Considering a career change. Any suggestions?
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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 :~)
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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?
Maybe try your hand at an architect position. You get to think at a bit higher level that the 'nitty gritty' nuts and bolts, but then, depending on where you work, you might be able to have some fun and poke your head into part of a project for a while. Its a bit more technical than being a project manager and part of your job is to stay current on new tech that can help your projects.
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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 have not read the others' answers, but if you want a guaranteed job, go into the health care industry. Either get a nursing degree (some can float from hospital to hospital and make $30 per hour and have their major expenses paid) or become a doctor.
Back in the blog beatch! http://CraptasticNation.blogspot.com/[^]
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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?
Speaking from my own personal experience I think you just graduated basic software school and went on to leading/management. My reasoning is: 1) After being round for 10 years you'd likly have enough experience to go round. 2) Not caring about getting to use latest technology lets you focus on important things: - What would be best for my company revenue? - What would enable me to deliver faster and more reliably? - What would get me to get home faster? Trust me when I say customers and your company CEO don't care if you know the diffrence of .Net 3 to .Net 2.0, they only want to know you can help developers write faster code and not do a mess while at it. I've seen cases of people that talk to you in Hexa decimal and can recite windows API backwards, most of them couldn't design half decent products or analyze why projects had problems.
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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?
Hi, maybe you don't need a career change at all - maybe just a change to a smaller firm. Sometimes when you work on a big team you can get very stuck in one area, and you tend to be developing very critical applications that do require you to make the absolute most out of the framework etc - 1 second loading time makes a big difference each day if you have 10,000 users etc etc. Often when you work for a smaller firm you get to do the full lifecycle of development - the analysis, the design, the project management, the development, the testing (it couldn't all be good), then the user training and delivery. How well the software scales, whether or not you can change the database from SQL to MySQL to Oracle all in two days, whether it uses the 2.0 Framework or 3.0 or 3.5 generally doesn't matter. I find it gives you a sense of ownership, you get to work closely with the users, you get to truly see what they are working on etc. In terms of other related careers some software people are good at looking at business processes and helping redefine them, that sort of thing can be interesting - but you really need to find someone who will take you under your wing to achieve a career change like that. Most things are going to require you to start from scratch and if you are going to do that you might as well try something you think you will love. Personally I'd love to leave the software industry and maybe do something wine related - but it aint going to pay my mortgage or kids school fees so for now it is a no go. Andrew
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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?
when I read what you have written I feel like I have written myself. I have 8 years of experience . I had my own software company startup. But now I have closed it up and working for a software giant. I like working on a computer but as you said I am not a techie. I am also a c# developer. I face the dilemma similar to you but I have learnt that this is how it is going to go ahead. I cant waste all my experiences and go in to a new career. But no body stops me from having a parallel career. I like writing a lot. I like to speak on politics and spirituality so I have started my own website www.BeginWithDisbelief.com[^] here I go ahead with a career I like. It does not affect my actual way of life. I have done this very recently and I need to put a lot of work into it. This is how I like the change to be maybe you too can follow the same. dont waste those long years of experience you have acquired
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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?
Rag picker out behind the supermarket?
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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?
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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 ran into the same wall a few years ago. My life was on a treadmill of work, eat, sleep. Lots of deadlines, little sleep, and the kids and dogs and wife were noticing my increased apathy for the whole mess... So I took a welding class. Arc, TIG, Oxy-Actylene were covered at the local high school's vocational ed. evening classes. Yup, 10,000 degrees of pure energy. I had always enjoyed working with my hands and tinkering on stuff when I was growing up. Made my own bed (litterally) and dresser and desk. Now I can hook really big stuff together in a snap without using those ancient and crude friction-based fasteners. Perhaps, and I'm only projecting here, you don't need a completely new direction, just a diversion to channel some lost creativity or passion into, or out of, your work-a-day world. [Hey, reatding back, it is pretty non-committal and new-age sounding, but this is the lounge.] :-D
-Bob
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amymarie3 wrote:
I do enjoy working directly with the users and designing software.
That might the answer to you own question. It sounds like a nutshell job description for a "Business Analyst" or some such. Is there a way for you to transition to more of management or analyst position with your current employer? You'd end up doing less coding so you wouldn't need to keep up on Frameworks etc. Or or you looking to get away from software completely? If so, what else interests you? Follow that.
BDF People don't mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous. -- Moliere
I second Big Daddy's recommendation to consider a career as a business analysts. It could be a very good fit with your programming background and your desire to stay in the software development world *and* with the fact that you enjoy working with users. I don't know how the economy has affected demand for business analysts, but before the economy tanked, they were a hot commodity. I'm an editor with CIO.com, and we wrote a lot of stories about business analysts. So if you want more information on the role, a simple search on CIO.com for "business analyst" will yield a lot of info. Good luck!