a career in computer programming?

[HiME]

my friends kept telling me that computer programming got no future because all the jobs are being shifted to Africa, it's very hard to work my way up to the top even i can get the job.

i had never met a person who works as a programmer (but i wish to become one) , so i decided to post this topic to get more ideas on this career. Please express your ideas on computer programming, it's future, salary, pros, cons, required education or even skills.

 

[mundane]

Africa? Seriously?

 

[HiME]

does anybody know where did microsoft hire their programmers for their HUGE programs?

 

[boredhokie]

The common feedback I get is to try to move up from programming to a project management or architect position within 5 years. After that and you're liable to be a terminal programmer, the sort that are interchangable with Indians and Chinese. Not sure if Africans will be doing programming any time soon.

 

[purbeast0]

is this thread a joke or is this serious?

 

[BigJ]

If you're talking about being a code monkey, there really isn't a future.

If you're talking about working on software projects, designing, developing, and enhancing their functionaly, then CS is a promising field to partake in.

 

[ngvepforever2]

Originally posted by: diegoalcatraz
Africa? Seriously?

yeah...WTF, there are plenty of jobs out there for good developers. All you have to make sure is that you get experience by going to internships before getting out of college.

Regards

ng

 

[ultimatebob]

Africa? That's a new one to me. I've personally seen IT and programming jobs shipped off to India, China, and Brazil... But Africa is new one to me!

So... Which African countries are hiring?

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: HiME
does anybody know where did microsoft hire their programmers for their HUGE programs?

India, China, Brazil, Russia, Israel... Microsoft is one of the most multi-national companies out there.

 

[HiME]

lol, thanks for the reply

will i need communication / presentation skills / teamwork for programming? (i'm not really talented around those area..)

 

[bigrash]

believe it or not, i was reading an article about a month ago about the growth of programming in some african countries. supposedly after india and china, africa is next. I'm not surprised either cause i've known a few african programmers and these guys know their stuff inside and out

 

[Hyudra]

you will work with a lot of indian people.

 

[Trikat]

India is the hot spot for these types of jobs now. I know for a fact that computer programming is pretty competative and it seems like a non secure job. My dad works at IBM and he is now working pretty d@mn hard to be 100% sure that he will not be layed off due to oversea competition.
I haven't heard much about the movement to Africa, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Anyways good luck on your future in computer programming. I know I hated it after taking a few classes in it!

 

[Legend]

Someone that can program in multiprocessor environments very well can and will make a lot of money in the next few years at least.

However, a lot of jobs are in embedded systems, so you need to be somewhat familiar with hardware too (ie a BS Computer Engineer).

 

[Gibson486]

There is a huge market for programmers who know how to apply programming (ie physics applications, firmware, Digital Signal Processing, etc). if you just learn how to code and you expect to get a job just with that knowledge, you are SOL.

 

[Legend]

Originally posted by: HiME
lol, thanks for the reply

will i need communication / presentation skills / teamwork for programming? (i'm not really talented around those area..)

Learn by doing. Intern/co-op. Just talk to people and you'll get better at it. Practice your presentations, be well rested and drink coffee. It's not complicated.

 

[bhanson]

Originally posted by: HiME
lol, thanks for the reply

will i need communication / presentation skills / teamwork for programming? (i'm not really talented around those area..)

Those are all very important soft skills and without them you will not be of much value to most employers.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

money magazine just named software engineer as the best job

im a programmer, make a bunch of money and am not afraid of being outsourced

if you are good at what you do, you will succeed.

 

[Descartes]

90% of the replies you are going to get are from people that aren't even in the industry.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
money magazine just named software engineer as the best job

im a programmer, make a bunch of money and am not afraid of being outsourced

if you are good at what you do, you will succeed.

Nice summary. I agree.

 

[SaturnX]

Originally posted by: HiME
lol, thanks for the reply

will i need communication / presentation skills / teamwork for programming? (i'm not really talented around those area..)

Well you'll need them if you want to advance in your position, otherwise you'll be stuck as an independant code-monkey the rest of your life.