Advice Millwright to Software Developer

[Priapus]

How did you get started and how did you manage a company to take a chance on you?

My case is unique; if it were not for a very specific (ex) forum member in 2013 who took a chance on me, my life might be completely different now.

I can't think of doing anything else. Sounds like you're just in the wrong industry or working with the wrong people.

If you don't have a passion for what you're doing then the job is going to suck.

100% agree. I enjoy software development.

 

[Drifter]

I can't think of doing anything else. Sounds like you're just in the wrong industry or working with the wrong people.

If you don't have a passion for what you're doing then the job is going to suck.

Nope, I am quite happy with what I am doing, my point is that IT is made out to be glamour and glitz, when it's not.

 

[Muis95]

I can't think of doing anything else. Sounds like you're just in the wrong industry or working with the wrong people.

If you don't have a passion for what you're doing then the job is going to suck.

This is one of the main reasons I'm thinking about the transition but at this stage I don't know if I'll have that passion once I'm actually in soft dev industry which is why I want to finish my apprenticeship and do short courses before dumping money into the degree and see how I like it.

 

[Agent67]

Are you doing this part-time or full time and if part time do you already work in this industry or something unrelated? I have checked out the UNISA IT diploma and thought about it. Are you still unsure whether you want to go the Network Engineer/Sys Admin etc route over software dev thus choosing IT Diploma for now?

Ok, so I finished Matric last year and I'm going to do the diploma full-time next year. I opted for the diploma cause

1. Not as Math-intensive as the Computing degree nor as Business-oriented as the Informatics degree IMO, it's the perfect middle-ground for me
2. I liked the curriculum
3. And I also wanted a backup plan, like for example if I become gatvol for programming one day, then I can do PC repair/technician work as well at least and vice versa

Now for CS50 it says 8-12 weeks but you can do it at your own pace that is you can take longer as long as it gets done before the next version starts which according to the website is 31 December 2021 meaning if I start now as long as it gets done before that date or if think it will take longer I should just wait for the 2022 version to release ?

Ok, so the last time I checked, if you complete some of the problem sets in the current year before 1 Jan, then they just bring over your progress from the previous year and you can continue where you left off. For example, if you finished Problem Set 0 and Problem Set 1 in 2020 but nothing else, then your progress gets carried over to 2021 if you start taking the course again

Is all the lectures prerecorded and uploaded otherwise how else would you be able to do it at your own pace?

Yes, it's prerecorded and on Youtube, also something that I forgot to mention almost every problem from every problem set have hint vids called "Walkthrough" you can watch in case you get stuck with something.

If everyone works at their own pace I'm assuming the discord is a bit of a mess since everyone is on a different week?

Not really, it's structured really well, there are chats for each problem in every problem set, etc.

Example of the server and its chats:

How long did it take you personally ?

It took me around 13 weeks (11 for the actual course itself, 2 more for the final project)

Did you get the verified certificate on just the regular one and how does it work is it digital certificate or a actual physical one that gets posted to you and how do you show it to potential employers if its digital ?

Ok, so I got both, the regular one is free of course (you get it on completion of the course) and the verified certificate is a digital certificate that you can download as PDF

Verified Certificates | edX

www.edx.org

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

made out to be glamour and glitz

I must have missed that memo

 

[Agent67]

If you have a choice(matric was decent or you got some sort of exemption), why choose a diploma? You will be adding a year of studies for no reason. Some countries don't recognize 3 year degrees, which means you will need to have honours.
Dip - Adv Dip - Hon/Post Dip
vs
Deg - Hon

Chose the diploma cause I liked the curriculum and I feel like it's a good all-rounder qualification and I didn't want to make a 4-year commitment and potentially dislike the degree in general. So I rather opted for the diploma and thought if I finish it and feel like I want to upgrade to a degree then, then I'll do it.

 

[Muis95]

Ok, so I finished Matric last year and I'm going to do the diploma full-time next year. I opted for the diploma cause

1. Not as Math-intensive as the Computing degree nor as Business-oriented as the Informatics degree IMO, it's the perfect middle-ground for me
2. I liked the curriculum
3. And I also wanted a backup plan, like for example if I become gatvol for programming one day, then I can do PC repair/technician work as well at least and vice versa

Ok, so the last time I checked, if you complete some of the problem sets in the current year before 1 Jan, then they just bring over your progress from the previous year and you can continue where you left off. For example, if you finished Problem Set 0 and Problem Set 1 in 2020 but nothing else, then your progress gets carried over to 2021 if you start taking the course again

Yes, it's prerecorded and on Youtube, also something that I forgot to mention almost every problem from every problem set have hint vids called "Walkthrough" you can watch in case you get stuck with something.

Not really, it's structured really well, there are chats for each problem in every problem set, etc.

Example of the server and its chats:
View attachment 1129292

It took me around 13 weeks (11 for the actual course itself, 2 more for the final project)

Ok, so I got both, the regular one is free of course (you get it on completion of the course) and the verified certificate is a digital certificate that you can download as PDF

Verified Certificates | edX

www.edx.org

I really appreciate the thoroughness of your answer thanks your reason for going the IT Diploma makes sense in my opinion and gives me something to consider until that time arrives. Have you thought about doing the Comptia Trifecta in the meanwhile waiting for unisa ?

 

[Agent67]

I really appreciate the thoroughness of your answer thanks your reason for going the IT Diploma makes sense in my opinion and gives me something to consider until that time arrives.

Glad I could help, bruv

Have you thought about doing the Comptia Trifecta in the meanwhile waiting for unisa ?

No, not at all, I did consider it last year (along with a Computer Technician short course at Boston), but I changed my mind and planned on rather doing the Google IT Support course on Coursera but I saw that the Diploma has 2 modules that are CompTIA A+ and N+ aligned, so I thought if I do it anyway next year...

 

[InvisibleJim]

My case is unique; if it were not for a very specific (ex) forum member in 2013 who took a chance on me, my life might be completely different now.

It's actually not unique and it shows that you only need one person to see your value to get your foot in the door and they're usually out there somewhere.

I think I remember reading your posts (mobile app development?) back then and your sponsor must have recognised aptitude, interest and a certain work ethic that stacked the odds in your favour.

Congratulations on living the dream!

 

[cguy]

Chose the diploma cause I liked the curriculum and I feel like it's a good all-rounder qualification and I didn't want to make a 4-year commitment and potentially dislike the degree in general. So I rather opted for the diploma and thought if I finish it and feel like I want to upgrade to a degree then, then I'll do it.

3 years, right? Only 4 with honours.

From my perspective, the biggest risk of doing a CS+<some maths> degree is that you may hate the maths. Ideally you would have some sense for whether or not this is the case beforehand.

 

[Priapus]

It's actually not unique and it shows that you only need one person to see your value to get your foot in the door and they're usually out there somewhere.

I think I remember reading your posts (mobile app development?) back then and your sponsor must have recognised aptitude, interest and a certain work ethic that stacked the odds in your favour.

Congratulations on living the dream!

You're right; it does take just that one person sometimes. Good memory!, yes it was for mobile app development. I posted much like the OP asking how I can get into the industry and this person sent me a DM and next thing I knew I was rebuilding the company's app from the ground up within a year of starting. I've since moved on from that company and that person is now in Austria.

If it were not for him; I'm really not sure what I'd be up to these days. probably desktop support for some IT company.

Thanks, I've enjoyed just about every minute of the journey so far. And it seems there is still a lot more growth, career wise to happen in the next year at current company.

To the OP; if you want to get into development, don't stress too much about degrees. Just get coding and learning. Get a feel for it and see if it's something you actually want to do. Then take it from there.

 

[Muis95]

You're right; it does take just that one person sometimes. Good memory!, yes it was for mobile app development. I posted much like the OP asking how I can get into the industry and this person sent me a DM and next thing I knew I was rebuilding the company's app from the ground up within a year of starting. I've since moved on from that company and that person is now in Austria.

If it were not for him; I'm really not sure what I'd be up to these days. probably desktop support for some IT company.

Thanks, I've enjoyed just about every minute of the journey so far. And it seems there is still a lot more growth, career wise to happen in the next year at current company.

To the OP; if you want to get into development, don't stress too much about degrees. Just get coding and learning. Get a feel for it and see if it's something you actually want to do. Then take it from there.

I really appreciate your response and the responses from all the other members it's given me motivation that I might pull this off and given me a sense of direction on how to really go about this without which I think I might have just wished I did without really taking action.

 

[Hamster]

but at this stage I don't know if I'll have that passion once I'm actually in soft dev industry

As the old saying goes:

"The H in 'software development' is for happiness"

 

[Priapus]

I really appreciate your response and the responses from all the other members it's given me motivation that I might pull this off and given me a sense of direction on how to really go about this without which I think I might have just wished I did without really taking action.

Take action. Now. Get learning, get coding, figure out if its for you. Worst case is you get 6 months into it and hate it. Fine. Move on then. That way you won't have "ifs" and "buts"

I've seen it many times; people I know have asked my advise on how to get into development. I give it to them. One person even had all the tools. Laptop, internet, wanted to be an Android developer. He ended up giving me loads of excuses why his laptop was not up to the task and I left that conversation there. Out of everyone who asked me how to do it. Exactly zero have made a single step forward and years later they are still doing what they are doing now.

Which is fine, but shows a lot of people never really took that first step or wanted it badly enough.

When I left my IT job to go do mobile development, I was expecting to take a big pay cut as well - because **** I hated IT and did not want to do it any longer.

 

[Agent67]

3 years, right? Only 4 with honours.

Meant 3 - 4 years, sorry

From my perspective, the biggest risk of doing a CS+<some maths> degree is that you may hate the maths. Ideally you would have some sense for whether or not this is the case beforehand.

I guess... I didn't like Math much in school (didn't hate it tho, well, I hated euclidian geometry and trigonometry, which caused my marks to tank), so that's why I went for the diploma instead of a degree. And because the diploma's curriculum has more of a practical feel to it for me than the degree, I thought that it would be a good place to start

 

[Agent67]

Take action. Now. Get learning, get coding, figure out if its for you. Worst case is you get 6 months into it and hate it. Fine. Move on then. That way you won't have "ifs" and "buts"

I concur, rather do something like CS50 and stop after the first few weeks than signing up for a formal qualification and wasting 1 - 3/4 years of your life doing something you hate.

I've seen it many times; people I know have asked my advise on how to get into development. I give it to them. One person even had all the tools. Laptop, internet, wanted to be an Android developer. He ended up giving me loads of excuses why his laptop was not up to the task and I left that conversation there. Out of everyone who asked me how to do it. Exactly zero have made a single step forward and years later they are still doing what they are doing now.

Which is fine, but shows a lot of people never really took that first step or wanted it badly enough.

I notice nowadays, many people become "interested" in software/web development for the sake of the salary/pay and not cause they're genuinely interested in the field

 

[Priapus]

I notice nowadays, many people become "interested" in software/web development for the sake of the salary/pay and not cause they're genuinely interested in the field

Exactly this. Which is the wrong reason to get into it. I got into it because I enjoyed it and still do.

I have this saying; which might be a massive generalisation or wrong, but it's how I see it.

"If you wanted to be a software developer; you'd be one or have done some coding / tinkering, already ."

 

[Agent67]

I got into it because I enjoyed it and still do.

Same here, since I was a little boy, computers were my thing and I enjoy working with them to this day (whether it's programming or slight pc repair now and then).

I have this saying; which might be a massive generalisation or wrong, but it's how I see it.

"If you wanted to be a software developer; you'd be one or have done some coding / tinkering, already ."

Thing is, although people see the salary and try chasing after it, THEY still make generalisations about those who work in the field. For example, my former IT teacher in high school said that if you want to become a developer of any kind, you're probably a hermit and you'll give your computer a name as if it's alive (paraphrasing).

 

[Priapus]

Thing is, although people see the salary and try chasing after it, THEY still make generalisations about those who work in the field. For example, my former IT teacher in high school said that if you want to become a developer of any kind, you're probably a hermit and you'll give your computer a name as if it's alive (paraphrasing).

Yeah I blame 80 / 90's movies for that view on programmers / hackers.

As for the chasing the salary; I think if you do that in any career and that is your goal, you won't get very far after the initial job-hoping phase. You run out of headroom very quickly as that only works for the first few times.

 

[Muis95]

"If you wanted to be a software developer; you'd be one or have done some coding / tinkering, already ."

I notice nowadays, many people become "interested" in software/web development for the sake of the salary/pay and not cause they're genuinely interested in the field

I totally get you on this and started tinkering with this in school I always loved computers and gaming but only got my first computer when I was in Gr10 that was around 2011 it was very basic but hey it could play games from the early 2000's then I managed to buy a secondhand GPU so I could start playing better games and I got interested in game design and got unreal engine this was around 2013 we only had a 2gb usb internet stick so downloading stuff could take multiple months.

Anyway I was interested in game design tried making my own games I was exposed to programming this way but didn't really know much and around this time I finished school it was time to make a decision for a career. Couldn't afford Uni and everyone told me IT is saturated I should do a trade and that's what South Africa's economy is geared towards so I went to tvet college.

I never knew anybody in the tech industry so never was really exposed to careers that are out there and put that idea on the backburner. I'm older now I don't enjoy the trades I know what's out there as I have dabbled around in my freetime but never really tried to go for it since I started working and I want to give it a proper go now.