How do I get back into programming?

[dxkj]

I have a BS in Computer Science... I had some issues paying for college (since I was on my own) so I took the last year over a 2 year period while I worked more than full time.


Anyway, I took all of my computer classes freshman and sophmore year, and had an internship in between those two years (summer), but all the jobs that I have been able to find were computer support type jobs, so I have slowly moved away from what I want to be doing, Coding, programming, thinking....

Right now I work at a helpdesk position and it isn't bad work, I advanced to a Senior level (level 2) after 6 months of being full time, and that is about the limit for me unless someone leaves and I want a management position, or I move on to networking group.

So I am extremely rusty, and if I interviewd for even an entry level programming position I would be asked to leave My last interview for a software dev job was probably 1.5 years ago, and I made it through "ok" but I wasnt a shining example.


I'm 23 years old, any suggestions (besides to stop whining, , etc)

 

[nakedfrog]

I would suggest programming.

 

[bleeb]

I suggestion getting out of the computer industry and get into the medical field.

 

[dxkj]

wow! Two great pieces of advice already!

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

start here

 

[robothouse77]

try to get a job programming at a company not known for its software? like, work for a hardware company, and apply for firmware or test scripting positions? perhaps they aren't looking for a high-level programmer, and they'll take what they can get.

 

[EmperorIQ]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I would suggest programming.

me too

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: EmperorIQ

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I would suggest programming.

me too

Very specific I guess I will just start tapping at my keyboard

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: EmperorIQ

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I would suggest programming.

me too

Very specific I guess I will just start tapping at my keyboard

Well, for more details, figure out what language you'd like to be writing in and start with Hello, World

 

[Armitage]

"Start programming" is good advice. Start working on your own projects, or contributing to open source projects to bring your skills somewhat up to speed. Enough at least that you won't get blown out of the water by a simple syntax quiz or such. Maybe take a class in a new language - that may be a good place to network for new jobs as well.

Then start applying for entry level jobs, understanding that it may be a step backwards in terms of pay & benefits from what you have now.

Do you have any skills/background beyond programming & helpdesk? It seems to me that programmers that have something else going for them may have more opportunities, particularly in smaller organizations. For example, my group does astrodynamics - we've considered bringing in someone with a formal computer science background, but everytime we try to work with these guys it seems they don't have enough basic physics background to be useful without alot of additional work on our part. If you can bring something to the table beyond just your programming skills it may help.

 

[Reel]

I don't understand what you expect to hear. You could go to a book store and buy some programming for dummies books in whatever language you want to brush up on. You can look on half for an old edition of some college textbooks that you could get real cheap. You could browse some college course pages and find programming assignments and attempt to do them. You can find tutorials on the web. You can make up your own projects and attempt to do them. To get back into programming, you need to program.

If you really want, I can farm out some of my projects in class. Actually, I have one due in a few weeks. http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~cop5555su05/project1.html This is the first part. I already finished it but you can do it just to get back into things. Part 2 you will be implementing the language fully. I expect you to submit it to me by July 29 so I can review your work.

 

[Sam334]

I'm taking an intro to programming course this summer.

http://www.cs.nyu.edu/courses/summer05/V22.0002-001/index.html

It's just Java, but if you need some practice, there are some assignments listed.

 

[KB]

Start programing! Begin by creating some programs, in the language of your choice, that might help your help desk buddies/managers and share these apps with them. Now you have development experience and can put it on a resume.

 

[snoopdoug1]

I suggest not getting into programming. You can thank me later.

 

[DaveSimmons]

"Start programming" really is decent advice. The way you get better at writing software is (like most other fields) to actually do it.

You'll get the most benefit from working on projects defined by someone else, where you have solve all the problems not just the ones you pick and choose.

Open Source and modding projects are two possibilities. Otherwise, working on something you're interested in if you have the self-discipline to pick a hard project and make yourself finish it.

 

[dxkj]

I know how to program, I am familiar with many languages


What Im lacking is a structured system in which to hone my skills, and re-capture some knowledge that was lost.


Start programming... yes I agree, but where/how.... I need somewhere online where there are group projects, or somewhere that I can get ideas on what to try to implement...


my main issue with "start programming" is 1) I dont know where to start 2) I dont know what language I should focus on to start with 3) I believe I could go back and re-do all my programming assignments from school and still not be prepared for a job programming

 

[theGlove]

learn .Net and VB and you should be set

 

[torpid]

Familiar with which languages? Did you learn syntax only or true OOP programming techniques (e.g. do you know what a hashtable is and the difference between a stack and queue? do you know generally how garbage collectors work)?

Most likely in school you did not learn about Design Patterns or Application Patterns. You might start there.

 

[DaveSimmons]

2) I dont know what language I should focus on to start with

There is no one answer to this other than "not Pascal."

What kind of work do you want to do? You need to pick some area and choose between MS and unix/linux tools for that area.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: dxkj
my main issue with "start programming" is 1) I dont know where to start 2) I dont know what language I should focus on to start with 3) I believe I could go back and re-do all my programming assignments from school and still not be prepared for a job programming

What language and what you should focus on all depends on what you want to do programming.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: torpid
Familiar with which languages? Did you learn syntax only or true OOP programming techniques (e.g. do you know what a hashtable is and the difference between a stack and queue? do you know generally how garbage collectors work)?

Most likely in school you did not learn about Design Patterns or Application Patterns. You might start there.

All of that sounds familiar, but 5-6 years old

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: dxkj
my main issue with "start programming" is 1) I dont know where to start 2) I dont know what language I should focus on to start with 3) I believe I could go back and re-do all my programming assignments from school and still not be prepared for a job programming

What language and what you should focus on all depends on what you want to do programming.

I guess thats part of my problem as well

I dont know what I want to do programming.



I had worked as an intern developing Unix OS tools for compaq's Tru64 Unix and did some cool stuff with the compiler and automated profiling/ optimization of code

But that was 4 years ago


I guess the simple answer is I would be happy with anything, but I dont know what I really want to do, otherwise I probably would have gone to grad school by now.


Also I have no clue what my chances are of getting into a grad school after so long off :-/

 

[Armitage]

In that case, I think the "Start programming" is about the best advice you can get.
It sounds like you really need to decide what you want to do, and from what I've heard, programming may not be it. You should take some time, do some work, and see if it is.

If you go into an interview and they ask what you want to do and you answer "I don't know" you'll be eaten alive.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Armitage
In that case, I think the "Start programming" is about the best advice you can get.
It sounds like you really need to decide what you want to do, and from what I've heard, programming may not be it. You should take some time, do some work, and see if it is.

If you go into an interview and they ask what you want to do and you answer "I don't know" you'll be eaten alive.

I used to be a grea programmer, and beyond being great at it, I really enjoyed doing it, whether for homework, or at my internship. Im pretty sure thats what I want to be doing.

I sure as hell don't want to be doing phone, or deskside support for the rest of my life.... and from what Ive seend second level support desk pays similar to entry level programming in many companies

 

[zoiks]

Its a good question that I was also facing a while ago.
The way I got back into programming is when I decided to search various places such as hotjobs, Craigslist etc for job postings to see what technology was hot.

If you notice, a large number of jobs are related to J2EE and towards the java side. Now you could delve into the various technologies/components in that area or you could go to the other end of the spectrum such as the .NET side. There are a number of companies that are Microsoft oriented and will use very complex solutions that contain vb/c#/asp.

I'm going towards the Java side since that will allow me to tie my own projects into the Eclipse IDE and the sky is the limit there. I started off with Perl and got a lot of experience in regexps and started writing scripts to automate my work.

But you need to do a bit of research on your own on what floats your boat. Since you are a bit experienced programming wise, you could also look into the bleeding edge technologies that are constantly emerging. Look at the various projects at sourceforge. Lots of good stuff there.