Businesses use several employee-hiring models. There are full-time staff, consultants (also called freelancers), part-time employees, and contract workers.

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Before you decide to embark on a career as a Python consultant, know first what it entails and clearly understand what you need to do to succeed. Explaining all this is the purpose of this article.

What does a Python consultant do?

A Python consultant is a Python programming language expert hired to help with a specific task or project. Employers generally expect successful Python consultants to be expert–or at least competent in–several other computer languages too.

Most employers will also expect consultants to bring considerable knowledge and soft skills like Agile programming and scrum membership. Employment criteria will generally include the hackneyed phrase, “the successful candidate will be able to land on their feet running”. As a highly paid, successful consultant, absolutely no one will be willing to give you a luxurious amount of time to “settle in”.

One of the most important skills you will have to develop is the ability to understand a problem, craft a workable solution, and start producing useful code. You will have to do all this inside of a week or two, at most.

What computer languages does a Python consultant need to know?

Obviously, knowing Python is a good idea! However, to be a successful consultant, you must not just know Python; you must be an expert at it. Expertise in Python is a non-negotiable must-have. Learning Python online is a good place to start, but by no means will that be enough.

In large part, which other computer languages prospective employers will expect you to be competent with depends on which field you end up in. Will you be a frontend or backend developer? Depending on your answer, you might need to know:

• JavaScript (almost a certainty)
• HTML
• CSS
• SQL

Prepare to become a successful consultant as a Python developer

To lay out the steps in black and white, here you are:

Step 1: Acquire skills in Python programming.

You can do this by learning Python online.

Step 2: Acquire skills in other programming languages.

Which ‘other’ programming languages you must learn will depend entirely on your chosen career path. However, nearly everyone eventually wants to erect web pages, maybe even whole websites. If so, you absolutely cannot go wrong learning JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. If you think you may someday have to deal with data as a backend developer, SQL is also an essential requirement.

As a frontend developer, there are a host of frameworks you need to learn too. The more of them you know, the better, because you’ll be able to apply for more jobs. Here are a few of the more important ones:

Frontend frameworks:

• Angular
• React
• Vue

Backend frameworks:

• Express
• Django
• Rails

Don’t worry too much about which framework you choose. Select one frontend and one backend framework. Regardless of your choice, I guarantee that many will tell you why you chose the wrong one when speaking to other developers. (Don’t believe a word of it.)

Step 3: Get actual, real-world working experience:

• Get an entry-level job programming Python. This is particularly not a bad idea if you live in the US, as even entry-level Python programmers can pull in about $65,000 a year.
• Volunteer. Contact small businesses and organizations to volunteer. You stand a good chance of being hired if you have a clean record since many people love a freebie. The worst problem you will have is convincing people that you really are willing to work for free. Most folks won’t believe you.
• Do some freelancing. For several years now, in terms of pay, freelancing has been an ever quicker race to the bottom. Remuneration for freelancers is typically terrible, so think of it as a form of volunteering. It might take some time to get going due to your lack of experience, but you will slowly and surely build up a good reputation if you stick to it.

You’ll have a ready side-hustle standing by and also earn some money.

Who should attend a programming bootcamp?

Programming bootcamps are a great way to learn new skills, retrain, or change careers. Bootcamp students can be beginners interested in a career in programming or experienced software developers looking to improve their skills.

Win lucrative jobs by attending bootcamps

Whether as a Python developer in full-time employment or as a consultant, the fact is, you will have to vie against others to win jobs. To give yourself the best possible chance, you need to stand out in some way. The best way to do this is to attend a bootcamp (or two) to gain or cement your knowledge.