This article is for anyone wanting to add more engaging projects to their online portfolio, not just a simple calculator app, or a to-do list. In this article, I have curated some project ideas to make you stand out in your application process and hopefully, land you your first tech role.
The project ideas suggested in this article:
- Offer real-world value
- Use real-world tools
- Force you to demonstrate a deep understanding of the fundamentals as well as an opportunity to showcase your creativity
I will be grouping project ideas into two categories under programming languages; JavaScript and Python. These two popular languages are beginner-friendly.
JavaScript
JavaScript is a versatile language that can be used to build both static, full-stack and even native applications. It’s a great language to start programming with, and I recommend it as the first choice for anyone who wants to start programming and has a flair for building applications for the web as well as mobile applications.
If you want to showcase your JavaScript knowledge, here are a few projects I think will be a great addition to your online portfolio.
1. Build an App that consumes APIs
Application Programming Interfaces are everywhere, and they are used by companies internally or by those who utilize third party services. Leveraging the use of APIs in your project will showcase your ability to:
- Read Documentation and utilise APIs effectively
- It will show you can perform Create, Read, Update and Delete Operations.
There are many free APIs you can use and some interesting ones I have come across include
FixerAPI (currency converter), Pokémon API (if you enjoy Pokémon, this will send you all information needed about a Pokémon character), Clarifai API (helps you analyse, sort, label and organise images, videos, and text).
Potential Technologies/Skills achieved after building projects: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Bootstrap, Node, Problem-solving, Git & GitHub, Linux.
2. Build An App Using the MERN Stack
The MERN stack is a popular tech stack, and it involves using MongoDB (A Database Service), Express (Node.js framework), React (a client-side JavaScript framework), Node (a server-side JavaScript framework). To make your first MERN Stack application a hit, it would be a good idea to build something like:
- An art collection website, where enthusiasts can create folders for different art collections. So a user will be able to upload, view, delete and update their collections under different categories.
- A website for collecting quotes for books you have read.
- A complaint reporting app that allows users to upload complaints and issues regarding a specific case/problem they are facing.
These are a few ideas I have come up with, but this doesn’t have to be what you build. Brainstorm your ideas. I would recommend building something that is of interest to you and solves real-world issues in a niche you are interested in working in. The only constraint here is that it should use the MERN stack.
There is a wealth of knowledge you can gain from this;
- How to design your database
- How to create APIs
- How to build user interfaces that are usable and responsive
- How to store sensitive data like passwords
- How to deploy a website to be accessible to anyone
Python
Python is a great language to start with for techies that want to venture into the world of data. Data related roles are becoming increasingly in demand, and key components that interviewers look for in your portfolio include:
- Working with real datasets
- Being able to make sense of data in a way that drives impact or comes to a useful conclusion
- Show that you can collect data and analyse it
- Working with or building models
Now if you want to build something worthwhile, here are a few areas you should be considering:
-
Data Cleaning Projects
In my research, most Data Scientists conclude that a good percentage of their role is cleaning Datasets. Key points to note before cleaning any datasets? The data has to contain anomalies, the data has to be closely related to real-life and any dataset that you are working with has to be across multiple files or Database tables. Take a look at these messy datasets and pick one to start exploring Data.gov, data.world, Reddit Datasets
2. Storytelling via Data Visualization
This will probably be a more interesting project to work on if you enjoy storytelling. With these kinds of projects, you can use tools like Tableau, FusionCharts, Sisense for data visualization. You will have an opportunity to communicate your findings not only visually but verbally, which may lead to driving stakeholders to make decisions off the conclusions you have made.
For some ideas for data visualization projects:
Creating a visual representation of your finances that you have tracked for a couple of years – what sort of conclusions can you come up with? What areas should you cut down or improve on?
Commercial data visualization, here you can use data to outline or better understand the sales of a business concerning their customer purchasing behaviour. This can help you come up with a conclusion on how to drive more sales. You can start practising from some public datasets like Data is Plural and Google’s Dataset Search.
3. Machine Learning Projects
Take your portfolio one level up. Incorporate building models that can do cool things like predicting the price of bitcoin, a recommender system for movies or activities you enjoy, a sentiment analysis project for reviews on a product on any store (an example). Before deciding to build any of these projects try not to make it generic, come up with something unique, instead of just copying and pasting solutions. This approach will help you stand out.
Potential Technologies/Skills achieved after building projects: HTML, CSS, Python, Tableau, AWS, Analytical thinking, Communication, Flask, Keras, data analysis, Git & GitHub
Building an online portfolio can be pretty hard. I encourage you to do as much research as you can before you start building, and remember that your project does not have to be perfect. It is a learning process.
Please feel free to share this article with anyone you think it might interest. If you have any questions, you can reach out to me on my Instagram page @mycoginghabits. Thank you.
Resources for More Project Ideas
https://towardsdatascience.com/5-of-my-best-data-science-portfolio-projects-8cd7f81f1b1
https://www.youtube.com/c/Soyouwanttobeadatascientist/playlists
https://github.com/colbyfayock/50-projects-for-react-and-the-static-web
