..trying to get hired.
I would also recommend them to a programmer trying to get to the next level. Putting in a little extra work for free is not a problem If you love programming.
I started writing the first Windows application that my company distributed while eating my lunch. At one point I showed it to my boss and he gave me the budget to complete the job. I learned to use Delphi and little bit of Windows programming in the process. A WinWin situation.
JS
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I graduated with a CS degree in the early 1990s, but took a job in another field when I couldn't find any programming jobs right out of school. Some years later I tried to find a full-time programming job but didn't get any response to my resume. Then I wrote a small app of a cryptogram game and put it up on my web site, and was able to get a job at a startup web development company.
..things. Before the Web it was more difficult to get exposure. One option was to write things for magazines and they would sometimes put stuff on their BBS. Or you could write articles and have that in your resume. It was just not as efficient as the Web.
I'm glad it worked for you
JS
I'm glad it worked for you
JS
If you're writing something that will be used at your workplace, try to keep track of your time. They probably won't want to compensate you, but you can always do things like negotiate a longer lunch for a month or so. It's also a good demonstration of why it's worth it to give you time to self-educate during the week.
... be that productive so I was really just exploring. I got rewarded anyway in a less direct manner.
But it is a good point and if I was to do something like that again I would keep atrack record.
JS
But it is a good point and if I was to do something like that again I would keep atrack record.
JS
Back during the dot-com bust I had heard about a local non-profit that was looking for .Net developers. I was looking for such work at the time. I sent in my resume and even sent them a working sample WinForms app. I had written, in a Zip file attachment. I checked back with them later and they said they had filled all of their open positions. They had plenty of applicants. Later I saw a couple resumes by software engineers with Ph.D.'s who had done some pretty advanced stuff in their work histories, and were asking "are there any non-profit opportunities?" This was 7 years ago, but this shows that even trying to get a volunteer position is competitive in the current economic climate.
During my "time off" I often became inspired to do my own projects. So I'd work on those in my free time. I either lived off of savings or I did odd jobs to pay the bills. None of those projects landed me a programming job. I tried bringing a CD of my work sometimes to interviews. After I had bought my first laptop I tried bringing it along so that the interviewer didn't have to install my samples on their computer to see them. I figured they were afraid of viruses. Even so I never got the opportunity to show them that way either. It seemed like the places that wanted to interview me weren't interested in seeing demos. Anyway I landed my first .Net job 3 years after the crash without showing any of my work. I largely got noticed through rankings on .Net knowledge tests. This is an area where if you do your own projects at home, you can benefit, because you'll gain the knowledge you need to score highly on such tests, and sometimes interviewers will be impressed when they ask you such knowledge/skill questions directly during the interview.
Back when I graduated with a CS degree (1993) the newspaper was still a major source of job listings. I found my very first "programming" job (I explain the quotes below) out of college through a newspaper ad, despite career counselors telling me it was the worst place to look (they advised networking). I had to "pound the pavement" sending out a lot of resumes for almost a year to find it. That was average, from what I heard from my fellow CS students. We were in a jobs recession then, too. The job was at a small software company with about 10 employees. I was hired for $9/hr. (that would probably be $12-14/hr. in today's money).
One thing my boss noticed on my resume was that I had done some open source documentation work for a C library with a collaborator on the internet over a summer while I was in school (for free of course). The term "open source" didn't even exist then. I'm just using modern parlance. I even used my remote collaborator as a reference for the job. It was considered very innovative and avant garde of me to do this back then, because most people were only beginning to hear about the internet.
What landed me the job though was I successfully solved a "standard" programming problem they asked all programming applicants to do. It tested my CS chops.
Despite what I was hired for I did hardly any programming there. Instead I mostly babysat batch jobs, and did customer support, with a little integration testing. They suffered a sales drop and I got laid off after two months.
I then found a contract job through the newspaper 4 months later with a one-man software company. I didn't even remember sending him my resume. He called me out of the blue one day. He was impressed that I had written my own apps. on the Apple II in high school. He used to be a Mac developer years earlier, and he remembered the Apple II. He was running his business out of his home. I forget but I think he paid me $10/hr. He lent me a laptop to work on. That lasted for a few months and then I discovered that he only worked on his product as a side job (this was the reason he hired me--he had gotten too busy with his day job). He said he was impressed with the work I did for him and asked if I was interested in working at where he worked, as a contractor and for better pay. I took the job at $15/hr. Right out of the chute, my first project was working on a script interpreter, just the kind of CS-type work I had been looking for. I got this job about 1-1/2 years after I graduated college.
Since then I've found all of my programming work through networking contacts.
I got the .Net job I mentioned earlier by regularly attending a .Net users group meeting, which was held every month. They'd always reserve a part of their meetings for job announcements. In one of those meetings I heard about an ASP.Net job I thought I'd qualify for, and I sent my resume to the contact. It was a contract job, and it was another guy running a business out of his home. He was an MSDN subscriber, and was able to hook me into that network so I could download and install all of the Microsoft dev. tools I needed to do work on my laptop at home.
From my experience, you have to be willing to accept the notion (and I know it's damn frustrating!) that the IT employment market makes no sense at all. You'll see ads that ask for everything and the kitchen sink and you'll wonder "Could ANYONE qualify for this job???" You may see ads for jobs that match your qualifications, which you respond to, but you never hear from them, even though the ad stays up for weeks at a time. You'll see ads that ask for "3 years of experience with .Net Framework 3.5", which seems so idiotic it can drive you to despair (though I did hear from one interviewer, "There are people who have done production work with the betas."). I think it's more likely that HR has a standard ranking system for junior, mid-level, and senior engineers, and they translate that ranking to "years of experience" with a particular technology, or set of them.
Depending on how the job market is, you may get contacted by headhunters who don't have a clue about IT or the technical terms used within it, but they'll insist they'll be able to find you a job. This never raised my confidence. I found them irritating, but I tolerated them. I actually found one of my jobs through a headhunter.
The problem is even if you think you qualify as some level of engineer an employer is looking for, generally, and you put your years of work experience with the technology they're looking for on your resume, and it doesn't match what the ad says, more than likely it'll end up in a black hole. The only answer I've heard consistently for these situations is to try to gain a contact within the company, and try to see if you can get your resume seen by the hiring manager, or some senior engineer working there.
One technique I've heard about is to contact the hiring manager, and invite them to lunch for the purpose of doing industry research. The comfort level varies with this, I've found. Some executives are receptive to this. Others aren't. If you succeed and they want to meet with you, don't directly ask or hint about a job during the lunch (that's considered untoward), but have your resume handy if the person you're interviewing asks about it. I've tried this a couple times. One time I called a small, local software company, asked for the hiring manager and got referred to the president of the company instead. We had lunch. One reason he liked the idea was he had just moved here from out of town, relocating his business, and he was curious about the area. I offered to tell him anything he wanted to know. I asked generally about trends in the IT software industry, trying to get a fix on what I should focus on learning. It went smoothly, but at no point did I get a job with that company. I did however gain some industry knowledge which served me later. So it wasn't a total loss.
Anyway, the networking successes I've had have happened in ways I couldn't predict. In fact none of my job searches have happened in ways I could predict. Persistence is all you've got.
During my "time off" I often became inspired to do my own projects. So I'd work on those in my free time. I either lived off of savings or I did odd jobs to pay the bills. None of those projects landed me a programming job. I tried bringing a CD of my work sometimes to interviews. After I had bought my first laptop I tried bringing it along so that the interviewer didn't have to install my samples on their computer to see them. I figured they were afraid of viruses. Even so I never got the opportunity to show them that way either. It seemed like the places that wanted to interview me weren't interested in seeing demos. Anyway I landed my first .Net job 3 years after the crash without showing any of my work. I largely got noticed through rankings on .Net knowledge tests. This is an area where if you do your own projects at home, you can benefit, because you'll gain the knowledge you need to score highly on such tests, and sometimes interviewers will be impressed when they ask you such knowledge/skill questions directly during the interview.
Back when I graduated with a CS degree (1993) the newspaper was still a major source of job listings. I found my very first "programming" job (I explain the quotes below) out of college through a newspaper ad, despite career counselors telling me it was the worst place to look (they advised networking). I had to "pound the pavement" sending out a lot of resumes for almost a year to find it. That was average, from what I heard from my fellow CS students. We were in a jobs recession then, too. The job was at a small software company with about 10 employees. I was hired for $9/hr. (that would probably be $12-14/hr. in today's money).
One thing my boss noticed on my resume was that I had done some open source documentation work for a C library with a collaborator on the internet over a summer while I was in school (for free of course). The term "open source" didn't even exist then. I'm just using modern parlance. I even used my remote collaborator as a reference for the job. It was considered very innovative and avant garde of me to do this back then, because most people were only beginning to hear about the internet.
What landed me the job though was I successfully solved a "standard" programming problem they asked all programming applicants to do. It tested my CS chops.
Despite what I was hired for I did hardly any programming there. Instead I mostly babysat batch jobs, and did customer support, with a little integration testing. They suffered a sales drop and I got laid off after two months.
I then found a contract job through the newspaper 4 months later with a one-man software company. I didn't even remember sending him my resume. He called me out of the blue one day. He was impressed that I had written my own apps. on the Apple II in high school. He used to be a Mac developer years earlier, and he remembered the Apple II. He was running his business out of his home. I forget but I think he paid me $10/hr. He lent me a laptop to work on. That lasted for a few months and then I discovered that he only worked on his product as a side job (this was the reason he hired me--he had gotten too busy with his day job). He said he was impressed with the work I did for him and asked if I was interested in working at where he worked, as a contractor and for better pay. I took the job at $15/hr. Right out of the chute, my first project was working on a script interpreter, just the kind of CS-type work I had been looking for. I got this job about 1-1/2 years after I graduated college.
Since then I've found all of my programming work through networking contacts.
I got the .Net job I mentioned earlier by regularly attending a .Net users group meeting, which was held every month. They'd always reserve a part of their meetings for job announcements. In one of those meetings I heard about an ASP.Net job I thought I'd qualify for, and I sent my resume to the contact. It was a contract job, and it was another guy running a business out of his home. He was an MSDN subscriber, and was able to hook me into that network so I could download and install all of the Microsoft dev. tools I needed to do work on my laptop at home.
From my experience, you have to be willing to accept the notion (and I know it's damn frustrating!) that the IT employment market makes no sense at all. You'll see ads that ask for everything and the kitchen sink and you'll wonder "Could ANYONE qualify for this job???" You may see ads for jobs that match your qualifications, which you respond to, but you never hear from them, even though the ad stays up for weeks at a time. You'll see ads that ask for "3 years of experience with .Net Framework 3.5", which seems so idiotic it can drive you to despair (though I did hear from one interviewer, "There are people who have done production work with the betas."). I think it's more likely that HR has a standard ranking system for junior, mid-level, and senior engineers, and they translate that ranking to "years of experience" with a particular technology, or set of them.
Depending on how the job market is, you may get contacted by headhunters who don't have a clue about IT or the technical terms used within it, but they'll insist they'll be able to find you a job. This never raised my confidence. I found them irritating, but I tolerated them. I actually found one of my jobs through a headhunter.
The problem is even if you think you qualify as some level of engineer an employer is looking for, generally, and you put your years of work experience with the technology they're looking for on your resume, and it doesn't match what the ad says, more than likely it'll end up in a black hole. The only answer I've heard consistently for these situations is to try to gain a contact within the company, and try to see if you can get your resume seen by the hiring manager, or some senior engineer working there.
One technique I've heard about is to contact the hiring manager, and invite them to lunch for the purpose of doing industry research. The comfort level varies with this, I've found. Some executives are receptive to this. Others aren't. If you succeed and they want to meet with you, don't directly ask or hint about a job during the lunch (that's considered untoward), but have your resume handy if the person you're interviewing asks about it. I've tried this a couple times. One time I called a small, local software company, asked for the hiring manager and got referred to the president of the company instead. We had lunch. One reason he liked the idea was he had just moved here from out of town, relocating his business, and he was curious about the area. I offered to tell him anything he wanted to know. I asked generally about trends in the IT software industry, trying to get a fix on what I should focus on learning. It went smoothly, but at no point did I get a job with that company. I did however gain some industry knowledge which served me later. So it wasn't a total loss.
Anyway, the networking successes I've had have happened in ways I couldn't predict. In fact none of my job searches have happened in ways I could predict. Persistence is all you've got.
in the work for free category.
work on a Free Software Project [ aka Open Source ]
That way you can get experience that directly feeds into your primary interest.
work on a Free Software Project [ aka Open Source ]
That way you can get experience that directly feeds into your primary interest.
Jaqui -
"And there are plenty of open source projects that can use some help. Or, you could pick up an ?abandoned? open source project and revive it. Open source work is a great resume builder."
Second paragraph of that section.
J.Ja
"And there are plenty of open source projects that can use some help. Or, you could pick up an ?abandoned? open source project and revive it. Open source work is a great resume builder."
Second paragraph of that section.
J.Ja
the same thing about open source, then I reread the first one. My mistake.
I think Open source may be easier to get into than finding freelance work, at least around here.
I think Open source may be easier to get into than finding freelance work, at least around here.
Most Internet readers can't get past character 140 before they have to comment.
Just post a subject line matching the pattern
(microsoft|linux|apple) (rules|sucks)
It doesn't matter what you write in the body.
(microsoft|linux|apple) (rules|sucks)
It doesn't matter what you write in the body.
Would you call people who can't get past character 140 "twits"?
discipline in the real world. Whether you can and have becomes very obvious after about five minutes explaining what you've done.
So if you've done nothing....
NB classwork snippets don't really count.
It's not knowing how to maintain a list in a circulr array that counts. It's whether you can or should use one and why....
So if you've done nothing....
NB classwork snippets don't really count.
It's not knowing how to maintain a list in a circulr array that counts. It's whether you can or should use one and why....
I started programming to pass the time while working as an operator in a data center. When they first discovered what I was doing, they shut me down because I was using too much disk space. Then they relented, and put me to work on various small projects they needed done. Next thing you know, I was a programmer.
"Your boss probably won?t let you spend huge amounts of time writing code instead of manning the help desk. So, if you want to turn that help desk job into experience developing software, you?re going to have to make the time. Code through lunch break? Check. Work after hours? Check. Plan and develop at home? Check."
It was by sheer amazing luck. I was hired to work at a small liberal arts college in their Education division to managed a computer lab (one person operation). What I didn't know at the time that the teacher education program was going trough a national accreditation. Also, I didn't know part of the accreditation process was that the program had to move all of its data from paper to electronic...meaning database. I had some minor experience playing around with creating a very small database for the last job I was on using Access (started off with an Excel spreadsheet). But, on the scale I had to develop the database, never.
Then, along the way when I found out that the faculty in the division would need access to the database, than I thought user interface.. SO, at the same time I was developing the database, I started work on the user interface created with VB 6. I wanted to do it in Java, but because of time constant, went with VB and in the future I was going to convert to Java. All of this was an almost 3 year process. It was a great experience because I had no help with the actual work, it was all me. And I got to experience the good and the bad...experience the "this is not what you are supposed to do" when programming. I needed that experience to learn.
I got lucky with that opportunity. And I've been using it to offer up programming solutions for friends of mine who work for themselves or who are educators. What teacher wouldn't love having an Excel spreadsheet to hold their grades but don't know how, don't have the time or don't remember Excel past passing that sometimes only computer class they ever had college.
It was by sheer amazing luck. I was hired to work at a small liberal arts college in their Education division to managed a computer lab (one person operation). What I didn't know at the time that the teacher education program was going trough a national accreditation. Also, I didn't know part of the accreditation process was that the program had to move all of its data from paper to electronic...meaning database. I had some minor experience playing around with creating a very small database for the last job I was on using Access (started off with an Excel spreadsheet). But, on the scale I had to develop the database, never.
Then, along the way when I found out that the faculty in the division would need access to the database, than I thought user interface.. SO, at the same time I was developing the database, I started work on the user interface created with VB 6. I wanted to do it in Java, but because of time constant, went with VB and in the future I was going to convert to Java. All of this was an almost 3 year process. It was a great experience because I had no help with the actual work, it was all me. And I got to experience the good and the bad...experience the "this is not what you are supposed to do" when programming. I needed that experience to learn.
I got lucky with that opportunity. And I've been using it to offer up programming solutions for friends of mine who work for themselves or who are educators. What teacher wouldn't love having an Excel spreadsheet to hold their grades but don't know how, don't have the time or don't remember Excel past passing that sometimes only computer class they ever had college.
Your story is similar to me...
I was appointed as a Data Analyst and within a year I became software programmer using VB 6 and Excel programming. This was then all 3 year process I upgraded my skills and knowledge in programming world.
Now I am a web developer using PHP, MySQL technologies........
I was appointed as a Data Analyst and within a year I became software programmer using VB 6 and Excel programming. This was then all 3 year process I upgraded my skills and knowledge in programming world.
Now I am a web developer using PHP, MySQL technologies........
that's the 4th. for small businesses looking for engineers, those are the best starting blocks. Yeah working for free works, but only for Schools, fundraisers, and other non profit organizations. They will blab about your work everywhere.
I dont understand what is this three way for?
I think one of eathier way to make a websites its to use one of website builders like www.site2you.com and dont blow your mind for learning all this programming stuff.
I think one of eathier way to make a websites its to use one of website builders like www.site2you.com and dont blow your mind for learning all this programming stuff.
Three ways to gain programming experience
Your option is to use something where you don't need any?
Which by the way isn't true. Sitebuilders are to some extent programming languages/environments.
If you put togther a home page, with links to a bio, family snaps, feedback and your resume. Or you write a C# program, with main form, a menu or tool bar, and then separate forms to do the other functions. It's functionally equivalent isn't it.
If you were applying for a job where programming was a key part, expereince with a site builder is n't going to be the top of the list of wants though.
From a graphics and design point of view it might be a good choice (given you have some freedom in the application), for programming though, almost certainly a don't call us we'll call you.
Your option is to use something where you don't need any?
Which by the way isn't true. Sitebuilders are to some extent programming languages/environments.
If you put togther a home page, with links to a bio, family snaps, feedback and your resume. Or you write a C# program, with main form, a menu or tool bar, and then separate forms to do the other functions. It's functionally equivalent isn't it.
If you were applying for a job where programming was a key part, expereince with a site builder is n't going to be the top of the list of wants though.
From a graphics and design point of view it might be a good choice (given you have some freedom in the application), for programming though, almost certainly a don't call us we'll call you.
Leon Dudovich wrote:
"I dont understand what is this three way for?
I think one of eathier way to make a websites its to use one of website builders like www.site2you.com and dont blow your mind for learning all this programming stuff."
There have to be programmers to write the tools you suggest. Also you obviously haven't realized that programming is fun - getting a machine to do exactly what you want it to do can be very satisfying. By the way, what does "eathier" mean?
"I dont understand what is this three way for?
I think one of eathier way to make a websites its to use one of website builders like www.site2you.com and dont blow your mind for learning all this programming stuff."
There have to be programmers to write the tools you suggest. Also you obviously haven't realized that programming is fun - getting a machine to do exactly what you want it to do can be very satisfying. By the way, what does "eathier" mean?
Work at a charity, connections work, work in a related field like software test, help the programmers, get into a mentoring program, and so on.
I did it through test. First black box, then automated testing, then white box then helping with bugs and finally maintenance, which lead to programming new stuff and system design.
I did it through test. First black box, then automated testing, then white box then helping with bugs and finally maintenance, which lead to programming new stuff and system design.
You got it right. People that are willing to pay want to see examples of your work. You have to get started doing whatever you can for free, and you have to utilize as many skills each time you make a site that you can. Maybe you don't have to use a server-side language for a site, but you can think of ways you could do it. So, then do it. Maybe you don't need to go that extra mile for a simple church site, but you can think of ways to make the stretch. Make the stretch. I have been graduated for a year with a web development degree, and I am still doing self-study and working for free. The road to knowing all there is to know about web development is long, and you got to keep busy doing sites whenever you can. Without examples of your work, an employer is blind to see what you can really do.
The one problem with practising at home is the software development environment. Although I'm not a Microsoft fan, they do supply "Express" versions of Visual Basic and SQL Server free to download. You can't make distributable software but you can write anything you like to run under the development environment. So getting your hands-on experience with Visual Basic or SQL won't cost you anything - assuming you already own a computer. Then there's Open Source development, but by adding Microsoft programming experience to your resume, you'll widen the market for your skills.
You most certainly can write distributable software with the Express editions of these tools. I've used them to create custom apps for friends and family without the need for them to install the development environment.
Can't distribute without breaking teh license agreement, might have been a fuller description...
Nice article, i think it really is a story of a self made developer who works out from bottom and reaches the position where he once wanted to be. Even im spending my time developing either at a really low price or else freeware softwares.
In some States the laws are very picky about paying you for all the work you do. Especially the overtime laws. Some bosses will actually sack a person doing work off the clock to avoid getting fined.
A way to bridge this for me was to do all the learning and a bit of practice off the clock. I was efficient enough at work with my duties to be able to develop in spare time. The tools I developed would cut the amount of work I had to do down, and I got more development time.
Finally, document all of your projects clearly. My best friend and I both got massive promotions when we left and we had to do the knowledge transfer in the exit interview.
A way to bridge this for me was to do all the learning and a bit of practice off the clock. I was efficient enough at work with my duties to be able to develop in spare time. The tools I developed would cut the amount of work I had to do down, and I got more development time.
Finally, document all of your projects clearly. My best friend and I both got massive promotions when we left and we had to do the knowledge transfer in the exit interview.
Yeah, that's a fine distinction there. Something I learned along the years is that in most places overtime must be "authorized". In other words, if I decide to sit at the office on something and my boss is not aware, and I submit a timecard with OT on it, he has the right to reject it. All that being said, I suggest that if you decide to work at the office on a non-mandatory item, you can try to ask for OT, but do not be surprised if you end up spending "personal time" at the office.
In my experience, spending time at the office working "for free" is often not a bad deal... it tends to lead to promotions and/or resume building, which always pays in the end. Either way, it's going to pay more than sitting at home watching TV.
J.Ja
In my experience, spending time at the office working "for free" is often not a bad deal... it tends to lead to promotions and/or resume building, which always pays in the end. Either way, it's going to pay more than sitting at home watching TV.
J.Ja
That was the trade-off for me. The project that I mentioned in my other post was like that. When I was originally hired by the college, I was working part-time 20 hrs a week. When I started officially working on the accreditation project, I didn't officially start the database development until like many a month later. Of course we in this work area know that programming take alot long than just a few hours in the day. And along with my other duties of managing a computer lab and be the helpdesk person, I didn't have a choice but to spend person time on and off the clock, there and at home to develop the database and the user interface. AT that employer, part-time means no benefits at all, including not getting overtime pay, as with most jobs if u work part-time. But, because I was a salaried employee, that a whole different ball of wax.
It took about a year for my supervisor and the division chair and a consultant that the division I was working for had hired for the accreditation project to literally put the college president in a corner to make him change my contract to full-time status to give me the time I needed on the development. Well, it gave me the extra time that I needed? Not really. because I was already working that extra time. In the beginning, my supervisor and I talked about it in detail; I explained to her that I would need extra work time. And of course she gave me the spiel about I wouldn't be paid for it an all of that, but I didn't have a choice. I had to play catch up on about 3 years of work and then had less than 2 years to apply that work into a running information system. I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't done it, it would've never been done.
At the end of the accreditation process and the actual accreditation visit was over, I wrote a memo to several key people letting them know I needed to keep my full-time status, as in my modified contract that after the accreditation was over, my contract would revert back to the part-time status. The memo was to let them know that shouldn't happen because the work on the database system would REALLY be starting. That is when I can look at the database and look at the user interface and make the necessary corrections and modifications. And what do you think happen..? Nothing, My contract wasn't revised at all. I was pretty much pimped. But in the end, it was a trade-off where I got the better end of the stick. Experience that can never be taken away from me.
It took about a year for my supervisor and the division chair and a consultant that the division I was working for had hired for the accreditation project to literally put the college president in a corner to make him change my contract to full-time status to give me the time I needed on the development. Well, it gave me the extra time that I needed? Not really. because I was already working that extra time. In the beginning, my supervisor and I talked about it in detail; I explained to her that I would need extra work time. And of course she gave me the spiel about I wouldn't be paid for it an all of that, but I didn't have a choice. I had to play catch up on about 3 years of work and then had less than 2 years to apply that work into a running information system. I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't done it, it would've never been done.
At the end of the accreditation process and the actual accreditation visit was over, I wrote a memo to several key people letting them know I needed to keep my full-time status, as in my modified contract that after the accreditation was over, my contract would revert back to the part-time status. The memo was to let them know that shouldn't happen because the work on the database system would REALLY be starting. That is when I can look at the database and look at the user interface and make the necessary corrections and modifications. And what do you think happen..? Nothing, My contract wasn't revised at all. I was pretty much pimped. But in the end, it was a trade-off where I got the better end of the stick. Experience that can never be taken away from me.
I was thinking about time management on my way to work (after waking up late, LOL).
It's important to "clock out" at 40 hours a week, and immediately jump into your own work, on your own computer if possible.
Time management is really important to get ahead. Everyone who is into their "career" knows this. (That's why it's a big deal to me, because I'm not a great careerist
My current job is pretty cool, but, the management don't really understand FOSS, and most don't really understand what programming and automation bring to small organizations. They seem to like the end results, though.
Still, I got some push back about picking up mobile phone development. Additionally, it's not possible to develop something quickly that'll give them rapid ROI on mobile phone dev. (We have too many different platforms and too few users. The market is also diverse. Training time is loooooong.) So I'm dropping the issue of mobile phones within the organization.
However, I'm being good about stopping work at 5 pm. At 5, I hit my personal mail, get through it (I don't check personal mail at work, for the most part.) Then I study mobile phone development two or three days a week.
I'm NOT working on any project related to work. That's for the good of the organization - they need to learn to value the cost of development. Besides, a niche intranet app is boring, and a little mobile phone game or networking app is not. I do this stuff for fun, too.
Mobile phones are a pretty open field right now. There are numerous platforms, and the dev tools are (somewhat) free because of the competition. Your main expenses will be your computer and, probably, a big monitor because these newfangled "IDEs" use a lot of pixels.
It's important to "clock out" at 40 hours a week, and immediately jump into your own work, on your own computer if possible.
Time management is really important to get ahead. Everyone who is into their "career" knows this. (That's why it's a big deal to me, because I'm not a great careerist
My current job is pretty cool, but, the management don't really understand FOSS, and most don't really understand what programming and automation bring to small organizations. They seem to like the end results, though.
Still, I got some push back about picking up mobile phone development. Additionally, it's not possible to develop something quickly that'll give them rapid ROI on mobile phone dev. (We have too many different platforms and too few users. The market is also diverse. Training time is loooooong.) So I'm dropping the issue of mobile phones within the organization.
However, I'm being good about stopping work at 5 pm. At 5, I hit my personal mail, get through it (I don't check personal mail at work, for the most part.) Then I study mobile phone development two or three days a week.
I'm NOT working on any project related to work. That's for the good of the organization - they need to learn to value the cost of development. Besides, a niche intranet app is boring, and a little mobile phone game or networking app is not. I do this stuff for fun, too.
Mobile phones are a pretty open field right now. There are numerous platforms, and the dev tools are (somewhat) free because of the competition. Your main expenses will be your computer and, probably, a big monitor because these newfangled "IDEs" use a lot of pixels.
It sounds like I followed almost the exact same path as Justin and many others. My first real project was for a non-profit. It was unpaid, and I spent many long nights at home learning code the hands on way. Although I didn't code over lunch, I did read coding books. My first "paycheck" came from taking the company website of one of my classmates and redoing it on a demo server. The company liked some of what they saw and implemented some of our "upgrades" on their live website. In return, they sent me a coffee cup with the company logo. I still have the mug today, and it reminds me where I came from. But, because I was willing to put in a lot of hard work, I was the only one out of my class of a dozen or so to land a "real" coding job out of college. None of the other people were willing to put in any real work. They had the typical college attitude that they were going to be weeding thru all these $175,000/year jobs that would be thrown their way just as they finished coasting thru college. They all hit this brick wall and instead of swimming, they sunk. They all went back to being bus drivers etc. Nothing wrong with driving a bus unless your true ambition is to be a computer nerd
no experience about anyway. Those that there are, if you have none anyone who can show a working version of hello world is going to be in front of you.
Worse still they could be "unqualified" ....
Getting something real done while studying is no longer an optional extra, (if it ever really was). Even if your Dad owns the firm, he would prefer a bit of proof.
Worse still they could be "unqualified" ....
Getting something real done while studying is no longer an optional extra, (if it ever really was). Even if your Dad owns the firm, he would prefer a bit of proof.
My issue is I've been doing this for a while but at less than senior level, but there is no senior level where I work, I am "it". So how can I get to the next level? I suppose the same principles apply, just "on steroids."
there.
There are couple of threads somewhere in JJs progamming blog. One on how to progress from junior, and another about what makes a senior developer.
Whether you feel you 'qualify' or not (job title is irrelevant), you'll have to figure out. You are right that Experienced Senior though, I met more than a few Developers with a decade in who never really stretched themselves after being promoted from Junior.
I was doing the job twelve years before I got a tile with Senior in it, about nine years after the fact...
There are couple of threads somewhere in JJs progamming blog. One on how to progress from junior, and another about what makes a senior developer.
Whether you feel you 'qualify' or not (job title is irrelevant), you'll have to figure out. You are right that Experienced Senior though, I met more than a few Developers with a decade in who never really stretched themselves after being promoted from Junior.
I was doing the job twelve years before I got a tile with Senior in it, about nine years after the fact...
When I was an operator and had barely figured out how to write a program, all of the programming staff quit within a couple of weeks (bad boss). Suddenly I was senior (though not in title).
I read tons of source code and figured out a lot on my own. Not always correctly, but I got 'er done. That was the single biggest boost to my long-term career.
I read tons of source code and figured out a lot on my own. Not always correctly, but I got 'er done. That was the single biggest boost to my long-term career.
I categorised myself as senior when I realised I was being given programming jobs no one else there had a clue how to start.
Started as a data entry clerk, lots of play and study to counteract mindnumbing borredom. Then took that massive step up the ladder to the heady heights of "Junior Support and Development Technician".
Started as a data entry clerk, lots of play and study to counteract mindnumbing borredom. Then took that massive step up the ladder to the heady heights of "Junior Support and Development Technician".
I have found that the following things can bring you to the next level:
* Do the job that you want, in addition to the job that you have. Eventually someone will notice, and you'll get the official promotion to the job you've been doing (and hopefully the raise). If not, your resume will be all the stronger.
* Study/practice at home. "On the job training" doesn't exist in IT, other than, "here's some shoddy documentation and a half finished project, you have two months to get it live". Learn new tricks at home, and bring them into the workforce. If you aren't "officially recognized" (raise/promotion), your resume is strong to send you out the door.
* Free/cheap work. If you are a Java shop, and you want to transition to being a Ruby developer (just picking two languages from a hat), you'll need some serious Ruby experience if you want to maintain wage parity when you make the leap. The only way to get that experience are "real" projects in Ruby. Open source, volunteer projects, etc.
It's really all the same principles as the article, but you are right, it needs to "be on steroids". Simply put, to break into the field initially, you just need to demonstrate some experience in things you already know. To step up to the next level, you need to learn a pile of new things, *and* demonstrate the skills.
J.Ja
* Do the job that you want, in addition to the job that you have. Eventually someone will notice, and you'll get the official promotion to the job you've been doing (and hopefully the raise). If not, your resume will be all the stronger.
* Study/practice at home. "On the job training" doesn't exist in IT, other than, "here's some shoddy documentation and a half finished project, you have two months to get it live". Learn new tricks at home, and bring them into the workforce. If you aren't "officially recognized" (raise/promotion), your resume is strong to send you out the door.
* Free/cheap work. If you are a Java shop, and you want to transition to being a Ruby developer (just picking two languages from a hat), you'll need some serious Ruby experience if you want to maintain wage parity when you make the leap. The only way to get that experience are "real" projects in Ruby. Open source, volunteer projects, etc.
It's really all the same principles as the article, but you are right, it needs to "be on steroids". Simply put, to break into the field initially, you just need to demonstrate some experience in things you already know. To step up to the next level, you need to learn a pile of new things, *and* demonstrate the skills.
J.Ja
I think it's important to develop a set of outside skills that you really enjoy.
I like the whole old-school MIT/functional programming/FOSS/Perl universe of technologies. It's my background, and, frankly, I enjoy the development environment more than any other environment.
While I know Windows from NT to (a little) Vista, and ASP, VB, and some Win32 C programming, I try to go for jobs with a FOSS component.
So, to pad out the resume, instead of learning more C# or .NET, I learn Haskell, so I can say, "well, I can write some toy programs in Haskell, but nothing real." It's an exotic language that would appeal to someone interested in CS and performance. It's also fun to learn - a real mind bender that will improve your code in other languages.
There are other exotic languages that look cool: haxe, lua, erlang, ocaml.
Follow your bliss!
I like the whole old-school MIT/functional programming/FOSS/Perl universe of technologies. It's my background, and, frankly, I enjoy the development environment more than any other environment.
While I know Windows from NT to (a little) Vista, and ASP, VB, and some Win32 C programming, I try to go for jobs with a FOSS component.
So, to pad out the resume, instead of learning more C# or .NET, I learn Haskell, so I can say, "well, I can write some toy programs in Haskell, but nothing real." It's an exotic language that would appeal to someone interested in CS and performance. It's also fun to learn - a real mind bender that will improve your code in other languages.
There are other exotic languages that look cool: haxe, lua, erlang, ocaml.
Follow your bliss!
Good ole CL has been a real eye-opener for me in the last couple of years. I can't name all the ways it's changed my perspective on programming.
I completely agree with all the suggestions presented here. However, most of the suggestions seem to be relavent to those already in the field at some level.
I can't tell you how many times I have offered to mentor a new person recently graduated from university who wanted to get into development only to be turned down since there was no immediate money in it.
Like most senior developers I am always working on my own projects all with the hope that I will be able to promote them on the Internet and\or get my small business off the ground. However, with a day-job it is difficult in terms of starting a business but I am always busy with my own development.
Years ago, when I worked with dinosaurs in the cubes next to me, all of us, including the dinosaurs, saw individual initiative as the key to successfully entering the IT field and maintaining your edge. Now most newcomers simply want to be paid before they will put a line of code into a computer... internships
I can't tell you how many times I have offered to mentor a new person recently graduated from university who wanted to get into development only to be turned down since there was no immediate money in it.
Like most senior developers I am always working on my own projects all with the hope that I will be able to promote them on the Internet and\or get my small business off the ground. However, with a day-job it is difficult in terms of starting a business but I am always busy with my own development.
Years ago, when I worked with dinosaurs in the cubes next to me, all of us, including the dinosaurs, saw individual initiative as the key to successfully entering the IT field and maintaining your edge. Now most newcomers simply want to be paid before they will put a line of code into a computer... internships
How anyone can call themself a programmer, when they don't do it for the shear fun of it is beyond me.
I'll take guy who's experience is writing Tic-Tac-Toe in VB6 at home over some twit with a CS degree who thinks IT is where the money is at.
I'll take guy who's experience is writing Tic-Tac-Toe in VB6 at home over some twit with a CS degree who thinks IT is where the money is at.
*rofl* *rofl*
I'm sorry, Tony. I really needed to read your comment. I mean, you gotta love those guys. I don't know whether to be sorry for them or to sorry for them
I'm sorry, Tony. I really needed to read your comment. I mean, you gotta love those guys. I don't know whether to be sorry for them or to sorry for them
It's that driving curiosity that finds new ways instead of slavishly following the 'correct' ones.
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