How to get a job as an Entry Level Junior Laravel Developer?

@martinbean Well it's because someone on LinkedIn told me my work was, and I quote "Leaning Mid-Level, just add Rate Limiters and Scoped Auth", but I never understood if he told me leaning from senior to mid, as in if I add those two things it would make me a Senior Dev... but I was mistaken when everyone on Laracasts here told me otherwise, and I needed to add a lot of different things, I guess what he meant was fix those two things and it would be Mid not Senior. I was told by a few different devs that my code was "Mid" on LinkedIn that I reached out to, but a got a few also saying that it was Junior for sure. So now I am starting new and want to work on a new project, I know I have the motivation because I know I can do it, I just need to sit down and write the code, but I don't want to start writing the code and then figure out I am missing an important concept... I already studied System Design which I think was the last thing for me... I just want to know what I need to do now, what would be a good project and using what technologies, I know Laravel pretty good now, I haven't worked on my E-Commerce API since it got a lot of heat, but I know how and what to fix now... so I just need to know like I said in my question, what Projects and what Technologies?

@june23 What is your background? Have you ever had a job as a web developer before?

@martinbean nope I have never had a job before.

but I don't want to start writing the code and then figure out I am missing an important concept

If you think you can learn every programming concept before you start programming, you've got another think coming.

You have to build stuff to learn. Otherwise all advanced concepts will seem abstract and/or pointless to you and you'll be asking the same questions here 5 years from now.

Just pick a tech stack and start building actual apps. Forget all buzzwords, they won't land you a job. What might land you a job is talking about an app you built, and how you solved its problems.

@jussimannisto are the projects from this website -> https://roadmap.sh/backend/project-ideas sound like a good place to start? Will building 3-5 projects from this list, if I do like you said, just pick a web stack -> Laravel + React + MySQL, and build them from my own mind using nothing but the Documentation and Stackoverflow.com or Google... No AI assisted coding no help. You are saying that I will have a better chance at getting a job, since I can explain to the HR Manager exactly what I did and how I built it? Instead of trying to single handedly create a web app that a team of 20 developers would make in a year? Does this sound correct? If so what projects from the list would you choose? And if I am wrong what kind of "Projects" should I build?

Start with one project and try to finish it. It doesn't matter what the app is, as long as you like working on it. It doesn't have to be original.

Don't build an API. Build something that's actually usable. When you have a public GitHub repo with a link to a live site, that's really good for your resume. It demonstrates you can make something. A single simple working web app is much better than a dozen unfinished projects.

Asking on forums, reading about design patterns, or thinking about making apps doesn't teach you the actual skills you need. You need to write code, lots of it.

@digitalartisan what do you mean by "while understanding DevOps, cloud, and system design concepts only at a HIGH LEVEL rather than fully implementing them.", I don't get what does "High Level" refer to, like just knowing how they "work" in the web development process, basically like having a high/solid understanding off DevOps, Cloud, and System Design and how they work and not having to know how to actually implement them?

And side note- Will building some of these project -> https://roadmap.sh/backend/project-ideas be enough (if so can you list a few of the projects you would choose from the list if you were starting out seeking Junior Level Roles), are these considered "real world projects", or should I be looking at like making a Vertical SaaS CRM for a specific Niche like Construction or Legal Contracts? or like a Indeed.com type of website with like Advanced AI features? What do you mean by "real world", I am just curious since "real world" coming from a experienced web developer might mean something different.

When people say you only need a “high-level” understanding of DevOps, cloud, and system design for junior roles, they mean knowing what these things are, why they’re used, and how they fit into the web development process, not being able to fully build or operate production infrastructure yourself. You should be able to explain concepts like CI/CD, cloud hosting, authentication, scalability, and how a backend system is structured, but you’re not expected to manage Kubernetes, complex AWS networking, or large-scale distributed systems.

For projects, the backend projects on roadmap.sh are more than enough for junior roles if done properly. “Real-world” doesn’t mean huge SaaS platforms or advanced AI apps—it means projects with realistic business logic, data relationships, authentication, validation, error handling, and clear tradeoffs. A few well-built APIs (auth system, CRUD app, blog, e-commerce, task manager) that you understand deeply are far more impressive than an over-scoped SaaS or Indeed-style clone.

It may be worth considering a more structured or formal learning route to help solidify the fundamentals.

@digitalartisan Thank you for your comment.

@jlrdw Wow! This is what I was looking for and completely answered my question. I am guessing this is what professional web developers do daily is create "complex" software for real-world problems. Just two questions, this "logistics software package", is this considered a "Transportation Management System"? And how did you learn the "workflow" for this logistics software package, did you use Google and read articles upon "Logistics"?

And how did you learn the "workflow" for this logistics software package, did you use Google and read articles upon "Logistics"?

No I started out in the late 1980's in dbase 3 working with supply and inventory in the Air Force. Later in life I learned Java technology slowly over several years.

At a aerospace company I dwelt with supply A/R, A/P, etc A lot was manual (actual files cabinets), the old days.

Skipping ahead I worked at the trucking company for a couple of years in both dispatch and accounts receivable. The older software they used was out of date, no more updates.

My Boss told the owner to go ahead and let me program new software. At another company with same boss I had setup just basic dispatch software. So he knew I could do this.

That other company closed and my boss brought me with him to this new job. He was hired as operations manager.

So from knowing how to do this stuff manually (without a computer) and with programming experience combined, I was able to do this.

I first did the main dispatch part. All other I did over the course of 3 months. At the time the dispatch part took priority.

It helps to have practical experience in something with or without the aid of a computer.

I did not mention all I did, for example I did manual bookkeeping for a while also. So any experience helps your brain program better.

Just FYI later in life I wrote python programs to layout sheet metal parts, like elbows, square to round fittings, etc. Basically all types of HVAC fittings. But I kept up and used various math such as analytic geometry over the years.

But back in the 1980's there was no Google, you learned to program in dbase 3 from the manual and perhaps buying a more detailed book.

But learning Java, servlets, etc, yes the internet was used to help me learn. This was the old dial up days before high speed internet.

It's been for me a blessed and fun ride.

@jlrdw Wow! That sounds really cool and make a lot of sense rather than just building a Todo App or Blog. I noticed there are a lot of SaaS Products like CRM's, ERP's, WMS, OMS, Inventory Systems, HRIS's, CMS's, etc... and there is like the "[Insert industry name here] Management Systems" like Court House Management Systems, Jail House Management Systems, Psychiatric Management Systems, Construction Management Systems, Chiropractic Practice Management, Hospital Management Systems, the Transportation Management Systems you were talking about, etc... and then you have like "Web Dev Tools" like Configuration Management Tools, Monitoring Tools, Automation Servers, etc... but back to the "Management Systems", I notice you have to have a STRONG amount of working knowledge about the "X" Management System, like if you are building a Construction Management System, you need to know all about construction and how the workflows go, and the language Construction uses, if not it will be harder, is that what you are saying?

When you get "specs" from the Product Manager that were given to them by the Stakeholders for a Startup company, the Stakeholders are the ones that create the "workflows" right and the Mockups of the Web Design (the UI Layout)? So the Web Developers really don't need to know the "Language" of Construction, just implement the Functional Requirements. Am I right? Or do you still need some working knowledge in Construction? Or would it help?

And if I make a Construction Management System for a Private Construction Company, you really DON'T need to figure out a way to "disrupt" the Market coming up with innovative features, like the SaaS Market. I would just need create the web application and they would keep it as a "Proprietary System" or an "Internal System" for there personal use, nothing fancy about it. Right?

And it's obvious that for in a case like mine, if I chose to create a Court House Management System, I would need to study first a lot about legal stuff first, in order to show hiring recruiters that I can build complex software.

In programming it's not always necessary to have experience in that field.

But experience in that field probably adds a lot to the understanding of how to program it.

I once programmed a custom accounting program for a humane society. I already had some bookkeeping experience. However I still setup an appointment with an accountant so he could cover the specifics of the bookkeeping and any tax reporting for non-profits.

So to me a good programmer will do research and learn some specifics of what they are programming.

Right here on the forum there was a question of how to handle invoices and receipts. The OP thought he could just recreate from their related product tables.

But not true, products change, prices change, etc. An invoice is stored in it's own table with a related table for the items on that invoice.

So you can see that a little experience first would have aided in the programming here.

Bottom line is at least study up on the field you are programming for. And ask here I and others have been through this and like helping.

Added advice, If you get AI assist, only use if you could do the same without AI. It's you that has to learn. All AI is doing is finding past human answers, combining into a new formatted answer, then displaying it.

I actually saw one of my question / answer come up in Google search AI involving applying the UEFI CA 2023 certificate. I saw it a couple of days later after I got it resolved.

@jlrdw Was this Accounting Program similar to something like NetSuite? If so, why not just use NetSuite or something similar? Why did the humane society company you did the Accounting Program for ask you to make a CUSTOM one? Was it because the Accounting Program was for a NICHE (Humane Society) basically, kind of like a Vertical Accounting Program for Humane Societies, and NetSuite wouldn't be a good choice? If so why wasn't it a good choice and why did they want a custom one?

And yes I like this forum very much, all of the Laracasts community is freaking great! I learned a lot from the little bit I been on here. The developers on here are awesome!

This was a few years ago. They had tried Quick books but did not like it for their purpose. They wanted specific accounts done a certain way, like spay and neuter reports, Vet records, date and times heart worm pills given, etc. So it wound up being a mini vet / kennel program and a bookkeeping program to deal with income and expenses. Because money came in under various accounts. Like fund raising event, regular donations, bequest, etc.

So basically what I wrote was easier than just a generic bookkeeping program for them. I used a custom PHP framework for this I wrote. It was however just intranet. That way the bookkeeper could work in it there or from home.

I basically followed what the CPA advised for what the IRS needs at tax time. Though they don't pay tax, a non-profit still has to file.

Edit: I did this for free for the Humane Society. I was a volunteer. I also helped with some maintenance at times.

@jlrdw Okay I see. Well thank you for your time and wisdom! I really appreciate you telling me all of this :] It really opened up my eyes to some things! Every time I ask a question I learn something new on here.

Just try to get on with a company, let them know you know a certain amount now. And try to talk to someone who can hire and tell them you want to get better every day.

Many of my past jobs I got by actually meeting the boss and talking to them with eye to eye contact.

@jlrdw Okay thank you! I will keep all that in mind.