Joe Fusco

What first drew you to the web industry, in particular web development?

I've always loved creating things, whether it was building something with legos or drawing in a sketchbook. Being able to show someone something you made from anywhere in the world is pretty neat too.

What work were you doing when you first joined Treehouse & what encouraged you to learn to code with us?

After having my first daughter, it became very clear that I needed to make more money to support my family. I was working two security jobs at the time and was not passionate about either of them. I worked as a security guard for a large corporation during the day, and was a bouncer at a bar downtown at night. I was also getting tired of the same routine and decided to start teaching myself about web development at home. A friend told me about Treehouse and I decided to begin the free trial that night. I messed around with WordPress a few years back, but I used pre made templates and everything was very basic. I knew little about what I was actually doing or what I wanted to do. Treehouse showed me what I wanted to do with my life, and to this day learning web development from home has proven to be one of the best decisions of my life. I left both security jobs and now work full time as a web developer for a booming local company.

What is your educational background?

I am a highschool graduate and have 3.5 years of college under my belt. I was a computer science major in a software engineering track, but my school really had no web development classes of any kind. Treehouse taught me everything I know today with HTML and CSS. I did have basic programming knowledge in JAVA from my college studies and I would say it helped me a lot with the Treehouse PHP Track. At the same time thought, I am still learning tons of new things that college never touched base on.

Treehouse showed me what I wanted to do with my life, and to this day learning web development from home has proven to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Specifically what Track did you learn on Treehouse and what were the most useful features for you?

I spent 4 – 8hrs a day and focused mainly on PHP. It was very exciting, and the courses have you working hands on from the beginning. There was not one day where I wasn't learning something new. The videos were easy to understand, and the instructors broke things down perfectly.

A few months landed your first full time developer position (congratulations!) Please tell us a little about the experience starting out in the industry.

It was a huge change of pace from every other job I had in my life. The culture where I work now is just unlike any other employer. I wake up and look forward to going to work, and tackling projects assigned to me. I mainly build custom WordPress themes for clients, tailored to their specific needs. My Treehouse knowledge of HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript/jQuery play a crucial part in my day to day coding while at work.

What has the value of a Treehouse education meant to you?

It has given me an opportunity to completely change career paths. I plan on finishing my college education at some point but as of right now, between my new job and Treehouse, I am learning way more stuff while getting real world experience, and for a fraction of the cost. Plus it means I can stay home with my daughter instead of leaving to go to class on campus.

Is there any advice you'd like to share with new students who are pursuing a career in web development?

Keep learning. Build your portfolio. You can't learn it all so focus on one thing in particular and build off of that. Don't say you're an expert at something, because you're not. An employer will not hire someone with that kind of attitude. You may know more than the next guy, but it takes a lifetime to master something. Just be humble about your new talents and let your work speak for itself.

A lot of big corporations require a 4 year degree in order to filter out applicants. Sometimes you can get by this depending on your experience level. I'd suggest applying to smaller web companies that care more about your passion and ability to learn. There is nothing wrong with a degree; in fact, it can open doors for you. But who wants to work for a large corporation anyways? You generally don't have as much creative control as you would will a smaller company. Also, don't wait for a hiring ad to pop up. Once you have a good amount of work to show, start contacting web design companies in your region and show interest about working for them. Send them your work. They might like what they see and make room for you.