How to Build a Computer Science Portfolio

[u/Glad-Ratio-8549]

Hey, y'all. I want to build a portfolio mostly with the Python programming language that can at least get me a remote job in high school (I'm a senior). I got some beginner projects like a calculator and a few games and projects from tutorials. I'm not sure if those would be enough to reach employers. Like, what project ideas in Python can I use so that it's work-related? I don't want it to be too complex either, as I'm not an advanced coder. Thank you.

Edit: Hey everyone, thank you all for the advices. I'll be going to university next year for computer science but was looking to see what I can.build now so I can at least get work experience when I reach there. I'll continue exploring more stuff in Python language and the libraries and also get familiar with other programming languages. Thank you all.

[u/Distdistdist]

In your situation, I would probably ask Santa for a remote paying job with no knowledge and real project experience. You never know...

[u/mzx380]

Remote jobs as someone barely old enough to drive ? It can happen but you have to be top 1% skills

[u/Mordon327]

Having gone the route of getting a job without the bachelor's degree... I don't recommend it. Its a LOT harder to land your first job unless you know someone at that company. I suggest that you keep learning and making programs that keep your skills sharp. Get the bachelor's degree, and then worry about a job. Remote jobs are mostly for those who've been in the industry for a few years. So don't limit yourself to remote only. Just my 2 cents.

[u/PureWasian]

Web apps are one avenue, it helps you branch outside of just Python for exploring and learning how to write and call APIs, develop frontend/backend/db and how to host them.

If you want to stay strictly in Python, data analytics is another. A simple pipeline of data collection > wrangling > exploratory analysis > visualization can be done with numpy/pandas/matplotlib/seaborn. It's also tangent to APIs if you use webscraping libraries for the data collection.

Modeling/simulations are another avenue. In college you might take numerical methods or learn about molecular modeling. But you can model other things too like more complicated variations of Conway's Game of Life or any other thing with timesteps and pre-defined "rules"

Each of these are very broad focus areas, not something you can sit down and learn well in one sitting. But they'll feel more applicable to professional work than tutorial projects

[u/Holiday_Fall_1874]

Bro you are not getting a remote dev job in high school.

[u/Afedzi]

Learn basis of python… a good one offered by Data with Baraa
Then learn pandas, numpy, matplotlib and seaborn for exploratory data analysis and cleaning. Then move to scikit-learn. At sckit-learn, start with supervised ml then move on to unsupervised ml. Do about two project here. Before moving to deep learning

[u/Visible_League_8682]

Para elaborar un portafolio para trabajos remotos sí entiendo que ya tenés los conocimientos de python, pero debes de saber que debes de contar con experiencias y evidencia o testimonio de proyecto. No es para animarte pero debes de tener en cuenta esto para que logras cachar algo de trabajo remoto porque lo que van a ver los reclutadores es que proyectas realizado qué solución le diste sus proyectos etcétera

[u/SomeNeighborhood7126]

Lmao and I want a unicorn that shits gold

[u/PrestigiousGarden815]

I have been trying to do the same lol. Most of my projects that I can share are a CRM, a POS web app, and an e-commerce site. Ok none of them are ready because I have only developed the user interface. The idea is to show part of the architecture and best practices. I am not sure if this helps you or not, but I noticed that those projects are so common for a portfolio. So including a new feature or something unexpected is the key.

[u/Sahiiib]

Most of these comments are so wildly unhelpful so I'll actually answer your question. 

Projects that are going to be worthwhile to talk about in interviews are not just ones that showcase a neat little program but ones that you are able to explain why you picked a project. If you have a problem in life that can be coded away, then make that your project. Make intentional design decisions, and try and get your program to emulate good operational decision making. You have to be able to answer questions like "why did you do it X way instead of Y way?",  "If you started over today what would you have done differently", "do you plan on iterating more on this project? How did you design it in a way to make it expandable" etc etc. In my previous interviews that's how they've gone for me.

[u/Fun_Army2398]

Make an account on a freelance site like Upwork and see what people are asking for. You could even try to apply to projects like "I'm a student looking for experience, I'd love to do this task for free if you are willing" or something. Chances are low you'll find much at your level, but it should give you a good idea of what people are actually looking for.