Considering a career change. Any suggestions?
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I have been developing software for the last 10 years in C, C++, then C#, primarily windows forms applications. I have a 4 year degree in computer science. When I think back I realize that developing software is not a career I enjoy. Since I was a child I have enjoyed working with computers but I am not a techie. I do not know the latest trends in software or in hardware. When I read industry books they are usually about agile development practices or user interfaces. I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software. I am just not quite techie enough to be able to tell you exactly how Framework 2.0 is different from 3.0 and I have no interest in learning it (although I know that I could if I applied myself). It is time for me to either get a new job or get new education. With the job market the way it is I am in a quandary. So to summarize. My question is... What is a good degree, skill set, or secondary career that I could get into that would utilize my programming background?
amymarie3 wrote:
I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software.
Is this what you liked about programming when you were taking classes in college? It took me a little while to find what I liked about programming again after I started wondering if I wanted to keep going or like you're doing now, consider a career change. I know plenty of nontechie programmers out there. You don't have to know the latest programming fad to be effective, but it does help to make sure you're competitive. It might help for you to look inside and find out what made programming a career choice or interest at least in the first place and then keep your focus on that.
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And they still managed to create that half-arsed (or should it be full-arsed? :laugh: ) Explorer in Vista?
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
Well, these guys were both in the Comms area and one also delved in the black magic known as AI, so I really doubt that they even remotely touched on that. Couldn't tell you specifics though, tres hush hush, if we tell you then we have to kill you sort :) Besides, they were insane, they might have done it as a practical joke! :laugh:
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amymarie3 wrote:
I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software.
Is this what you liked about programming when you were taking classes in college? It took me a little while to find what I liked about programming again after I started wondering if I wanted to keep going or like you're doing now, consider a career change. I know plenty of nontechie programmers out there. You don't have to know the latest programming fad to be effective, but it does help to make sure you're competitive. It might help for you to look inside and find out what made programming a career choice or interest at least in the first place and then keep your focus on that.
wolfbinary wrote:
Is this what you liked about programming when you were taking classes in college?
To be fair, college simply doesn't prepare you for daily life as a programmer*. True, you learn how doubly linked lists work, and such, but if you're like me, I'm sure that's the least of my day-to-day worries. * Whether it prepares you for daily life in any other career is a different question, so it's best ignored now.
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
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[edit] Wow. That happened fast. I guess I should have expected this kind of response given the size of the site. In just this short period of time I already have as much as I can handle, so I won't be bringing on anyone further right now. Thanks! [/edit] As it happens, I'm in the process of revamping my company web site to reflect some new consulting services I'll be offering shortly, and career coaching is actually the section I'm working on even as we speak. While I'm an enthusiastic capitalist and like driving little red Corvettes, I've been thinking about offering this particular service for free for a little while to the CP folks as a way of giving back to a community that's been good to me over the years. And with the tech industry being as screwed up as it is these days, I figure there's probably a few folks who are giving their careers a close look right about now. For what it's worth, I'm currently on my fourth major career change. Each one has been doing something I truly love and I've been paid well for my efforts. There's no reason in the world that you can't earn a living doing something you look forward to each day, and there's no rule that says you can't ditch it for something else should you ever become bored with it. It takes work, but it's easier than you might think. Anyway, should you (or any of the other folks here) be interested in the pro bono coaching, just hit the contact page on my web site and we'll take it offline so as not to dilute your post (don't use the email link on this post as it might not get to me, and I wouldn't want any of you to fall between the cracks).
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
modified on Saturday, March 14, 2009 5:23 PM
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amymarie3 wrote:
I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software.
Is this what you liked about programming when you were taking classes in college? It took me a little while to find what I liked about programming again after I started wondering if I wanted to keep going or like you're doing now, consider a career change. I know plenty of nontechie programmers out there. You don't have to know the latest programming fad to be effective, but it does help to make sure you're competitive. It might help for you to look inside and find out what made programming a career choice or interest at least in the first place and then keep your focus on that.
When I was in school the software engineering class was a practical lesson in designing software. The teacher made me the project lead and I enjoyed it. When I went to college I had no idea what I would major in. My second quarter I wanted to take a computer class and all sections of the "general computing" class was full so I took an intro to computer science class. The next quarter I needed another class to get the required number of credits so I took a Programing 1 class. Before I knew it I had a major. I was a third of the way through the program before I even realized that I had chosen a major. And I was pretty good at it, not great but got decent grades so I stuck with it.
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[edit] Wow. That happened fast. I guess I should have expected this kind of response given the size of the site. In just this short period of time I already have as much as I can handle, so I won't be bringing on anyone further right now. Thanks! [/edit] As it happens, I'm in the process of revamping my company web site to reflect some new consulting services I'll be offering shortly, and career coaching is actually the section I'm working on even as we speak. While I'm an enthusiastic capitalist and like driving little red Corvettes, I've been thinking about offering this particular service for free for a little while to the CP folks as a way of giving back to a community that's been good to me over the years. And with the tech industry being as screwed up as it is these days, I figure there's probably a few folks who are giving their careers a close look right about now. For what it's worth, I'm currently on my fourth major career change. Each one has been doing something I truly love and I've been paid well for my efforts. There's no reason in the world that you can't earn a living doing something you look forward to each day, and there's no rule that says you can't ditch it for something else should you ever become bored with it. It takes work, but it's easier than you might think. Anyway, should you (or any of the other folks here) be interested in the pro bono coaching, just hit the contact page on my web site and we'll take it offline so as not to dilute your post (don't use the email link on this post as it might not get to me, and I wouldn't want any of you to fall between the cracks).
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
modified on Saturday, March 14, 2009 5:23 PM
I sent you an email using the Email link, but I'm told it's rather unreliable.... :~
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
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Well, these guys were both in the Comms area and one also delved in the black magic known as AI, so I really doubt that they even remotely touched on that. Couldn't tell you specifics though, tres hush hush, if we tell you then we have to kill you sort :) Besides, they were insane, they might have done it as a practical joke! :laugh:
Mustafa Ismail Mustafa wrote:
Couldn't tell you specifics though, tres hush hush, if we tell you then we have to kill you sort
Given you're Canadian, did you just lapse into French? :~ I have distant relatives in Montreal. Apparently, they lapse into French when they speak amongst themselves, which for some reason sounds very odd. The only code switching I do is into English.
Mustafa Ismail Mustafa wrote:
Besides, they were insane, they might have done it as a practical joke!
"We'll take the most common shortcut, for Up, and change it to something utterly new!" *Cackling evil laughter*
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
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I sent you an email using the Email link, but I'm told it's rather unreliable.... :~
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
Hey, Vikram. Yeah, I got the forum reply link but not the email you sent. Do me a favor and go to Contact Us[^] and shoot me an email. That way I can make sure you're included on the program and don't fall through the cracks somehow.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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Christopher Duncan wrote:
or any of the other folks here) be interested in the pro bono coaching, just hit the contact link on my web site below and we'll take it offline so as not to dilute your post.
Done!
jhaga
And received! Got you on the program. :)
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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Mustafa Ismail Mustafa wrote:
Couldn't tell you specifics though, tres hush hush, if we tell you then we have to kill you sort
Given you're Canadian, did you just lapse into French? :~ I have distant relatives in Montreal. Apparently, they lapse into French when they speak amongst themselves, which for some reason sounds very odd. The only code switching I do is into English.
Mustafa Ismail Mustafa wrote:
Besides, they were insane, they might have done it as a practical joke!
"We'll take the most common shortcut, for Up, and change it to something utterly new!" *Cackling evil laughter*
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
Given you're Canadian, did you just lapse into French? Unsure I have distant relatives in Montreal. Apparently, they lapse into French when they speak amongst themselves, which for some reason sounds very odd. The only code switching I do is into English.
Possibly. I lapse into any of the 4 languages I speak without realizing it (my wife is the one that pointed it out). Its rude really when there are others that don't understand what I'm saying and I'm trying to get a grip on it.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
"We'll take the most common shortcut, for Up, and change it to something utterly new!" *Cackling evil laughter*
That sounds like them alright.
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Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
Given you're Canadian, did you just lapse into French? Unsure I have distant relatives in Montreal. Apparently, they lapse into French when they speak amongst themselves, which for some reason sounds very odd. The only code switching I do is into English.
Possibly. I lapse into any of the 4 languages I speak without realizing it (my wife is the one that pointed it out). Its rude really when there are others that don't understand what I'm saying and I'm trying to get a grip on it.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
"We'll take the most common shortcut, for Up, and change it to something utterly new!" *Cackling evil laughter*
That sounds like them alright.
English, French, Arabic, ??? Rude? Depends on the situation, I guess. I switch into English because at the workplace, I really prefer English. Besides, for most technical discussions, Indian languages are notoriously inadequate.
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
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Hey, Vikram. Yeah, I got the forum reply link but not the email you sent. Do me a favor and go to Contact Us[^] and shoot me an email. That way I can make sure you're included on the program and don't fall through the cracks somehow.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Done, thanks. :) Damn, I wish that email hadn't been lost :( Now that I remember, I sent you another CP mail a long time back, on opportunities for technical writing, etc, and didn't hear back. Maybe that got lost as well. :suss:
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
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English, French, Arabic, ??? Rude? Depends on the situation, I guess. I switch into English because at the workplace, I really prefer English. Besides, for most technical discussions, Indian languages are notoriously inadequate.
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
Spanish, though no where near the level of the first three (all native speaker, but my french is becoming rusty :~)
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Done, thanks. :) Damn, I wish that email hadn't been lost :( Now that I remember, I sent you another CP mail a long time back, on opportunities for technical writing, etc, and didn't hear back. Maybe that got lost as well. :suss:
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
Just got your email from my site, thanks. And no, I never got anything from you about tech writing & such - I always return my emails. Sorry it got lost in the bit bucket!
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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Just got your email from my site, thanks. And no, I never got anything from you about tech writing & such - I always return my emails. Sorry it got lost in the bit bucket!
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
Yeah, I just replied from my Yahoo account. You may want to watch your Spam/Bulk folder: my mails often seem to end there :doh:
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
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wolfbinary wrote:
Is this what you liked about programming when you were taking classes in college?
To be fair, college simply doesn't prepare you for daily life as a programmer*. True, you learn how doubly linked lists work, and such, but if you're like me, I'm sure that's the least of my day-to-day worries. * Whether it prepares you for daily life in any other career is a different question, so it's best ignored now.
Cheers, Vıkram.
Carpe Diem.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
To be fair, college simply doesn't prepare you for daily life as a programmer*
I've been told that schools that offer a software engineering course generally do provide an injection of reality into things. I never took my schools offering. It was one of the three classes with a high RUN AWAY!!! factor in their reputation (only take if you've got N reliable friends to partner with, otherwise you'll probably be stuck with a bunch of slacktards and have to do all of their work as well). The second was compilers (the only CS class scheduled at 8am; a second impediment to casual students taking it). The third, and only one I took, was "advanced theory of computation for people who'd rather take it as a senior than in year one of grad school"; I took this as much because it fit my schedule as anything else (and I did NOT want compilers). Fortunately I did well in basic theory though and got through it without too much trouble.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
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I have been developing software for the last 10 years in C, C++, then C#, primarily windows forms applications. I have a 4 year degree in computer science. When I think back I realize that developing software is not a career I enjoy. Since I was a child I have enjoyed working with computers but I am not a techie. I do not know the latest trends in software or in hardware. When I read industry books they are usually about agile development practices or user interfaces. I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software. I am just not quite techie enough to be able to tell you exactly how Framework 2.0 is different from 3.0 and I have no interest in learning it (although I know that I could if I applied myself). It is time for me to either get a new job or get new education. With the job market the way it is I am in a quandary. So to summarize. My question is... What is a good degree, skill set, or secondary career that I could get into that would utilize my programming background?
amymarie3 wrote:
secondary career
Maybe teaching? Pass on your skills and knowledge to beginners.
Why is common sense not common? Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level where they are an expert. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to be lazy Individuality is fine, as long as we do it together - F. Burns Help humanity, join the CodeProject grid computing team here
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I have been developing software for the last 10 years in C, C++, then C#, primarily windows forms applications. I have a 4 year degree in computer science. When I think back I realize that developing software is not a career I enjoy. Since I was a child I have enjoyed working with computers but I am not a techie. I do not know the latest trends in software or in hardware. When I read industry books they are usually about agile development practices or user interfaces. I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software. I am just not quite techie enough to be able to tell you exactly how Framework 2.0 is different from 3.0 and I have no interest in learning it (although I know that I could if I applied myself). It is time for me to either get a new job or get new education. With the job market the way it is I am in a quandary. So to summarize. My question is... What is a good degree, skill set, or secondary career that I could get into that would utilize my programming background?
I felt like this a couple of years ago, and about the only thing that I could think of doing that would command a half-decent salary was teaching, but apparently I was unqualified for that without going back to school myself first. It turns out that I was just bored with what I was working on and I didn't really like most of the people that I was working with either. One job change later, and I'm much happier. A change of scenery will do wonders for your motivation. Don't employ this strategy too often though. ;)
The StartPage Randomizer - The Windows Cheerleader - Twitter
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I have been developing software for the last 10 years in C, C++, then C#, primarily windows forms applications. I have a 4 year degree in computer science. When I think back I realize that developing software is not a career I enjoy. Since I was a child I have enjoyed working with computers but I am not a techie. I do not know the latest trends in software or in hardware. When I read industry books they are usually about agile development practices or user interfaces. I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software. I am just not quite techie enough to be able to tell you exactly how Framework 2.0 is different from 3.0 and I have no interest in learning it (although I know that I could if I applied myself). It is time for me to either get a new job or get new education. With the job market the way it is I am in a quandary. So to summarize. My question is... What is a good degree, skill set, or secondary career that I could get into that would utilize my programming background?
You are exactly the person many companies are looking for I think. You don't need to be able to recite the first 100 API's in the framework. You just need to *want* work and be excited about it. I think you are good to go and I wouldn't change a thing. Your skills are current what's more current than that you've been writing code? I think you need a vacation or someone to fix your perspective. You sound just fine to me. :-D
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Spanish, though no where near the level of the first three (all native speaker, but my french is becoming rusty :~)