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Posted on October 16, 2008 by IT Career Coach | Posted under Coaching
How to Become a Programmer
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Do I Need a College Degree To Get a Programming Job? Programmers have the skill set of being organized, creative, persistent, analytical, paying attention to detail, communicating effectively, thinking logically, and using deductive reasoning. If you have some of those skills then you are already on your way to becoming a computer programmer. Do you love solving problems or like to know how things work? You may already have the mind set of a computer programmer already and you didn't know it. Assuming that you have some of that mindset, let's look at how you can translate that into a computer programming job. It's really not that difficult because you can get hired in today's programming job market without a college degree. This is because when it comes to programming, employers put more emphasis on your ability to write good quality code than your educational credentials. Many programmers have taken advantage of this to forgo college and focus on developing their programming skills to the best of their ability. This is why the term practice makes perfect is true in software development careers. You see, you need lots of practice in order to write good quality code that employers are interested in paying for. When I started learning programming more than a decade ago, I didn't go out immediately and invest money on development tools, instead I downloaded free compliers and IDE's (Integrated Development Environment) and you can too! There are free editions of Visual Basic.Net, C#, C++ and SQL Server to get you going in your programming career. Next, put the effort into writing useful software or web applications. You will learn a lot about design, adding software features, taking requests from users, business analysis, project management, requirements analysis, coding and debugging that way. Do You Have What Companies Are Searching For? So, you have prepared a resume, sent it over to hiring managers and are now getting ready for your technical interviews. Have you thought about what those employers are looking for? It's essential to your programming career to be able to answer that question. In the programming job market, employers want to see that you can apply your skills to real business problems. They are looking for competent software development skills and to see if you can write good maintainable code. It Is Easy To Study Computer Programming and Get a Job One of the best kept advantages of becoming a computer programmer is that you can learn computer programming at home and advance your skills to a competent level without first getting a programming job. When I realized this more than 12 years ago that I could just buy a computer, connect it to the internet and learn as much programming as I wanted without having to get a job first, I was excited. Of course, I realized that I would still need to invest in programming books, software development tools, and invest in training packages that would allow me to learn programming on my own. I figured out that the total cost of my investments in computer programming training would pale in comparison to how much I would earn as a programmer and how much more time it would take me to study medicine or law in college. I took my developer training and got a well-paying contract programming job within 6 months, an opportunity I knew I would not have had with any other high paying career. How to Get a Computer Programming Job without a College Degree What you need to emphasize when looking for a computer programming job is your software development knowledge, coding skills and any programming experience that is related to the job you are interviewing for. If you don't have a college degree emphasize the other skills you have attained, like your ability to learn technology quickly, how you keep up with technology or solve real programming problems. In other words, you have to prove to prospective employers or hiring managers that you can do the job well if given the chance. Make sure your prospective employer sees the list of programming projects you have completed in a short time, web sites or software programs you have built and a list of books and future projects you are planning to work on. Show your prospective employer that you have a beautiful mind and make the case that you are an asset to any one who hires you! If it turns out that you are having trouble getting a programming job because of a lack of experience, you can build experience by working as a programmer trainee or participate in an internship or even consider volunteer work. Also, keep an eye out for various job postings of interest to you. Even if you are not qualified yet it will give you an up to date idea of the skills and abilities that companies are looking for in the programming job market. About The Author: If you want to learn more about how to begin a computer programming career, subscribe to my free newsletter at www.feedblitz.com You can get the training you need to quickly become a skilled programmer, get hired more easily and gain the extra expertise needed to become a competent programmer at Becomeacomputerprogrammer.com |
Tags: BECOME A PROGRAMMER, DEVELOPER, HOW TO LEARN PROGRAMMING, SCIENCE, DEVELOPER, TRAINING, PROGRAMMING, PROGRAMMER, COMPUTER, ONLINE, CAREER, EDUCATION
