Underpants Office » Web development

5 tips for learning a new skill

Doug — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:53:05 +0000

Photo: westernhorse

The ability to acquire new skills easily is not a universal trait, but it’s the sort of know-how that is extremely useful to the almost anyone who is self-employed at home–freelancers, consultants, Web or graphic designers, programmers–almost all of us find ourselves needing to learn something new from time to time. (For some of us, it’s nearly every week!) What follows is a set of suggestions for how to go about learning a new skill. You’re probably not going to become an expert quickly, but with some hard work and directed activities, you can that old dog (you) some new tricks.

1. Take small steps.

You may have a lofty goal–”learn PHP,” for example–but if your goal is big and broad like that, you will do well to break it up into a set of smaller steps.

There are two aspects to this suggestion: first, learning a new skill takes time, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t learn it all overnight. For example, you might desire to learn CSS or Rails, or perhaps you want to learn how to use JQuery or do something in Photoshop. Pick a reasonably long time frame as a deadline. It might be two weeks, or a month, or a year, depending on what you’re trying to learn. If you make that timeframe too small, you’ll end up frustrated; if you reach your objective faster, all the better.

Secondly, it’s a good idea to schedule your learning time. That’s not always easy, and the nature of your workload and workflow may be such that you have to take spare time as it comes, but if you schedule some time for learning something new each day or each week, put it in your calendar and treat it as a priority, soon you’ll be on your way to acquiring that new skill.

2. Collect the necessary tools.

If you’re learning a new software application, for example, you obviously need to have that application. If you’re learning a programming language, you may want to find a text editor that has some built-in features for that particular language. If you’re not sure which application you’re going to use, look around for a demo version that will at least give you a feel for how it works.

In the example of learning PHP, you’ll probably want to use something like MAMP, WAMP or LAMP to install Apache, MySQL and PHP locally on your laptop or workstation, so you can experiment and learn in an environment over which you have complete control, and where the consequences of “breaking” something aren’t great.

In your quest to learn a new skill, don’t forget books. I’ll admit that in recent years I’ve bought far fewer books on technology things than I once did, simply because of the preponderance of online technical information. But some of us like having a book that we can take with us and peruse whenever we like. If you’re looking for good books on stuff like Web development and programming, freelancing, starting a home-based business, and such, please check out the Underpants Office Bookstore–we’ve done some of the searching for you in these and other selected areas, and you might find just the right book to help you get moving on learning something new.

3. Take a class.

There are countless options for structured learning–you can probably find a local adult education or continuing education course through a nearby college or university or community college. There are also hundreds (perhaps thousands) of online courses that you can take. For example, if you’re trying to learn PHP programming, a simple Google search will turn up dozens of resources, many of which are free. The same is true for almost any Web development skill, but even if you’re looking for information about something a bit more obscure, such as lutherie (guitar-building), you’re probably going to find some resources online. If you’re reasonably self-motivated, the online option is great.

4. Set yourself some goals.

Without a defined goal, you might flounder for a long time, so take a little time to figure out some reasonable, measurable goals. To continue the PHP learning example, you might find discover the Killer PHP site, where you’ll find a bunch of instructional video screencasts–you could decide that a reasonable goal would be to set aside an hour each day for a month (there are enough of them to do that), and work through all of the examples yourself. You won’t necessarily be a PHP ace when the month is over, but you’ll be a few steps farther down the road. (See item #1 above.)

5. Pick a simple, real-world project to work on.

If you’re learning something like PHP (and by now you might have figured out that learning PHP is on my list of skills I’d like to aquire), you can write simple “Hello, World!” programs until the cows come home, but what will really help you is to pick a project that is interesting to you (and might actually be useful) and work on that. If it’s learning how to build a guitar, get an inexpensive kit and actually build one. It might not be your best work, but you have to start somewhere, and you might as well start with something useful.

I’m hoping to invest some time in 2009 in learning PHP (and a few other Web-development skills), and I’ll try to post along the way to let you know how I’m doing with that. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your experiences and goals and approaches. Leave a comment and let us know how it’s going! (And if this article has helped you get off dead-center and decide to learn a new skill, I’d appreciate any Diggs or Stumbles!)

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A baker’s dozen great freelancer’s resources

Doug — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:26:00 +0000

Illustration: dh

Many people who work in home offices are freelancers of one sort or another, so I’ve been looking around for as many good resources for freelancers as I could find. If you’re trying to make a go of it as a freelance writer, Web developer, graphic designer, consultant, photographer or whatever, I’m guessing you’re going to find something here that will be useful to you. Here’s my list so far:

1. Freelance Switch

Freelance Switch not only sports a great line-up of articles and resources about freelancing, but they’ve also got a valuable (and inexpensive) job board. The concept is brilliant: you can advertise a freelance job for free, and freelancers pay only $7/month to apply for any of the jobs on the board–pretty much an “everyone wins” deal.

2. Freelance Folder

Oriented towards freelancers and Web-workers, Freelance Folder is another source for helpful articles on a wide variety of topics–productivity, creativity, marketing, and the freelance life in general. There’s a lot of good stuff here.

3. JD’s Blog

If you’ve got entrepreneurship coursing through your veins, you’ll probably profit greatly from hanging out at JD’s Blog. You’ll find many articles about how to build better businesses, from virtually every conceivable angle–marketing, tips and tools for entrepreneurs, finances and investing, and a lot more. (As of this writing, the last post to JD’s Blog was in October, so I’m hopeful they’re just on a brief hiatus–but there is still a ton of useful content there.)

The rest of the resources below are individual articles from a variety of blogs (including those mentioned above), but when you go to look at them, be sure to spend some time on these sites, because you’ll likely find other stuff that you can use.

4. 101 Essential Freelancing Resources

This Freelance Switch article is a very long list of all kinds of resources–tools and Web sites for things like time tracking, invoicing, project management, business tools, job boards, Web site and blogging tools, and advertising and marketing tools and resources. “Essential” is the right word for this piece.

5. Freelancer’s Toolbox–30+ Online Freelance Resources

This article from Mashable.com is another great list of useful online resources for the freelancer. Lots of great stuff to browse here.

6. 20 Resources for Freelancers

This article is from Tutorial Blog–there’s some duplication with the lists above, but you’ll find some other stuff here, too, and this site is definitely worth a look.

7. The Freelance Writing FAQ

Writing for newspapers and magazines is the bread and butter of many freelancers, and this article at Creating Marketing Solutions is a very helpful set of answers. If you’re just starting out, do yourself a favor and get up to speed with this FAQ.

8. Tools for Freelancers

This Society of Professional Journalists article is a great source of information for the freelance journalist, and the resources referenced span a wide range of topics, from tax guidelines to professional organizations to writer’s conferences and such. Put that j-school degree to work.

9. Ebook Writing and Marketing Secrets

Ebooks are all over the place, and people are buying them. If you have what it takes to write them, you could stay pretty busy and do pretty well. This site explains how.

10. Resources for Freelance Web Designers

Here’s a list of resources with a practical, nuts-and-bolts feel. There’s stuff here about dealing with clients, protecting your work, online portfolios, social networking sites for designers, and more.

11. 53 Steps to follow if you want to become a freelance Web designer/developer

No-nonsense introduction to the process involved in becoming a good Web designer or developer–good stuff, and most of the steps link to resources for further reading.

12. The Ultimate list of Freelancing Resources (1-25)
The Ultimate list of Freelancing Resources (26-50)

These articles comprise a list of 50 articles about freelancing–a lot of helpful content here.

13. 25 tips by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs

This article contains a set of valuable tips–practical stuff–but be sure to check out the collection of articles on entrepreneurship at the end of the article.

If you know of other great freelancing resources out there that I’ve missed, please post a comment and a link.

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How to learn the Web development skills that will keep you working–Part 2

Doug — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:50:47 +0000

(If you missed the first part of this two-part article, go read it now–it contains a wealth of links that you don’t want to miss! –Doug)

Photo: takomabibelot

In the first part of this article, we asked the question: are the most sought-after Web development skills really within reach for the average Web developer who may not have a deep programming background? The answer to that question is probably “yes,” if you know your way around HTML and CSS, and if you know enough Javascript and PHP to make minor changes to an existing script. You also need to be willing to take your time, study and experiment. It is also a good idea not to underestimate how long it may take you to learn something new.

The purpose of these articles is to assist you with the remaining piece of the puzzle–finding the online resources that can provide you with tutorials, references, sample code and tips to help you learn this stuff. One thing we haven’t really mentioned thus far is that there are also many great books out there about most of these topics. That’s great if you can afford $30 to $50 a pop; I can’t. But I’ll include a brief bibliography at the end in case you can.

Last time we covered:

Framework knowledge
Widget development
Custom CMS themes
CMS customizations and plugin development
PSD to XHTML services

So in case you missed Part 1, please check it out. In this second part we’ll cover:

Javascript plugin creation
Facebook/MySpace applications
iPhone applications
Ecommerce integration
Flash and Actionscript knowledge

6. Javascript plugin creation

Today’s Web designers rely heavily on various types of Javascript plugins to add functionality to their sites without having to “re-invent the wheel,” so to speak, and without having to know much about Javascript to implement them. While there are many existing plugins available, there will probably still be a need for custom plugin programming or modifications of existing plugins, and the Web developer who knows Javascript and a couple of Javascript frameworks, such as JQuery and Mootools, should have no trouble staying busy.

Photo: siomuzzz

7. Facebook/MySpace applications

8. iPhone applications

The recent release of the iPhone SDK by Apple Computer has resulted in a tidal wave of iPhone apps, but there are many, many opportunities in this area. You can download the software development kit (SDK) for free from Apple (if you register for a free developer’s account), but before you release your applications, you’ll have to pay to become a registered iPhone developer.

9. Ecommerce integration

Ecommerce integration boils down to implementing a particular company’s ecommerce solutions into your client’s Web site. There are many potential solutions out there, but Google Checkout, PayPal and Checkout by Amazon are good places to start.

Photo: furryscalyman

10. Flash and Actionscript knowledge

Update to Part 1 of the article:

Here are a couple of additional resources I’ve found concerning the Mambo CMS since I wrote Part 1 of this article:

Books

Here’s a brief bibliography of some titles to look for, with links to each one on Amazon.

Final thoughts

Web development is not rocket science. The people who make it look easy got there by working very hard over a long period of time, so be patient, do your homework, try things out, don’t rush, and you can learn this stuff, and when you do, you’ll be in greater demand.

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How to learn the Web development skills that will keep you working

Doug — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:59:16 +0000

Photo: batega

There was a great article recently over on NetTuts called “10 Most Sought-after Skills in Web Development”–very helpful information for those of us who are trying to make it as freelance Web developers. But are those skills really within reach for someone who may not necessarily have a programming background? The answer is a qualified “yes,” if:

you have a working knowledge of HTML and CSS
you know your way around PHP enough to make simple modifications to a script
you’re willing to take some time to study and experiment
you’ve got patience, determination and a desire to learn something new
you know where to find tutorials, references and examples to learn from

And although you’re more or less on your own for the first four of those bullet points, this article is intended to help you with the last one. This is Part One of a two-part article on where to find the information and resources you need to acquire some of the Web development skills that can make you a better developer and equip you to keep working in challenging economic times.

According to the NetTuts article, the 10 most sought-after Web development skills are:

Framework knowledge
Widget development
Custom CMS themes
CMS customizations and plugin development
PSD to XHTML services
Javascript plugin creation
Facebook/MySpace applications
iPhone applications
Ecommerce integration
Flash and Actionscript knowledge

Part One of this article will cover the first five, and we’ll take up the last five in Part Two.

Photo: kansas_city_royalty

Before we dive into the list, here’s one more thing to chew on: most of those of us who do this stuff for a living do it partly because we love the challenge of learning new technologies. But if you’re already a busy Web nerd, it’s going to be difficult to find a lot of time for learning new stuff. I would suggest that you give yourself plenty of time to learn something new, so that it doesn’t become frustrating to you when you have to be busy with other things for a while. Be realistic about how long it takes to learn this stuff. In some cases, your prior knowledge will be such that you can learn some of these skills very quickly, and that’s cool. But don’t set yourself up for failure by expecting to learn something like Django in a week’s time when you’ve got three other project deadlines coming due next week. Be reasonable, take your time, and do it right.

Now let’s take a quick look at each of these technologies and some of the best places to find information, tutorials and other resources. And by the way, all of the resources that are listed here are available on the Web for free. We may also compile a good list of books on these topics at some point, too.

1. Framework knowledge

Photo: oskay

A framework, in this context, is an application framework–it’s sort of like having the basic structure of your application already built for you, and your job is to flesh it out with functionality. The idea is that you, as the developer, won’t have to spend your time working on the standard stuff that is essentially common to all applications–you can invest your time on the specific functionality of your application. In my early days as an Apple II programmer, if my application needed a menu interface of some sort, I had to write it, pretty much from scratch. Now with Apple’s Cocoa framework, for example, the appearance and operations of things like buttons, toolbars, application “drawers” and such are handled by the Cocoa framework in pretty the same way for any Cocoa application–that work has been done for you. In general, the use of a framework makes application development faster, easier, and more consistent.

Here are some popular frameworks and resources for learning how to use them:

CakePHP

Cookbook (official docs), video screencasts, and several tutorials
The Bakery (tons of articles about working with CakePHP)
Sitepoint article: Your First Bite
NetTuts: Getting Started with CakePHP
Wildflower, a CakePHP CMS

CodeIgniter

Django

Rails

Symfony

2. Widget development

Photo: whiteafrican

There are all sorts of platforms that are ripe for a huge variety of widgets–Mac OS Dashboard widgets, widgets for Wordpress or other blogging or CMS platforms, Google widgets, Yahoo! widgets, Vista sidebar gadgets and more. You can get a feel for the variety and scope of the widget market by visiting the Widgipedia site, among others. Here are some places you can find information about how to develop widgets for several different environments:

MacOS Dashboard widgets

Wordpress widgets

Google gadgets

Yahoo widgets

Vista sidebar gadgets

And check out this general article on Widget Best Practices.

3. Custom CMS Themes

Photo: geishaboy500

Okay, so there are already thousands of themes out there, but there will always be a need for more, and for custom theme creation. If you can learn to create and manipulate themes for Wordpress, Drupal, or other blogging and CMS platforms, you’ll stay busy, and you’ll make money. Here is where your CSS skills will really come in handy. Here are some resources:

Wordpress theme creation

Drupal theme creation

Joomla theme creation

4. CMS customizations and plugin development

There are many platforms and applications that use plugins as a way to extend functionality and customize. Developers are writing custom plugins for Wordpress, modules for Drupal, JQuery plugins, extensions for Expression Engine, and other platforms.

5. PSD to XHTML services

A quick search will show you that there are a lot of people out there making money doing this, so be prepared to be good and to compete in the marketplace. But a lot of Web designers do site design mock-ups in Photoshop because it is a relatively quick way to show a client how things could look, and it’s relatively easy to tweak the design before you translate it into style sheets. The ability to start with a Photoshop document and turn it into a Web document is not that difficult to learn, and here again, your CSS chops will help you get the gig.

Go to Part 2…

In Part Two we identify resources for learning

Javascript plugin creation
Facebook/MySpace applications
iPhone applications
Ecommerce integration
Flash and Actionscript knowledge

In the meantime, if you find any other great resources in any of these areas, please add them via comments. And if you want to make sure not to miss the next installment, why not subscribe to Underpants Office?

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