Software Development beginner

nicknackgtb

Hi there,

Recently went to a career guidance advisor and after all results were totted up and finalized, it all came down to web development or software developer.

I did an Aptitude test in a place called iact (www.iact.ie) and it came up saying that I would be well able for it.

I have a year of Java programming behind me, not degree, only 1 year of it while completing an arts course, and I wasn't sure it was for me then.

I am now in a rut of not knowing where to be working so just wondering are there many jobs for the average beginner?

If I was to be thinking about this I need to do the course obviously to be up to standard with Programming but am not sure if:
a; Its my thing
b; Whether its a sustainable career
c; Money any good
d; Is it the right thing for a 27 yr old to be learning more or less from scratch in order to pursue a career.

If anyone else is in the same boat or can shed a bit of light as to the above questions, I'd be glad to hear!

Cheers for your time

fergalr

nicknackgtb wrote: »

Hi there,

Recently went to a career guidance advisor and after all results were totted up and finalized, it all came down to web development or software developer.

I did an Aptitude test in a place called iact (www.iact.ie) and it came up saying that I would be well able for it.

I have a year of Java programming behind me, not degree, only 1 year of it while completing an arts course, and I wasn't sure it was for me then.

I am now in a rut of not knowing where to be working so just wondering are there many jobs for the average beginner?

If I was to be thinking about this I need to do the course obviously to be up to standard with Programming but am not sure if:
a; Its my thing

This is the most important thing. You've done some programming, so you at least have some idea what its like. No one can answer that question for you, tbh, although we could clarify specifics. Don't do it if you don't like it. Some people just dont seem to like programming, and don't have a good time in jobs. I love it, but its personal.

nicknackgtb wrote: »

b; Whether its a sustainable career
c; Money any good

Career conditions are pretty good for skilled people at the moment.
I reckon - I hope - that good IT people will get good jobs for the foreseeable future. Its worth investing in getting good at it, though.

nicknackgtb wrote: »

d; Is it the right thing for a 27 yr old to be learning more or less from scratch in order to pursue a career.

Don't know; it does take a while to get good; depends what you want from career and life.

Kidchameleon

Well I can say from experience that its never too late to learn something new and get a nice job out of it. I know a woman who started college at 40 and is now earning big bucks in I.T.

OREGATO

nicknackgtb wrote: »

Hi there,

Recently went to a career guidance advisor and after all results were totted up and finalized, it all came down to web development or software developer.

I did an Aptitude test in a place called iact (www.iact.ie) and it came up saying that I would be well able for it.

I have a year of Java programming behind me, not degree, only 1 year of it while completing an arts course, and I wasn't sure it was for me then.

I am now in a rut of not knowing where to be working so just wondering are there many jobs for the average beginner?

If I was to be thinking about this I need to do the course obviously to be up to standard with Programming but am not sure if:
a; Its my thing
b; Whether its a sustainable career
c; Money any good
d; Is it the right thing for a 27 yr old to be learning more or less from scratch in order to pursue a career.

If anyone else is in the same boat or can shed a bit of light as to the above questions, I'd be glad to hear!

Cheers for your time

In relation to the points that you are unsure about, here is my opinion/advise based on my own work and career.

a) In order to find out if it's your thing, find an area that you think you are interested in and see if you can build upon it, for example, if you're interested in web development, pick up a book or do some online tutorials on the topic, pick a language and go from there. There is tons of information on the net that can help you starting out, installing the correct software/tools to get you started and building your first 'Hello World' example. Some of the most skilled web developers/designers I know are self thought to an extent and for the basics starting out, anything you want to develop will have been done in the past, so you should be able to find some reference code and build from there.
If you get a chance, the best thing to do would be to apply for internships to see if you like the work day to day.

b) As a career, I think it is certainly sustainable, certainly from my own point of view, I've had to up skill and learn new processes and technologies in order to stay on top of all the work. A lot of people from my college days started out in Software/Technical support and moved on from there to be come developers/consultants/system integraters.

c) In my own experience, money is heavily based around the experience you have. It's obviously not as good as back in 2006 - 2008 however, some jobs and people I know are still getting a good wage for the type of work. It will take time and a lot of hard work, but with some persistence you will get there.

d) As for starting at 27, I don't think age has anything to do with it, in my eyes, software development, heavily depends on the individual and if they are able to be a logical thinker, by that, I mean, seeing a solution and coming up with several valid ways in which to overcome or work around the problem, I think that if you have this skill already, it will come easy to you, if not, it's not the end of the world but you will have a steeper learning curve. Age I don't think comes into it at all, based on the way technology constantly evolves, there will be several different factors that will change with time. The likes of mobile development (Android & iOS etc) although the concept was there for a while (Windows Mobile etc) have come on big time over the past few years with the evolution of the phone market and how they have become so advanced.

Hope this helps