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and, eventually, JavaScript. After covering the fundamentals, Tim realized he needed to step back. Since he wasn’t using a bootcamp for structure, he took a “Learning How to Learn” course to plan his self-learning roadmap.

Tim treated his learning journey like a full-time job. He’d follow other coders on YouTube who uploaded videos of themselves building websites from scratch. Tim learned how to execute a full-stack project with the help of Steve, a programmer that Tim followed. Steve became his professional mentor.

By using GitHub and Jira during this mentorship relationship, consistently being questioned about his code, and receiving feedback, Tim got to experience a junior web developer’s life.

Best Coding Jobs FAQs

Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions about coding jobs:

Are Coders Still in Demand?

Yes, coders are still in high demand. Their utility transcends industries, making them one of the most sought-after professionals in 2023 and beyond.

What Is the Most Profitable Coding Language To Learn?

According to a Stack Overflow survey, Clojure and Erlang are the most profitable coding languages to learn. Knowing these programming languages can garner coding salaries that exceed $100K. Beginners should start with more accessible and popular programming languages like Python and C++.

How Long Does It Take To Become an Entry-Level Coder?

Depending on how much time you commit to learning, becoming an entry-level coder can take 1-2 years. With a dedicated coding bootcamp or a curated self-learning plan, it can take about a year.

Do You Need a Degree for a Coding Career?

No, you do not need an undergraduate degree for a coding career. Your portfolio and knowledge are sufficient to land you competitive coding jobs.

What Is the Easiest Coding Job To Get?

Web development jobs, such as WordPress Developer roles and graphic design positions, are the easiest coding jobs to get. There is no dearth of work for a web developer, and the barrier to entry is low.

Since you’re here…
No one wakes up knowing how to code – they learn how to code. Tens of thousands of students have successfully learned with our courses, like our Software Engineering Bootcamp. If you’re a total newbie, our Software Engineering Career Track Prep Course will be a perfect fit. Let’s do this!

About Akansha Rukhaiyar

Akansha is a freelance writer for SaaS B2B brands, with a parallel interest in writing for mental health services and education websites. She has worked with globally diverse clients and loves to incorporate The Office references in her writing in the most accessible ways