It was 20 years ago, so I don't think that it would help your friend. ;-)
But, with 20+ years of programming and 15+ of building companies I would suggest this approach:
Learn and work on your reputation at the same time.
I have spent a lot of money on books, seminars, Udemy courses and a lot time on free resources.
But!!!
My time is precious to me and yours to you too.
If you invest in your knowledge and yourself $30 per month and get a world-recognized certificate that you could also place in your resume and LinkedIn profile, recognized in the business world, that would mean you're doing both things at the same time.
So, learn from online courses that give you at the end this certificate.
Work on your LinkedIn profile from day 1.
But be careful with connection requests, not to be banned. Few of them per day is ok. And definitely include a connection request message.
Fill all the sections in your LinkedIn profile.
When someone accepts your LinkedIn connection request rate him for his skills in hope that he will also rate you.
How to find potential connections on LinkedIn?
Do not waste your connection requests on everyone.
Join the LinkedIn groups from your niche. And look for those people who post and comment and who are doing it recently.
Because some open LinkedIn profiles and rarely or never come again.
Clean up your connection invitations from time to time.
I have an article on certifications and online courses, you can read it here:
It was 20 years ago, so I don't think that it would help your friend. ;-)
But, with 20+ years of programming and 15+ of building companies I would suggest this approach:
Learn and work on your reputation at the same time.
I have spent a lot of money on books, seminars, Udemy courses and a lot time on free resources.
But!!!
My time is precious to me and yours to you too.
If you invest in your knowledge and yourself $30 per month and get a world-recognized certificate that you could also place in your resume and LinkedIn profile, recognized in the business world, that would mean you're doing both things at the same time.
So, learn from online courses that give you at the end this certificate.
Work on your LinkedIn profile from day 1.
But be careful with connection requests, not to be banned. Few of them per day is ok. And definitely include a connection request message.
Fill all the sections in your LinkedIn profile.
When someone accepts your LinkedIn connection request rate him for his skills in hope that he will also rate you.
How to find potential connections on LinkedIn?
Do not waste your connection requests on everyone.
Join the LinkedIn groups from your niche. And look for those people who post and comment and who are doing it recently.
Because some open LinkedIn profiles and rarely or never come again.
Clean up your connection invitations from time to time.
I have an article on certifications and online courses, you can read it here:
The Secret to Mastering Programming Language & Obtaining Employment Benefits: A CEO & Programmer's Perspective 2018
Hope this will help your friend.
Davor