Looking for a career change

Diceicle

Hi All,

I'm looking to move into Programming and Development and would appreciate a recommendation of some distance-learning / part-time courses available.

Right now I'm looking at the courses available from the Fitzwilliam Institute to learn PHP, MySQL and Javascript.

I just want to make sure I see all the worthwhile courses out there.

Thanks in advance.
D.

SimonTemplar

Why did you choose PHP?

Diceicle

Thanks for the reply.

I wouldn't say I chose PHP per se, it's just part of the course that is being offered.

My plan is to learn MySQL, Java, Javascript and PHP for a grounding but to ultimately work with Ruby on Rails and Python.

I'm not all that interested in Java tbh but its such a well used language it can't hurt to have it.

I have some limited programming experience with HTML, CSS, C, and ROR.

SimonTemplar

Java and PHP are not prerequisites for Ruby on Rail.
If you want to work with Ruby just go with that instead of wasting time with PHP.

Diceicle

Thanks Simon. Would having Java and PHP not give a better rounding out of skills for a potential employer? Rather than only really knowing ROR and Python?

Diceicle

Diceicle wrote: »

Thanks Simon. Would having Java and PHP not give a better rounding out of skills for a potential employer? Rather than only really knowing ROR and Python?

Can anyone tell me whether having a diploma along with self taught languages gives me a greater chance of employment (all things being equal) - I suppose I'm looking to determine how much weight is put on qualifications in the programming sphere.

Colonel Panic

Most junior developer positions are going to require a 3rd level qualification these days unless you've got an amazing portfolio to showcase your self-taught work.

It's pretty competitive for juniors at the moment, I believe.

UCDVet

I firmly believe that the language you use doesn't 'matter' in a 'theoretical' sense. I studied Computer Science the data structures/algorithms, the theory behind everything, it doesn't matter what language you use. It's just a detail.

But in the 'practical' world - when you get a job, it almost always will be looking for a particular skillset. Most of the time, that means a primary language + a secondary language (a Java business app with a Oracle database). Front-end web developer? You'll need HTML5/CSS/Javascript. I'm a C# developer - when they hire people for my position they look for experience with C# and SQL. Nice to haves are WCF/ASP.Net/domain knowledge of our industry. They don't put too much value on other stuff. If you have 10 years of amazing C development - sure, they'd think of you as more senior - but if you kinda know some C and did some cool projects - it's just fluff to them. I even disagree with this attitude a bit, but when I'm involved with interviewing, it's pretty common. They want a good fit so you can walk in and be awesome on day #1, as much as possible.

If your goal is a career change, maybe have a look at jobs openings for the language(s) you most enjoy. If you like Ruby On Rails - cool - look up some ROR jobs and see what they are looking for. To me, it sounds like a lot of your interests aren't going to 'mesh' well with the skillsets employers want.

Heck - I was a C# developer and I just *barely* got a job as a VB.Net developer. It couldn't have been any more similar (if you aren't familar with .net - just take me word for it, all but the same), but they almost didn't hire me because their policy was that everyone needed VB.Net experience. At the end of my 'probation period' my manager told me this and how they had a bit of a bet going to see if I'd be a huge failure or not.

gobby

This is a great find for me. I am in a very similar place. I'd love to get back into coding and to turn it into a career. I was thinking of maybe starting to go to coder dojo's to get me back into it. Thoughts...?

neil_hosey

The most jobs are probably in .NET, Java, Python and some mobile technologies. I wouldnt focus on ROR at the beginning.

Do a course that will give you the grounding in OO development, architecture, design patterns, data structures. Read every book you can on OO design start with this.

Then design patterns, SQL (in depth), ORMs, IOC containers, read as many books written by martin fowler as you can