Part #2 of Certifications - For those aspiring programmers

coder1

Senior member
Jul 29, 2000
433
0
0
I kept getting a lot of questions on the topic of where to start in the programming field. So I thought I would write down my opinion of the matter. This info (for me) has accumulated over the last 4 years of my programming experinece.

#1 You first need to decide what type of programming you want to do. Exm: Games, Windows Apps, Legacy Platforms, Web Development.

#2 You also need to decide if you want to be in an area where there is a lot of jobs are in demand. Exm. Games or Database development. Obviously anyone who has gone to Monster.com or Computerjobs.com and looked for programming jobs would see database and eb development are more in demand than games. But Games may be what you want to do. So again you have to refer to #1

#3 How much money do you want to make. Some coding is harder than others, some is more in demand (Again #2) If you just do ASP and HTML, your not going ot make as much as someone who does VB/VC COM and COM+ (This is mostly speculative, I know this will very from are to area, as well as the employer)

To explain a little about myself. I currently work for a .com company (Yes one of the few who are still around, Hopefully for a little while longer :) anyways, I do alot of Visual Basic COM+ and some ASP and Client side script. (but for the most part I just do the COM+) I have also in the pass done C++ (MFC) and Java. But from my experience, in my area there is a lot of demand for some high-end VB developers. Decent Pay too. I enjoy what I do, I would like to do more Java down the road, but all in good time.

I know there are some very good programmers on this board, If you would like to add some of your experiences as well. Some of the people interested in this field I'm sure would like to hear. If you have any questions just post them here, Maybe we can answer em.

I do apologize again if some people are offended that I didn't put this in OT. I just knew alot of the hardware guys were interested as well.
 

minus1972

Platinum Member
Oct 4, 2000
2,245
0
0
I'm learning VC++ one hour at a time here in HS, your post is very useful in planning out my college selection/what other languages to learn. thx!
 

coder1

Senior member
Jul 29, 2000
433
0
0
C++ is a good way to go. (My favorite Language) But if your using Microsoft's Visual Studio, They try to throw alot of MFC (Mircosoft Foundation Classes) on you. From the Rumor Mill I have gathered that MFC will slowly be phased out when .net goes mainstream. Microsft is pushing their C# language as one of their flagship platforms. Don't get me wrong I think MFC will be around for awhile (Many systesm written in it) But I think they will support it less and less as time goes by. Another good Language to learn is Visual Basic, It has come a long way since it Version 3 days. Especially when VB.net is out. (finally OO prgramming)
 

coder1

Senior member
Jul 29, 2000
433
0
0
I think Java and Java Script Is a good way to go (for client side) But for some of the server side stuff I would recommend ASP (Its free, and IIS supports it out of the box) and VB COM+ (Pretty much the quickest way to do your back end stuff) I have not had a chance to play with some JSP. Hopefully in the coming years. Though my big excitment is going to be with Visual Studio.net A lot of features I have been waiting for will be coming witht that. Especially in VB