Learning web development is tough, but getting paid to be a web developer is a whole different challenge. If you've just learned (or still learning) web development, how do you gain the experience you'll need to land a paying gig or even get a full-time job?
Build your own things
My favorite way to gain experience is to build things I want to exist. For example, last year I built PicDigest. I wanted something like to make it easier to send photos to my family and I needed a real web app in my portfolio. Two problems solved by one project.
When I was (re)learning HTML/CSS, I made a Tumblr theme and gave it away for free. When I was learning jQuery, I made an interactive quiz site for married couples. When I was learning Ruby, I built a simple non-database CMS.
You don't need to build something big to prove you have skills. Build a theme-site about something silly like http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com. Make a todo app because it's straightforward and building it right means employing all the basics of web development. Make a Tumblr theme to express your creativity. Create something unique with an open API, like an weather alert the sends SMS notifications via Twilio.
There is no limit to what you can do. But my advice is to keep it simple. You're not building a business; you're building experience and showing future employers that you've got what it takes to get the job done.
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