Programming Work experience

deceit

Hi, I was just wondering would any of you know if this would be realistic.
I work in IT security fulltime and was hoping I could get some unpaid/work experience style role on weekends in either C++, C# or Java to improve my knowledge as I have an interest in it.
I've a degree in IT and 4 years experience in IT security.

bpmurray

Why not volunteer somewhere? CoderDojo can always use help, and you'll get great ideas from the kids for your own projects. Alternatively, look at Volunteer ireland - they may have something.

deceit

I was hoping for a position where I would expand my knowledge first before looking at helping others

L.Jenkins

Volunteering at a Coder Dojo would help to expand your knowledge in Programming with the more important concepts. Another one would be to setup a Github account, a blog and develop a few of your own projects. Showing some initiative would help in securing a role down the line. Your experience in Security would be a distinct advantage.

deceit

I have a github account but have never stored anything on it. I have been creating a few apps just experimenting in each language. I will try finish them. I should point out I don't ever want to be paid to program now or in the future. I would be happy just doing it for free on weekends or in my free time as I am happy in my security/networking roles. I will see if their are any coder dojos near me.

bpmurray

deceit wrote: »

I was hoping for a position where I would expand my knowledge first before looking at helping others

The fastest way to learn anything is to have to teach it. While CoderDojo isn't about teaching, more about encouraging kids to learn for themselves, you'll find that ou do relearn a whole load of stuff - this weekend I had to relearn all the old PHP mysql_* stuff which I haven't used in years.

Atomic Pineapple

bpmurray wrote: »

The fastest way to learn anything is to have to teach it. While CoderDojo isn't about teaching, more about encouraging kids to learn for themselves, you'll find that ou do relearn a whole load of stuff - this weekend I had to relearn all the old PHP mysql_* stuff which I haven't used in years.

Do you teach at a coder dojo? It's something I'd like to look into helping with myself but I'm unsure of its format and whether I'd be useful at teaching. Is it best to just contact my local coder dojo and ask them if my experience would be helpful in anyway?

bpmurray

CoderDojo mentoring is definitely not teaching - it's trying to get them to learn rather than give them the answers. There is always a place for someone willing to help, from admin to mentoring, and it looks good on your CV too, so it's a win-win. You can find your closest dojo from the website. Since you know security you could get them thinking about that, e.g. how to protect against SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, etc.