What Types of Jobs Can You Get with JavaScript Skills?

If you with JavaScript If you're unfamiliar or need a refresher, it's a scripting language that can be used to add and control dynamic content on a website. While markup languages ​​like HTML and CSS give web browsers instructions on how to display a website (static things like headings, fonts, paragraphs, etc.), JavaScript performs the functions on a page that need to be updated in real time, without the user refreshing their screen must (things like interactive maps, animated graphics, scrolling videos, jukeboxes, etc.).

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Because most websites will require content and functionality beyond static text at some point, JavaScript is an important addition to an HTML/CSS foundation. But how exactly do JavaScript skills translate into jobs when it comes to landing a paying position?

We'll answer that question in this article, and - if you're ready to learn the skills to get these jobs - take a look at our Skillcrush Front End Developer and Web Developer Blueprint courses. These online courses are designed so that you can complete them in three months by spending just one hour per day on the material.

Are there a lot of JavaScript jobs?

Amy Cho, CTO at Hirekind (opens in a new tab), says about a third of all programming related jobs on sites like Indeed (opens in a new tab) require knowledge of JavaScript. According to Cho, the strong presence of JavaScript jobs in the workforce can be attributed to two things: the fundamental nature of the language (as of this writing, JavaScript powers 95.1% of all active websites(opens in a new tab)) and the robust suite of features that JavaScript contributes to these foundations (unlike the relatively dry text and formatting of HTML and CSS, JavaScript's features provide a flexible, additional layer that makes websites stand out and appear highly functional).

What do JavaScript jobs look like?

According to Elaine Queathem, founder of coding bootcamp Savvy Coders(opens in a new tab), the most common JavaScript jobs include front-end web development (building the user-facing, visual parts of a website), web application development (creating web-based software applications including interactive online forms and shopping carts, word processing and spreadsheet programs, video and photo editors, file conversion and scanning programs and email software) and website administration (maintenance, backup and updating of existing websites for a company).

Ross O'Neill, quality assurance automation specialist and founder of job board WorkNearYou(opens in a new tab), adds full-stack developers and quality assurance automation specialists to the list of JavaScript jobs. These include web developers who work on both the front end of a website and its backend - the invisible infrastructure that runs websites "under the hood" - as well as engineers who oversee automated software testing.

At the time of writing, there are nearly 53,000 JavaScript jobs advertised on Glassdoor (opens in a new tab), including the positions mentioned by Queathem and O'Neill as well as Web Marketing Managers (online marketing professionals who do digital marketing Create and implement campaigns) and web marketing design specialists (digital designers who develop the design strategy for these campaigns). Cho points out that these JavaScript jobs aren't traditional either Tech companies are limited. "Most industries - including banking, insurance and retail - use some form of software or website that most likely uses JavaScript," says Cho. "This means that all companies, from large enterprises to startups, are offering these types of JavaScript positions."

How is JavaScript used at work?

When it comes to using JavaScript at work, Queathem says they regularly use JavaScript for tasks like adding and updating JavaScript content on existing websites, fixing bugs in pre-existing code, and sometimes creating new JavaScript -Functions used from scratch. O'Neill says that in his role as a quality assurance automation specialist, he uses JavaScript to set up and run automated software tests. In O'Neill's case, he's not using the JavaScript scripting feature to control dynamic content on a website, but rather a software framework - a collection of tools for building software, websites or applications - called Selenium(opens in a new tab ) to perform automated testing for web applications.

By using JavaScript, automation specialists like O'Neill are able to run tests on thousands of mobile and desktop browsers simultaneously, rather than running each test individually. Whether it's controlling dynamic functionality on a page so the user doesn't have to, or automating processes like software testing or database management to make work on the backend more efficient, JavaScript's ability to provide instructions to other programs , makes it so useful.

What do you need to learn JavaScript?

As with most technical skills, the time it takes to learn JavaScript and start working is probably much shorter than you think. Cho says it took her about four months to teach herself JavaScript, while O'Neill says he got up to speed in about six months. Queathem directs aspiring JavaScript learners to the numerous online resources such as Codeacademy(opens in a new tab), Freecodecamp(opens in a new tab), and Udemy(opens in a new tab). Queathem also emphasizes the importance of seeking out local developer meetups and using them as an opportunity for networking and mentoring. If in-person meetings are hard to find in your area, you can find similar opportunities by staying active on forums like Github(opens in a new tab) and Stack Overflow(opens in a new tab) and listening to webinars and articles from sources like TechSoup (opens in a new tab) and TechCrunch (opens in a new tab) read.

As with most technical skills, JavaScript can be mastered within a few months, but the learning process continues throughout your career. Cho says that the continued development and popularity of JavaScript frameworks (collections of pre-written JavaScript code commonly used in web development) means that there are always new techniques and applications to pick up - learn JavaScript doesn't just happen once.

Likewise, most people don't learn JavaScript in a vacuum. No matter how JavaScript-intensive your work may be, it is typically done in conjunction with other programming languages ​​and skills. Queathem says that while her career has focused primarily on JavaScript, she has also focused on PHP (opens in a new tab) (another scripting language used for automation) and Python (opens in a new tab) (a general-purpose programming language used for app and software development) and became familiar with content management systems (platforms for publishing digital content) such as ExpressionEngine (opens in a new tab) and WordPress. Cho adds that in addition to JavaScript, HTML, CSS and an understanding of database management (e.g. SQL) are crucial.

Given the many JavaScript jobs out there, Queathem adds that even if you don't end up in a JavaScript-heavy position, JavaScript is an important language to pursue. If you give JavaScript the time it deserves, Queathem says, you'll see the rewards in the form of a highly marketable skill for your resume and the personal achievement of being qualified to land creatively satisfying and professionally rewarding work.