When you first get into Python and realize you actually want to become a Python developer, you find yourself asking “What Python Projects Should I Build To Get A Job?”. Years ago, when I was still working as a QA engineer, I had the same question. In this post, I will share my insight and what type of projects I recommend my Python Mentoring students build.

What Python Projects Should I Build To Get A Job?

There are many different Python projects you can build to improve your skills and make yourself more marketable in the job market. If you already know which type of industry you want to work in, I’d recommend you build a Python project that is relevant to that industry.

That’s exactly how I got my first Python job and several of my students are following the same steps.

This approach will help you gain experience with the types of technologies and problems that you will encounter in your desired industry, and will make you a more attractive candidate for job opportunities in that field.

For example, If you want to work in the finance industry, you might consider building a financial analysis tool or a personal finance management application.

If you want to work in the healthcare industry, you might consider building a telemedicine platform or a tool for managing patient records.

Here’s a list of 11 Python projects you can build to get a job:

1. A simple blog or content management system: You can build a simple blog or content management system using a Python web framework Django. This will help you learn how to develop and deploy a web application, as well as how to work with databases and other web technologies.
2. An e-commerce platform: Building an e-commerce platform will give you experience with payment gateways, inventory management, and other features that are commonly found in online stores.
3. A social media platform: You can build a social media platform or a feature-rich messaging application using Python. This will give you experience with building real-time communication systems and working with user-generated content.
4. A data visualization tool: You can build a web application that allows users to upload and visualize data using Python libraries like Matplotlib or Seaborn. This will give you experience with data analysis and visualization, as well as with building interactive web applications.
5. A task or project management application: You can build a tool that allows users to create and track tasks, assign them to team members, and set deadlines.
6. A customer relationship management (CRM) system: You can build a CRM system to help businesses manage their customer interactions and data.
7. A learning management system: You can build a platform that allows educators to create and distribute course materials, as well as track student progress.
8. A job board or employment platform: You can build a platform that allows companies to post job openings and job seekers to find and apply for them.
9. A news or blog platform: You can build a platform for publishing and sharing news articles or blog posts.
10. A messaging or chat application: You can build a real-time messaging or chat application using Django and WebSockets.
11. A survey or questionnaire tool: You can build a tool that allows users to create and distribute surveys or questionnaires – view and analyze the results.

In addition to choosing a project that is relevant to your desired industry, it’s also important you make sure your project is well-designed and well-documented!

Employers will be looking for candidates who are able to write clean, efficient code and who are able to communicate their ideas effectively.

🚨 Also, consider seeking out opportunities to work on real-world projects, internships or mentorships (e.g. Python Mentorship success story from a student) in your desired industry.

This will give you hands-on experience and allow you to build a portfolio of work that’s relevant to your career goals.

Which Python Skills Are In Demand?

When it comes to choosing a project to build in order to increase your employability, there are a few Python skills that are particularly in demand:

• Data analysis and machine learning: Proficiency in data analysis and machine learning using Python is highly sought after by companies. These skills allow you to build projects that can process and analyze large amounts of data, as well as make predictions and decisions based on that data.
• Django: Knowing how to use Python web frameworks such as Django can make you a valuable asset to any company looking to build web applications.
• Databases: Another in-demand Python skill is the ability to work with and analyze data stored in databases. Familiarity with Python libraries such as SQLAlchemy, PyMySQL, and PostgreSQL can give you the ability to work with a variety of databases and make it easier for you to build projects that require data storage and retrieval.

I personally always suggest students start with a relatively simple web framework like Django and understand the basic concepts of building a fully functional website project with Python.

Then use that portfolio project to get a job in the industry. and only then dive deeper into more complex industries like data analysis and machine learning.

The honest truth is: It’s going to be really HARD for a beginner to understand data analysis and machine learning, building your own website as a portfolio project and getting your first Python job with it is way easier.

Is Learning Django Enough For Web Development?

Yes, it is! But consider the following – while Django is a powerful and widely-used web framework, it is important to note that it is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to web development.

While learning Django can certainly give you a strong foundation and allow you to build feature-rich web applications, there are many other skills that are necessary for web development.

If you switch your focus to only Django framework, some of the skills that are in high demand in the job market include:

• Database design and management: Experience with database design and management, including the Django ORM and SQL, is valuable.
• API development: Knowledge of how to build and consume APIs using Django is in high demand, including experience with RESTful API design principles.
• Security: Experience with securing Django applications, including knowledge of best practices for authentication, authorization, and data protection, is valuable.
• Scalability: Experience with optimizing Django applications for performance and scalability, including knowledge of caching, queuing, and other techniques, is highly sought after.
• HTML: A markup language for creating web pages
• CSS: A style sheet language for describing the look and formatting of a document written in HTML
• JavaScript: A programming language for adding interactive behaviors to web pages.

⚠️ Important note: To get a job as a Python/Django developer you don’t have to be an expert in all of the technologies mentioned above. You just have to be good enough to understand the basic concepts, able to implement common features and willing to learn more about these technologies.

It’s impossible to master all of them in a short period of time, but you can learn enough to get the job relatively fast!

You might ask, how fast?

Well, Yuliia did it in just about 6 months, here’s the whole story! 👇🏻

If you’re also willing to work hard for your career…

… see if there’s any way you can contact me at the end of this post!

🔥 I’m willing to talk to you and see if I can help you the same way I helped Yuliia!

In Python Mentoring we tend to focus on preparing you for a real Python developer career, teaching you only the stuff that’s actually used in the industry!

What Is The Highest Paying Job In Python?

If you shift your focus to Django (which is the easiest way to get into the industry) it’s still going to be hard to determine the specific type of Django project you would have to build as your portfolio project that would lead to the highest-paying job.

I personally have been working in a FinTech company here in Riga, Latvia for years now.

My salary is way above what most people earn in Latvia and I’ve talked about it in several blog posts already. ( Here’s one of them )

Your salary and profit potential can vary greatly depending on a number of factors, including:

• Specific Industry
• Company
• Location
• Your current education
• Your current experience related to IT and overall professionalism.

It would be dishonest for me to blindly give you numbers here.

Ultimately, the best way to increase your profit potential is to continuously improve your skills and knowledge and to build a strong portfolio of work that demonstrates your expertise in a particular niche. (e.g. FinTech, eCommerce, etc.)

Here are some ideas for Django projects you could build that would lead to a high-paying job in a relatively short period of time:

• A finance-related project: could be a potentially profitable portfolio project, as financial services companies often have a need for tools and applications that can help them manage and analyze data.
• eCommerce platform: Another potentially highly profitable portfolio project.
• Social media platform: could also be potentially a solid choice for your portfolio. (e.g. building a Twitter clone)
• Data visualization tool: Let users upload a dataset to display it in a user-friendly way.

However, even if you build a portfolio project in one of the niches and get hired for a company that has a product in your desired niche…

…it’s important to note that the profitability of a specific company will depend on a number of factors, including the size and scope of the company, the target market, and the demand for the product or service.

Is Django Used In FinTech?

Yes, Django is used in fintech (financial technology) applications.

There may be a perception that Django is not used in FinTech because it is not as commonly associated with this industry as other languages or technologies.

However, Django is actually a popular choice for building FinTech applications, and its powerful and flexible features make it well-suited for this purpose.

I’ve been working for a FinTech company as I already mentioned earlier in the post and I can’t see how any other framework could be better than Django for a FinTech project.

FinTech applications often have complex requirements, such as the need to handle large amounts of data, support real-time transactions, and ensure security and compliance.

I’ve personally seen how Django’s robust ORM, scalability, and built-in security features make it well-suited for building FinTech applications that need to meet these requirements with strict deadlines.

Here are my favorite examples of FinTech applications that you could build for your portfolio:

• A personal finance management tool: You could build a tool that helps users track their expenses, create and manage budgets, and plan for their financial goals. This could include features like automatic categorization of expenses, integration with bank and credit card accounts, and support for tracking investments and debts.
• An online payment platform: You could build a platform that allows users to securely make and receive payments online. This could include features like integration with payment gateways, support for different payment methods (e.g. credit card, bank transfer, etc.), and tools for managing transactions and disputes.
• A trading or investment platform: You could build a platform that allows users to trade stocks, currencies, or other financial instruments. This could include features like real-time quotes and charts, tools for analyzing market trends and risks, and support for different types of trading strategies.

Building a portfolio project in the fintech field can be challenging, I know..

Fintech applications often have complex requirements and can involve a wide range of technologies and regulatory considerations.

As a beginner, instead of going too crazy with such an application, I’d recommend you build a very simple version and only implement the features you think you could be able to implement.

Is Django Good For eCommerce Website?

Let’s say you decided to build an eCommerce website, is Django good for it?

The answer, of course, is the following:

Django is a good choice for building an e-commerce website, as it provides a number of features that are useful for building a robust, scalable e-commerce platform.

Some of the benefits of using Django for e-commerce include:

1. A robust ORM: Django’s object-relational mapper (ORM) makes it easy to work with databases and store and retrieve data. This is especially useful for an e-commerce site, which typically needs to store and manage a large amount of data related to products, orders, and customers.
2. Scalability: Django is designed to be scalable, making it well-suited for handling large amounts of traffic and data. This is important for an e-commerce site, which may need to handle a high volume of traffic and transactions.
3. A large and active community: Django has a large and active community of developers, which means that there are a wealth of resources available for learning and support. This can be especially helpful when building an e-commerce site, which may involve integrating with a variety of different technologies and services.
4. Security: Django includes a number of built-in security features, such as protection against cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks, which are important for an e-commerce site that handles sensitive customer data.

If I’d have to give you some ideas for what type of eCommerce project you should build, here are my personal favorites:

• An online store: You can build an online store using Django that allows users to browse and purchase products. This could include features like a shopping cart, payment gateway integration, and inventory management.
• A product review platform: You can build a platform that allows users to post and view reviews of products, as well as rate and recommend products to others.
• A marketplace: You can build a platform that allows users to buy and sell products or services, similar to platforms like Etsy or eBay.

Can We Create Social Media App From Python?

There may be a perception that it is not possible to create a social media app using Python because Python is not as commonly associated with mobile app development as other languages like Java or Swift.

However, it is possible to create a social media app using Python, as Python is a powerful and versatile language that can be used for a wide range of purposes, including web development and server-side scripting.

While it is possible to create a social media app using Python, it is important to note that Python is generally not used for building native mobile apps for iOS or Android.

Instead, Python is typically used for building server-side components or even the whole backend of a project.

When it comes to building your portfolio project, I would recommend using the Django web framework, again just because of all the features already built into Django:

• Robust ORM for storing and manipulating data
• An easy-to-use template system for building user interfaces
• And built-in support for user authentication and authorization.

Overall, building a social media app with Python and Django can be a challenging but rewarding project that will give you experience with a wide range of web development technologies and techniques.

Here are some ideas for the type of social media apps you could build with Django:

• A social networking platform: You can build a platform that allows users to create profiles, connect with friends, and share updates, similar to platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.
• A microblogging platform: You can build a platform that allows users to share short-form updates, similar to platforms like Twitter.
• A messaging or chat application: You can build a real-time messaging or chat application using Django and WebSockets.

Is Python Good For Data Visualization?

There may be a perception that Python is not a good choice for data visualization because it is not as commonly associated with this task as other languages like R or D3.js.

However, it can make sense to use Django as a backend for a data visualization project, and use a separate frontend app to display the data.

This is how professional projects are structured and it’s a common practice in tech companies.

This approach can allow you to leverage the strengths of both Django and the frontend app and can make it easier to build a robust and scalable data visualization platform.

Also, if you’re able to build a portfolio project where backend is separated from frontend but communicates over REST API, you’re likely to have a higher chance of getting hired.

Specific portfolio projects you could build include:

• A dashboard or report generator: You can build a tool that allows users to upload and visualize data. This is also a part of what my students at Python Mentoring are building.
• A data exploration tool: You can build a tool that allows users to interactively explore and analyze data, including features like filtering, sorting, and aggregation.
• A data visualization API: You can build an API that allows users to generate custom data visualizations using a variety of different chart types and configurations.