Author Topic: Career change to programmer/developer/coder... education advice needed  (Read 3753 times)

willikers

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Hey there folks,

So I was catching up on my favorite news subject (science/tech) and stumbled on this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/technology/code-academy-as-career-game-changer.html?_r=0

now, since it is no secret that there are a great number of engineers, programmers and developers in our network, I would ask how you approached your education and what sort of challenges I should expect.

I have some college under my belt, but no degree. I have worked in commercial banking the last two years as tech support for their front-end online banking products, so my knowledge is pretty minimal, at least from a developers perspective. I would certainly like to improve my skills past my current barely-above-layman’s level. After a bit of research I think Ruby and Python may be a great place to start, but where to go from there I am at a loss. I know there are plenty of options available to me, such as treehouse, code academy and any number of coding boot camps available, but I am unsure what skills are in demand and how best to learn them.

So for those engineer types, what do you focus on and how did you learn? Are the online academy’s worth looking into or should I focus on a BS degree that I have to spend 3-4 years of my life invested in?

Thanks in advance.


humbleMouse

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First of all, buy this book.  Best $100 you will EVER spend.  And actually read it too, page by page.

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Operating-Systems-4th-Edition/dp/013359162X

If you actually want to know how programming languages are designed and built, buy this book as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Hard-Way-Practical-Computational/dp/0321884922/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438131113&sr=1-1&keywords=learn+C+the+hard+way


The first book I posted is critical.   If you actually read this book and study it you will have a leg up on every comp sci grad who didn't pay attention or try that hard in school.

Furthermore, it is important that you actually write code every single day.  It doesn't matter if you copy it straight from a tutorial, write it while you talk to your chick/watch tv, just get in the habit of writing code even if you are copying it verbatim.  It helps you get familiar with it and not be afraid.

In addition, read about relational databases.  This is also critical, and if you don't understand relational databases then you will be at a distinct disadvantage in your coding career.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question599.htm

With all of that said, java and javascript are good languages to start coding with.  Easy to read and write, and you can pretty much make anything you want with them.  Codeacademy is a good place to start.

Kind of rambling on but feel free to pm me if you want any more specific guidance... or ask here!!

Edit:
Also, I think code academys and bootcamps are a great investment/idea.  However, if you spend 3-6 months actually studying before you go to one you will get SO MUCH MORE OUT OF IT.  If you actually code ANYTHING that works and read that modern operating systems book before you go, I guarantee that you do way better and have more options at the end.  Go to code bootcamp that has a good reputation.  I highly recommend that you do not enroll in an online one.  You gain a lot more if you are actually sitting around other people coding all day for months on end.  Also, learning to effectively code around distractions and interruptions is a critical skill to develop. 

« Last Edit: July 28, 2015, 07:03:26 PM by humbleMouse »

MrSal

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i first saw an article on coding bootcamp about 2-3 years ago... when it first started and people changing careers making big bucks.

Truth be told they always said it wasnt for everyone... they said it was about 6 full months of 16-18 hours a day of classses/coding ... but you would get out of it with good skills and a high employment rate they said.

If it was true or just a lot of marketing i dunno... but i always had it on the back of my head. I believe tuition was about 10k or so ...

I have been thinking of doing this actually ... i like computers... software and i like to write little programs on trading software for financial markets - languages here are usually easier like visual basic and such...

letired

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I did a coding bootcamp ~2 years ago. It was worth it for me, since it was cheaper then and I needed something that would help me ramp up quickly. With how expensive most camps are these days, I would be a lot more hesitant. Before you make such a jump, do a bunch of stuff on your own (codecademy, I can rec a bunch of ruby-related programs/tutorials, etc) to make sure you actually like it, and be prepared to bust your ass for multiple years afterward. Bootcamps can get you launched, but if you are serious about a career, it takes A Lot Of Work to get yourself competitive with people who have been working or studying longer than you. You can get a similar effect via community college programming classes or other alternative paths.

vagon

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Try CS50x for free. It covers at an introductory level most things it will take to be a good coder.

You will learn:
-A generic language structure in scratch.
-A simplified version of C
-Web dev using HTML, CSS and (unfortunately) PHP
-A little SQL
-Importantly concepts like abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation and security.

That should give you a feel for where (and more importantly if) you want to invest more time. If you do choose to go on be prepared to deal with a lot more dry content than the exercises/lectures in CS50, codeacademy or codeschool.

In terms of whether you do bootcamp or a degree, it depends. Some companies will screen a resume based on college degree, others will place more weight on a portfolio in something like Github. Its really a matter of how long you want to be committed to it and the type of company you want to work for.

Cecil

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It doesn't really matter which language you learn - what matters is that you learn how to program and how to think about programming. Python and Ruby are both good choices as they are beginner-friendly.

Buy Learn Python the Hard Way.

The biggest piece of advice I have is not to just work through tutorials learning bits and pieces of the language. That's boring and the knowledge won't stick. Do some, until you start to understand what's going on, then do something practical. Think of a (simple) program you want to build and start making it.

Make something that calculates your time to FIRE given salary, expenses, and current portfolio. Make a pong clone. Make an alarm clock. When you can't figure out how to do something, google it or ask people.

You don't learn to speak Japanese by reading about the history of Japan, and you don't learn to program by reading textbooks.

Edited to add: I have a Bachelor's in CS and am a professional programmer. Don't do a degree - it's a waste of time and money in your position. You can learn 80% of the practical knowledge you need in a much shorter time, for a lot less money.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2015, 11:35:54 PM by Cecil »