Re:Ask HN: Beginning freelance web developer: no clients - p...
by tripplez on Friday April 29, 2011 @06:25AM
(#2496920)
Is there a book about all the aspects of server administration and site deployment for web developers?
I've researched a bit about that but haven't found any.
I agree completely that the admin/deployment aspects are not covered in the books, and from my experience I extrapolate that it can be a big issue and time sink.
3 months for learning web dev is short, then there's all the nonsense like configuring servers you're going to have to learn too (which will be a much bigger time sink than you would guess). Might as well get paid while you learn it. Hell I've done an access DB for someone and I'd never touched it before, relied on my SQL skills to get going. They were the ones insisting on Access btw, not my recommendation :)
It's good to know what you don't know, but don't let it scare you out of getting going.
The only other thing I can add is local networking. Start going out to local business events. I got work the first one I went to. Obviously won't happen like that all the time, but I've come across 3 or 4 opportunities in the 12 months I've been doing that and I'm crap at networking, only costs me 2 nights a month and it's usually fun. Good ROI in my book.
Oh, and be careful of underestimating how long something will take.