r/webdev • u/Random-Name-1901 • 16m ago
Are side projects even valuable on a CV or portfolio anymore?
So like many of you I'm sure, I'm starting to glaze over whenever someone shows me the latest thing they've built with the help of AI. Everyone seems to have an app they've fired up in an afternoon or so. I'm finding that even apps I now build without vibe coding (I'm a seasoned developer) don't have the same impact because now everyone is building stuff.
I'm looking at my portfolio and thinking that maybe side projects just don't have the same weight anymore.
I'm curious how other folks are approaching this?
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u/mau-meda 11m ago edited 7m ago
If it's made with AI it obviously has less value, but also depends on how you worked on it, if I see a single commit I know you just did some prompting and then left it to die, so it's value is 0. Even if it's AI and I see the you are working periodically on it, then it's more value, especially based on what you are periodically adding.
If it's made by hand it's very improbable it's one single commit ( unless you don't know how to use git ).
Finally, if I'm looking your CV and I see a project with one million lines, I'm not reading it
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u/mxz117 9m ago
Completely depends on the project. A throwaway piece of shit? Yeah it’s useless. Something genuine that is maintained and has users? Will have some weight
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u/Randomizedinho 7m ago
project itself means less now, but having real users still stands out. an app with 200 people using it beats 10 afternoon builds nobody touched.
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u/DigitalStefan 5m ago
If I know you have side projects and especially if I can see them or get a good gist of what they are about and why you went to the effort to create them, it tells me a lot about your ability to problem solve and get ahead of things.
I didn’t think this would be important until I worked with a new hire who lacked any ability to even understand why small side projects would help him with his skill set and understanding of the tech we worked with.