I’m looking for honest advice from people already working in dev roles. Any advice, even the brutally honest kind, is welcome.

For context, i'm a CS grad, worked as an IT/office personnel for a small company, and left for personal reasons without much a backup plan. Part also is that that I want to move towards the dev side.

Right now I’m on a contract project for a client, but I know it won’t sustain me long-term. I’ve been applying steadily for 4 months, building personal projects and strengthening fundamentals, but the pressure is starting to get to me.

I’m close to considering a career shift. The market feels saturated, and the AI hype adds pressure. I know many will say 20s age is still early, but I want to raise my chances. I'm trying my best to be enthusiastic in what i'm slowly building is to be rewarded.

1. Is it still worth pushing for dev careers as a junior right now in the Philippines, or should I pivot?
2. For recent hired juniors, especially if you weren’t a fresh grad, what made the difference (projects, referrals, certs, networking)?

I want to connect than keep guessing.

Sa mga nagsimula mag-freelance na web dev habang student pa lang:

1. Did you start with simple static sites/portfolios, WordPress, or full-stack CRUD systems?

2. Saan kayo unang nakakuha ng client na hindi sobrang barat (local referrals, FB groups, or cold outreach)?

Curious lang kung ano yung pinaka-realistic na starting point ngayong 2026. Salamat sa sasagot!