Believe it or not, you don’t need a specific degree to become a web developer—nor do you need a long history of coding or working in tech. In reality, web developers come from a range of educational and professional backgrounds; there is no one single pathway to success in the field. Of course, there are certain hard skills to master, including learning the most popular programming languages and getting to grips with various libraries and frameworks. These are all things that can be learned—but what about inherent or natural traits will help you excel?

First and foremost, the best web developers are passionate about what they do. They’re natural problem-solvers who relish the challenge of seeking out bugs and errors and coming up with solutions. This goes hand-in-hand with patience and perseverance. As a developer, you’ll frequently encounter obstacles—be it a pesky bug or a product that just isn’t working as you’d imagined. For some people, these are hurdles to be jumped, with immense satisfaction at the end. For others, they’re a major source of frustration. If you’ve got passion, patience, and problem-solving skills in abundance, you’ve got the makings of a web developer!

In addition to problem-solving, web developers are builders at heart. They use languages, libraries, frameworks, and a whole host of other tools to build things from scratch—beautiful, fully-functional, user-friendly things like websites, apps, and databases (to name just a few). Web developers therefore tend to enjoy, and be good at, discovering how different components fit together to form an end product. 

Last but not least, it’s important to bear in mind that a career in web development isn’t all computers and coding (although that is a large part of it). Whether you work in-house for a company or as a freelancer with clients, you’ll collaborate with a variety of key stakeholders —such as designers, product managers, and fellow developers. Communication skills are crucial, together with an understanding of how your work impacts both the customer or the end user and the overall business. 

As you can see, web developers tend to be keen problem-solvers and curious learners with a knack for building and developing user-centric solutions. Does that sound like you? Check out this guide to figure out if you’re truly a great fit for a career in web development.