[red-iron-pine]

Seconding this. Don't just learn to code, learn to solve problems related to some project or subject. Those problems may be "we don't have documentation about how X works", so learn X and do some writing.

Ideally you do a little coding too, but it'll give you a portfolio of things to show off later, even if just documentation.

Can be fun stuff, like FOSS games, e.g. Battle for Wesnoth. Fix a few of their bugs or ToDo items, maybe make some 3d assets in blender, build a new campaign, etc.