Getting started in computer programming

I know my company frowns upon those technical schools like DeVry and ITT. My manager in charge of many of our new hires is so unimpressed with the workers we got from those she is now just trashing resumes that have that as their education.

My place won't hire anyone from those schools, and the credits from them don't transfer anywhere. You'll pigeonhole yourself into an entry level garbage job almost guaranteed. Since you already have a degree, you may be able to skip all of the gen ed classes at the university and just do the real stuff. I don't know how far in Math you went in your degree but you'll most likely need to have taken or have to take Calc 1-3 and a few other weird math classes.

As for computer engineering vs. science.. if you just want to program software stuff, go the science route. If you ever think you'd want to program more on a hardware level and/or more in design then I would think about engineering. Most computer engineers can probably fill most of the roles a computer science major could fill but there are roles that computer engineers hold that I don't believe a computer science major could fill.

Can you count in binary?

Well that my friend, is where you start your journey.

I thought I wanted to get into computer programming. Then I learned to program (C++) and I realized I absolutely hated it. Before jumping into it headlong I'd see if you really enjoy writing code. Some do, some don't, and it would be better to know whether you do or not before you get halfway through your Computer Science degree (like me).

McCheese_sl said:

I thought I wanted to get into computer programming. Then I learned to program (C++) and I realized I absolutely hated it. Before jumping into it headlong I'd see if you really enjoy writing code. Some do, some don't, and it would be better to know whether you do or not before you get halfway through your Computer Science degree (like me).

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What he said, it's fun in theory. Until you get into long debug sessions and then you just want to smash shit with your keyboard.

One thing to keep in mind is that programming is seen as a young person's game. Personally I think this is bullshit, but that attitude is out there.

Throughout my career, looking back, it's the old timers that have really been worth their weight in gold (though when I was younger I thought they were slow).

Now I'm slow. But I make better stuff

TheRage_sl said:

What he said, it's fun in theory. Until you get into long debug sessions and then you just want to smash shit with your keyboard.

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True statement. Over half my class switched majors because they didn't like to code.

Yeah, I used to program a lot in high school and loved making little games and whatnot, when I could create what I wanted to. I thought this is great and I would love to do this the rest of my life. Then I went to college for CS in 2000, and when I got into all the advanced calculus and whatnot, and some of the lower level language stuff, and realized I would have to do this crap forever, I just couldn't keep up and lost all interest and decided it was not what I wanted to do the rest of my life, and ended up dropping out.

I have always wanted to program and create games and whatnot, but I know I could never handle sitting there coding programs that I'm not passionate about for 8-12 hours a day. But the funny thing is, thanks to the emergence of easy access to publishing (Google Play, Steam, Amazon, iTunes Appstore, etc), and actual realistic income levels for indie developers, I have been self learning Java and intend to start programming some apps and games and hopefully make a supplemental income (or if I'm lucky, full income) on some app stores, and eventually move into C# which is very similar to Java, or C++. By being able to make what I want, and being able to be passionate about it, it makes a world of difference. I don't have to get into super complicated math and whatnot if I don't want to, and I'm not trying to program any super complicated things. I can program to my ability level.

For me personally, its miserable to go into super advanced math to make stuff for other people's designs, and much more enjoyable to program on my own terms. I would STRONGLY recommend before quitting your job, and enrolling and whatnot, either picking up a book and self-learning a useable but not super complicated language like Java or C# (I'd recommend 'Teach Yourself Java in 24 Hours', and 'Head First Java') or take a couple programming classes at a local junior college, and see if you enjoy it or hate it, and on what terms you enjoy it (doing it for yourself vs doing it under specific guidelines for an employer). I also work in the medical field (IT), and honestly I would much rather be a respiratory therapist the rest of my life, than program databases and business applications the rest of my life, but would choose indie development over either of those in a heartbeat, and you don't need a degree for that.

Funny thing is that it's not hard once you know what you're doing.

Seems like it's the learning curve that gets to most people.

I'd recommend C, because well, when you learn C you'll see what I mean.

Take things one step at a time, don't skip around.

When your vagina starts hurting because it's too hard, that's when you know you're actually learning something ;-D

Diazepane_sl said:

Funny thing is that it's not hard once you know what you're doing.

Seems like it's the learning curve that gets to most people.

I'd recommend C, because well, when you learn C you'll see what I mean.

Take things one step at a time, don't skip around.

When your vagina starts hurting because it's too hard, that's when you know you're actually learning something ;-D

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Yeah programming itself isn't hard once you learn how to communicate with the computer. The hard part is learning all the math like advanced calculus and such. Programming is a lot of basic math, and a lot of stuff you don't need advanced calculus and such for, but if your working physics systems or other super complex mathematical calculations, that's when it can get frustrating if you don't enjoy working with crazy math equations.

Literally 90% of employed software developers don't need to worry about advanced math. However if you hate stack traces and debugging complex systems with complex business rules then chances are development isn't a proper route.

I'm 35 and have been programming for a living over 15 years. Don't bother with the tech diploma mills, like others are saying. The degree(s) you already have are fine. There are tons of awesomesauce devs with no formal training. A degree in a hard science suggests you have the general aptitude, to me and to any employer worth a damn.

There are lots of ways to get started, but if I were you, I'd find an open source project I thought was cool. Github.com is the first place to look. Ideally find a piece of software you'd use yourself. Pick up a book or two on the language it's written in and go. It's going to be hard at first. You're going to have to learn not only the language, but also lots of related tools: version control, editors, compilers, etc. If you chose wisely, your interest in the project will sustain you though this initial difficulty. Add a feature you want for your own use. Make awesome contributions that get accepted to the project. Put that on a resume and circulate it. Repeat until successful.

I think most of what I learned from my CS degree was not very useful to my actual software engineering job. I've forgotten most of the math and a lot of the theory. I know there are some programs that offer software engineering degrees now and that would probably be worth pursuing. Stuff like using patterns, understanding frameworks, code design and architecture, testing (that could easily be multiple semesters), was only tangentially touched on, but maybe things have changed in the last decade. It's always been my contention that a CS degree prepares you to become a graduate student, not a real world programmer.