Start building before you feel ready. Early stage (months 1–3): tutorial projects with a twist — follow a tutorial then modify it meaningfully. Intermediate (months 3–6): build something that solves a real problem in your life or a domain you understand. Advanced (6+ months): build something ambitious you’re genuinely uncertain you can finish. For each project, document what you built, why, what decisions you made, what problems you hit, and what you’d do differently. Host on GitHub (with README), a personal website, LinkedIn Featured section, and domain-specific platforms (Behance, Kaggle, CodePen). Start today. Your portfolio in 6 months will be the result of decisions you make now.