Guidance Required

CantThinkOfANam

Hi all,

Bit of a strange one but I was wondering what people's opinions were on this.

I done a degree in software engineering which I finished in 2004 and achieved excellent grades etc but I never moved into the IT business as I became a pilot.

Now I'm considering refreshing my knowledge in this field with the hope that i can maybe get some work part time or freelance etc.

So basically what I was hoping to get people's thoughts on
- what are the chances of getting work since I completed the degree so long ago and have no experience?
- could anyone recommend a refresher course I could do?
- what field should I be looking at that would that would best suit my expectations and what languages should I be learning?

I did mainly C++ & Java so I'd be fairly confident I could self learn these myself with a good book.

Thanks for any help or input anyone can give, I know I'm being very vague here etc but don't know where to start.

Cheers!

househero

CantThinkOfANam wrote: »

Hi all,

Bit of a strange one but I was wondering what people's opinions were on this.

I done a degree in software engineering which I finished in 2004 and achieved excellent grades etc but I never moved into the IT business as I became a pilot.

Now I'm considering refreshing my knowledge in this field with the hope that i can maybe get some work part time or freelance etc.

So basically what I was hoping to get people's thoughts on
- what are the chances of getting work since I completed the degree so long ago and have no experience?
- could anyone recommend a refresher course I could do?
- what field should I be looking at that would that would best suit my expectations and what languages should I be learning?

I did mainly C++ & Java so I'd be fairly confident I could self learn these myself with a good book.

Thanks for any help or input anyone can give, I know I'm being very vague here etc but don't know where to start.

Cheers!

0 chance.

Experience is everything. And what you learnt in Uni was outdated when you learnt it over a decade ago.

Keep flying Captain

L.Jenkins

Don't be disheartened. I would suggest going back to College. You could do a graduate diploma or masters' in development. A new qualification would help to freshen up your skill set for development roles in 2017. If you do proceed with a College Course, you could also join Github and contribute to existing projects or work on your own.

I would say you could work on your current skill set, then work to broaden it.

14ned

househero wrote: »

0 chance.

Experience is everything. And what you learnt in Uni was outdated when you learnt it over a decade ago.

Agreed. Employers and especially recruiters start to penalise you after just a year of not working directly in a niche technology, after two years not working in programming you'll find it very tough to get past the filters. With no commercial programming experience at all and your training being seriously out of date, you have zero chance, it is as if you never had a degree at all.

You'll need to take as an absolute, absolute minimum a postgrad "conversion" course into programming to have any chance of finding employment in IT. You may be entitled to some state help with that, but be aware it's miserly and is more useful pocket change than anything anyone could live off of.

Niall

John_C

One thing to consider is that 'domain knowledge' is considered valuable. You'll find it much easier to get a job writing software in the airline industry, where your current skills would be relevant.

CantThinkOfANam

Thanks for that guys, yeah I was thinking I wouldn't have a chance and I would have to go back to college and do another course.

Would anyone have any recommendations on a good course that would be relevant and would suit someone like me?

Thanks again.

L.Jenkins

What end of the Country are you based? DIT, IIT, ITB maybe suitable if you're based near Dublin. If it's Software Development you're interested in, then stick with it.

CantThinkOfANam

I'm based in Dublin so suppose I got some choices. I'm just worried that any course I choose will be building on a mordern degree course and I'll be out of my depts with the basics.

Berserker

CantThinkOfANam wrote: »

I'm based in Dublin so suppose I got some choices. I'm just worried that any course I choose will be building on a mordern degree course and I'll be out of my depts with the basics.

I would start by looking into night or part time courses to upgrade/refresh your areas of interest. Experience is key in the industry but updating your qualifications is a good starting point. Why are you looking to leave piloting, as a matter of interest?

CantThinkOfANam

Cheers not a bad idea I'll look into that.

Don't want to leave it just now, I'm just considering trying to do some programming in my spare time with the option of maybe switching careers in a few years time. Being a pilot isn't the healthiest of jobs.

beauf

They are both sitting at a desk all day. Still always good to have a back up. Since your reliant on passing a medical etc.

Most experienced commercial pilots I know would be used to a far higher salary then they would get in programming.

Especially since most jobs look for extensive experience in a current technology.

DefinitelyMarc

John_C wrote: »

One thing to consider is that 'domain knowledge' is considered valuable. You'll find it much easier to get a job writing software in the airline industry, where your current skills would be relevant.

Do not underestimate this OP, I had to learn about the insurance industry during my training at my current job.

If you niche-down now, get a conversion course to upskill and get your name out there (Blogging, YouTube, etc) you could make a lot of money.