"Aspiring photographer", "self-taught developer", and "junior front-end engineer" are some of the ways I've seen people market themselves on their Linkedin profiles or portfolio websites.

Describing yourself like the above, will not going to do you any good. In fact, it'll do a lot of damage - a lot more than you'd think.

Why?

Think about it. An employer or a client looks for a pro. He looks for an expert in the field. Advertising that you're a "junior" or "aspiring" signals that you're only learning or an amateur at best.

I also see "self-taught" a lot in my field.

I get it, they're proud that they taught themselves to code and want to let others know that, but it's completely unnecessary. It adds no value and does more harm than good.

Say these instead: "I'm a portrait photographer", "I'm a front-end engineer specializing in React", "I'm a digital marketing professional" and so on.

Let me bring another example. Say you're looking for a lawyer to help with your business's tax situation. Would you hire "an aspiring lawyer" for the job? How about "junior"? Or just "a lawyer". No, probably not. You want a "tax lawyer" and an expert in the field.

Marketing yourself is crucial. It's essential to bring out the best sides of yourself and mention what awesome things you've done. No need to say that you don't know this or that or that you're learning something. Better to leave your weak points out.

Marketing is all about perception and you want to take advantage of it.

K.