A Career in Programming which way to go!
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Hi everyone And thanks in advance! I'm after advice from people who work in the real world as developers in programming and people who hire developers!! I'm 28, from Dudley UK and want a career change! After looking into programming/coding online as I've always been into and around computers all my life I've decided this is the path I want to follow! I've been to see all the local colleges and universities and I have a few options but I'm not sure on which way to go! I'm not scared of hard work in the slightest and I don't expect this to be easy but I don't want to waste my time and money on going down the wrong path! I'm currently half way through " learn python the hard way" and I must say I'm really getting into it! I already have my level 2 in IT from school ( many years ago) I'm 4 weeks into a 15 week programming concepts course at a local college this will give me a part level 3 qualification! I finish this in may I'm gonna do the Harvard CS50 next in may as I've herd it's really good and it's free! Now I'm faced with some choices I either do my HNC and HND in computing and systems development then try to gain a job from there and consider topping it up to a degree afterwards time expectancy 4 - 6 years while trying to teach myself more coding at home! Building a git hub profile and doing as much as I can! I did go to talk to one of the senior lectures at Wolverhampton uni and she told me that someone in my position may not want to consider a part time degree as they take so long and what employers want now will change in 6 years time! She advised me to go look into some professional courses and build my own portfolio to take to employers and she knew people in the industry without degrees that have done very well this way. By pro courses i can only think she means coding boot camps! While they seem very good and promise job ready in 12 weeks to 6 months depending on how long you do the course over! I just don't wanna throw £4000 down the drain on something that doesn't hold any value to a potential employer. The reviews I've read seem to be really good or really bad! It would be great to hear from someone who has any experience with these! Like I said before I'm not scared of hard work and long days I spend most of my spare time now trying to teach my self and it's going well but I feel that I'm coming to a point and not knowing which way to go!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Il be out all day to il probably check back later on if anyone reply's!! Thanks 😁
What kind of programming do you seem to like? There are lots of different areas you could focus on with their own 'popular' languages. I've been building/programming computers since the late 70s and have actually written very few Windows programs. I'm into low level programming where I have pretty much complete control of the processor and peripherals. I use RTOSes(also written a few of my own), USB device stacks, DSP algorithms, etc. You don't have to be a Windows programmer, there are other options out there.
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Hi everyone And thanks in advance! I'm after advice from people who work in the real world as developers in programming and people who hire developers!! I'm 28, from Dudley UK and want a career change! After looking into programming/coding online as I've always been into and around computers all my life I've decided this is the path I want to follow! I've been to see all the local colleges and universities and I have a few options but I'm not sure on which way to go! I'm not scared of hard work in the slightest and I don't expect this to be easy but I don't want to waste my time and money on going down the wrong path! I'm currently half way through " learn python the hard way" and I must say I'm really getting into it! I already have my level 2 in IT from school ( many years ago) I'm 4 weeks into a 15 week programming concepts course at a local college this will give me a part level 3 qualification! I finish this in may I'm gonna do the Harvard CS50 next in may as I've herd it's really good and it's free! Now I'm faced with some choices I either do my HNC and HND in computing and systems development then try to gain a job from there and consider topping it up to a degree afterwards time expectancy 4 - 6 years while trying to teach myself more coding at home! Building a git hub profile and doing as much as I can! I did go to talk to one of the senior lectures at Wolverhampton uni and she told me that someone in my position may not want to consider a part time degree as they take so long and what employers want now will change in 6 years time! She advised me to go look into some professional courses and build my own portfolio to take to employers and she knew people in the industry without degrees that have done very well this way. By pro courses i can only think she means coding boot camps! While they seem very good and promise job ready in 12 weeks to 6 months depending on how long you do the course over! I just don't wanna throw £4000 down the drain on something that doesn't hold any value to a potential employer. The reviews I've read seem to be really good or really bad! It would be great to hear from someone who has any experience with these! Like I said before I'm not scared of hard work and long days I spend most of my spare time now trying to teach my self and it's going well but I feel that I'm coming to a point and not knowing which way to go!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Il be out all day to il probably check back later on if anyone reply's!! Thanks 😁
Pick a "stack", and go nuts. My "stack" is .NET: Windows; C#; WPF; WCF; SQL Server; IIS; etc. Then there's the "LAMP" stack: Linux; Apache; MySQL; PHP. Or, go "mobile": Android; IOS; Xamarin; etc. Then start going to "freelancer" sites and take stock of who wants what ... And start bidding on jobs. You now gain experience working on little jobs and learn "business" at the same time: estimating; client relations; getting ripped off; etc. And, before you know it (if you're good), you have a (5 star) "portfolio" and you're in business. (Starting "another" new SCADA project for the largest company of its kind after "making myself" in just that fashion).
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then". ― Blaise Pascal
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I've managed to support my family for 30 years by being a language specialist, specifically C-based languages (C, C++, C# and Java). C of course is passé, you can skip that one. Once you're employed with these skills you can easily teach yourself other technologies du jour. I believe you need to choose one of 2 paths: primary languages OR web technologies. A language specialist is typically paid more (in large companies) but times are changing. Either choice will make you marketable.
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Hi everyone And thanks in advance! I'm after advice from people who work in the real world as developers in programming and people who hire developers!! I'm 28, from Dudley UK and want a career change! After looking into programming/coding online as I've always been into and around computers all my life I've decided this is the path I want to follow! I've been to see all the local colleges and universities and I have a few options but I'm not sure on which way to go! I'm not scared of hard work in the slightest and I don't expect this to be easy but I don't want to waste my time and money on going down the wrong path! I'm currently half way through " learn python the hard way" and I must say I'm really getting into it! I already have my level 2 in IT from school ( many years ago) I'm 4 weeks into a 15 week programming concepts course at a local college this will give me a part level 3 qualification! I finish this in may I'm gonna do the Harvard CS50 next in may as I've herd it's really good and it's free! Now I'm faced with some choices I either do my HNC and HND in computing and systems development then try to gain a job from there and consider topping it up to a degree afterwards time expectancy 4 - 6 years while trying to teach myself more coding at home! Building a git hub profile and doing as much as I can! I did go to talk to one of the senior lectures at Wolverhampton uni and she told me that someone in my position may not want to consider a part time degree as they take so long and what employers want now will change in 6 years time! She advised me to go look into some professional courses and build my own portfolio to take to employers and she knew people in the industry without degrees that have done very well this way. By pro courses i can only think she means coding boot camps! While they seem very good and promise job ready in 12 weeks to 6 months depending on how long you do the course over! I just don't wanna throw £4000 down the drain on something that doesn't hold any value to a potential employer. The reviews I've read seem to be really good or really bad! It would be great to hear from someone who has any experience with these! Like I said before I'm not scared of hard work and long days I spend most of my spare time now trying to teach my self and it's going well but I feel that I'm coming to a point and not knowing which way to go!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Il be out all day to il probably check back later on if anyone reply's!! Thanks 😁
Choose one among several ways that lead to the cloud. 1. Pick a cloud provider ( Amazon and Microsoft are the two biggies ) 2. Learn their infrastructure as a service and platform as a service offerings and develop small applications with them ( You can have free credits of their cloud offerings ). Keep it public on git so that it reflects on your portfolio 3. Host your own website/blog on their free offering. 4. Build your resume with their taglines and start sending to small companies who are looking for cloud talent. See how you fare, come back and learn what you are lacking. Keep Repeating step 4 until you get your first gig. 5. Once you get your first gig, do not stop learning, keep building your knowledge. I have to tell you it is a slow and pain(ful) process till the time you get your first gig. Best of luck:thumbsup:
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Thanks sounds sensible to be fair! I didn't ever expect to walk into a senior developers job just because I'm older. Starting from the ground up was always where I expected to be but I think my aim was to try and gain a substantial qualification first giving me enough knowledge to gain a better paid entry level job so I didn't have to take as much of a pay drop! There are quite a few training jobs local but they are apprentiships less than minimum wage and as much as I would love to jack my job and go for it I can't afford to take that pay drop! Which is why I wanted to try and do my HNC HND first then possibly my degree if time/situation allows! Do you think I would be better off doing this than going straight into an entry job with no quals? A lot of the better paid entry jobs require a BS in Computer Science and the better paid jobs at big company's. Does the industry view experience better than quals? Or is it all down to the company?
Saw this a bit late, but I still wanted to follow up: Experience vs qualification requirements are different for different companies. (ikr :P) Smaller companies will often hire you without qualifications if you look capable and present yourself at the right moment. The dangers with getting a degree first, is that you're already 28, which means you will still need to get an entry level job (albeit with slightly higher pay) later on, when you're 30+. That's not an ideal situation for a few reasons: you're not gaining any experience in the meantime, you're not generating cash, and your chances of getting hired stay about the same. (more qualified on paper but also older)
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Hi everyone And thanks in advance! I'm after advice from people who work in the real world as developers in programming and people who hire developers!! I'm 28, from Dudley UK and want a career change! After looking into programming/coding online as I've always been into and around computers all my life I've decided this is the path I want to follow! I've been to see all the local colleges and universities and I have a few options but I'm not sure on which way to go! I'm not scared of hard work in the slightest and I don't expect this to be easy but I don't want to waste my time and money on going down the wrong path! I'm currently half way through " learn python the hard way" and I must say I'm really getting into it! I already have my level 2 in IT from school ( many years ago) I'm 4 weeks into a 15 week programming concepts course at a local college this will give me a part level 3 qualification! I finish this in may I'm gonna do the Harvard CS50 next in may as I've herd it's really good and it's free! Now I'm faced with some choices I either do my HNC and HND in computing and systems development then try to gain a job from there and consider topping it up to a degree afterwards time expectancy 4 - 6 years while trying to teach myself more coding at home! Building a git hub profile and doing as much as I can! I did go to talk to one of the senior lectures at Wolverhampton uni and she told me that someone in my position may not want to consider a part time degree as they take so long and what employers want now will change in 6 years time! She advised me to go look into some professional courses and build my own portfolio to take to employers and she knew people in the industry without degrees that have done very well this way. By pro courses i can only think she means coding boot camps! While they seem very good and promise job ready in 12 weeks to 6 months depending on how long you do the course over! I just don't wanna throw £4000 down the drain on something that doesn't hold any value to a potential employer. The reviews I've read seem to be really good or really bad! It would be great to hear from someone who has any experience with these! Like I said before I'm not scared of hard work and long days I spend most of my spare time now trying to teach my self and it's going well but I feel that I'm coming to a point and not knowing which way to go!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Il be out all day to il probably check back later on if anyone reply's!! Thanks 😁
I suppose I'm well late with my advice but here are my thoughts. Programming is an unusual profession because it doesn't necessarily require qualifications to gain entry. Experience counts for an awful lot. I would say pursue your studies (HNC) at night school - it is what I did - but now you must focus on gaining that entry. I don't think a lack of experience has to work against you, it could be an advantage because you will be so much cheaper. At 28 you ought to be able to present yourself as a reliable and mature person that an employer will be able to rely upon. Having said that, you may find that you have to attend a lot of interviews before you get anywhere. Would be employers are incredibly cagey and interview practices are notoriously subjective. At one point in my career I did something in the order of 40 interviews before I made any headway. It probably won't be that bad for you because I had a number of mitigating circumstances, but even so don't be disheartened when a would be Senior Dev pulls your wings off because you didn't 'get'his pet problem. Agents can be tricky to work with, but a good one can really make the difference. Just be careful that they are telling the truth about you to a prospective employer. To begin with I would suggest you may be able to pick up short term contracts at a low rate. Possibly you could discuss an extended probation period with a full time employer. Working from home might be an option. Be careful of picking up work from places like People Per Hour. Make sure you carefully scope any work. Expect to have to travel, but you might be surprised how many local firms there might be. You might also find that there are local firms that might want a bit of IT done on the side for cheap. You may also consider testing automation (Selenium, simulators) as a route into development. In your situation I would avoid any jobs that are directly related to supporting an existing product. That will come later on anyway and there won't really be the opportunities to flex your new development muscles in the way you would like. Don't get me wrong, support can be a very challenging environment but it often doesn't get the respect or kudos it deserves. If you wind up as that support engineer there is a very real possibility that you will be passed over on the really good development opportunities. Finally, remember: software development requires confidence in yourself and your abilities. If you lose that confidence you're toast as a developer. Never ta
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I suppose I'm well late with my advice but here are my thoughts. Programming is an unusual profession because it doesn't necessarily require qualifications to gain entry. Experience counts for an awful lot. I would say pursue your studies (HNC) at night school - it is what I did - but now you must focus on gaining that entry. I don't think a lack of experience has to work against you, it could be an advantage because you will be so much cheaper. At 28 you ought to be able to present yourself as a reliable and mature person that an employer will be able to rely upon. Having said that, you may find that you have to attend a lot of interviews before you get anywhere. Would be employers are incredibly cagey and interview practices are notoriously subjective. At one point in my career I did something in the order of 40 interviews before I made any headway. It probably won't be that bad for you because I had a number of mitigating circumstances, but even so don't be disheartened when a would be Senior Dev pulls your wings off because you didn't 'get'his pet problem. Agents can be tricky to work with, but a good one can really make the difference. Just be careful that they are telling the truth about you to a prospective employer. To begin with I would suggest you may be able to pick up short term contracts at a low rate. Possibly you could discuss an extended probation period with a full time employer. Working from home might be an option. Be careful of picking up work from places like People Per Hour. Make sure you carefully scope any work. Expect to have to travel, but you might be surprised how many local firms there might be. You might also find that there are local firms that might want a bit of IT done on the side for cheap. You may also consider testing automation (Selenium, simulators) as a route into development. In your situation I would avoid any jobs that are directly related to supporting an existing product. That will come later on anyway and there won't really be the opportunities to flex your new development muscles in the way you would like. Don't get me wrong, support can be a very challenging environment but it often doesn't get the respect or kudos it deserves. If you wind up as that support engineer there is a very real possibility that you will be passed over on the really good development opportunities. Finally, remember: software development requires confidence in yourself and your abilities. If you lose that confidence you're toast as a developer. Never ta
Never too late! I'll take every piece of advice I can get at this point and thank you for taking the time. I have looked around the local area and there are a surprising amount of positions in development around! A hell of a lot more than I expected there to be. A lot of apprenticeship type position aimed at school leavers which are very low paid and quite a few junior dev positions 25 - 30k, my problem at the minute is I don't know enough for a junior dev position in my opinion and I can't afford the pay drop back to an apprenticeship! I'd be taking a pay cut to a junior position but I always expected that! I'm gonna continue with my studies for a couple of years I think and then try and get into an junior level position. I want some more knowledge behind me before I take the leap I think but I am going to keep my eyes open to see what's around.