Teaching myself...

[Equillian]

Hello everyone. Sorry to take up your time but I have been working on teaching myself VB.net for about 8 months now. I've got 10 years working in systems administration and the pay has just gone down since I started. I'm lucky enough to have a very nice wife and so have taken the last 8ish months off work trying to do this solo. Problem is, I don't know "when" I'm ready. I have one friend that is a programmer (and is a real whiz) and I'm afraid that he's just so far beyond me right now that every time I open my mouth I feel like a total noobie. More importantly, it's almost discouraging because with every question I bring to him, I leave with 15 more.

So I ask this community, how do I measure myself? What do I need to know get that "first job". Frankly, the pay, I couldn't care as from what I've been told, getting that first year is everything and the pay comes in time. So I don't know... perhaps I need a checklist of things to know. Perhaps I just need to go for a programming gig and lie stating that "I'm a fine programmer", and just wing it. I'm good under pressure, but I highly doubt that I'll get more then "a" paycheck from lying. So if you all don't mind, a little input? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

 

[JuggaloBrotha]

the first thing I did when looking for my first programming job (of which I've been at this first job for 3 months now) was I looked for a smaller company. And during the interview I simply explained what I did know about VB.Net and C# and I told them that all I was trying to do was get my foot in the door. They asked me if I knew how to do some stuff (stuff that I only knew a little about) and I told them that I didn't know very much on that topic, but I did let them know that I'm always willing to learn.

I don't know where you live, but here in Michigan, USA the job market is horrible and has been for the last 3 years now, I only did 1 interview and got the job. I don't know what's in your area.

 

[Equillian]

Thanks alot, I think I needed to hear that.

 

[blounty]

Hi Equillian,

I did a very similar thing and have been learning vb.net and c# for about a year now. I went into my first interview for a developer role, was completely honest about my capabilities and they hired me!

Alot of employers are willing to take the time to train people they can see have potential and are willing to put time into thier career themselves.

Good luck

Alex

 

[ScottyB]

Programming is my second career, I spent 15 years in agricultural research and decided I had enough I wanted to do something I had always dreamed of doing but never thought I had what it took.

I went looking for any job that was even remotely related to IT. I took jobs on helpdesks supporting software products. I read everything I could get my hands on relating specifcally to VB.NET, SQL, Javascript etc. I finally got my break with a national transport company developing their websites and inhouse intranet applicatons. I have been there for nearly 18 months. The pay is not fantastic but I did not get into this career primarily for the money, I know that will come in time. I did it because I love programming.

My advice is to enjoy it, and look for any break you can get and capitalize on it. Oh, It would also pay to have an understanding wife or girlfriend.


Hope this helps

Scott

 

[munkee]

I'm a young guy and have been in the "industry" since the first dot.com boom. I started off programming BASIC, on to VB3 and C/C++; that didn't last very long but continued to play around with Visual Basic through the years.

As the Internet became more popular, I started to lean more towards related technologies. It confused me for the longest time because I did so many things through the years and I felt that I had no real direction. In reality, it has paid off because it now (with my company) has allowed me to experience a whole new kind of working environment. I get to write software that combines years of having my hand in many pots and tests my creativity.

My best advise is to stay focused and don't be scared to take risks; it sounds like you've already taken a big one by taking the time to jump into Visual Basic.NET. Keep in mind that not every programming job will be the same; each one will have it's challenges, obviously. What I would do is find something that you'll have fun doing! As I said to one of my colleagues, " I don't want to hire a programmer who writes software for airplanes if I'm looking for someone who specializes in interactive software. " Then again, there is always an exception to the rule.