A 90-day roadmap to your first developer job
A month-by-month plan for graduates and career switchers: foundations, two finished projects, then a deployed portfolio and steady applications.
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Finished engineering but not working yet? Coming back after a break, or switching from a non-IT branch? The hardest part is often not the learning; it is knowing what to learn and in what order. This roadmap to your first developer job splits the work into 90 days, about two to three hours a day, with a clear goal for each month.
Ninety days is a guide, not a deadline. If a phase takes longer, that is normal. What matters is finishing each phase before starting the next.
Before you start: pick one path
Trying to learn everything at once is the most common reason people stall. Pick one language and one direction for these 90 days:
| If you enjoy... | Start with | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Building things you can see | JavaScript | Web front end, then full stack |
| Data, logic and automation | Python | Backend, data, or AI applications |
| Large, structured systems | Java | Backend for enterprise companies |
Any of these can get you hired. Switching every two weeks will not.
Days 1 to 30: foundations
Goal: write small programs on your own, without copying.
- Variables, conditions, loops, functions, lists and dictionaries (or arrays and objects).
- Reading error messages and searching for them effectively.
- Git and GitHub: create a repository, commit every day, push your work.
- Basic command line: moving between folders, running a program, installing a package.
- Solve one or two easy coding problems each day.
Use AI as a tutor, not an answer machine. Our guide on learning to code with AI has a daily routine you can copy.
End-of-month check: can you write a program that reads a list of numbers and prints the largest, smallest and average, from an empty file, without help?
Days 31 to 60: build real things
Goal: build and finish your first two projects.
- Learn how the web works: requests, responses and what an API is.
- Learn the basics of one database (SQL with PostgreSQL or MySQL is a safe choice).
- Learn one framework for your path: for example React or Express for JavaScript, Flask or FastAPI for Python, Spring Boot for Java.
- Build project one: a CRUD app such as an expense tracker.
- Build project two: something that calls an API or adds a small AI feature.
Our list of portfolio projects for freshers explains what each project proves to an employer.
A finished small project is worth more than three unfinished big ones.
End-of-month check: two projects on GitHub, each with a README and screenshots.
Days 61 to 90: get job-ready
Goal: make your work visible and start applying.
- Deploy one project so it has a live link.
- Add tests to one project; even five tests show you care about quality.
- Learn the AI vocabulary employers now expect; our AI terms for beginners list is a quick start.
- Write a one-page resume with projects at the top, each with a link.
- Practise interviews: explain your projects out loud, and solve problems while talking through your thinking.
- Apply steadily: a few targeted applications each day, tracked in a sheet or in your own job tracker project.
End-of-month check: a live project, a resume you are proud of, and applications going out every week.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Only watching videos. If you are not typing code most of the time, you are not learning as fast as you think.
- Collecting certificates instead of projects. Certificates can help, but employers mostly ask what you have built.
- Waiting to feel ready. Start applying in the last month, not after it. Interviews themselves are practice.
- Ignoring AI tools entirely. Teams expect you to use them well. Read what AI changes for developers to see which skills matter more now.
A sample week in month two
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Monday | Learn one new framework topic, then use it in your project |
| Tuesday | Build a feature |
| Wednesday | Build a feature |
| Thursday | Database practice: write five SQL queries on your own data |
| Friday | Fix bugs and clean up code |
| Saturday | Update README, push, write your weekly learning log |
| Sunday | Rest, or light reading |
Rest is part of the plan. Burning out in week five costs more than one day off each week.
Where to go next
Start today with day one: install your language, create a GitHub account and push your first "hello world". Then come back to this roadmap at the end of each month and tick off the checks.