Any chance?

[PrinceVlad]

Hi Guys

Having lost a big client (constituted about 90% of my work) in 2013, my business became progressively worse without me being able to gain new clients. Since January this year, I have made almost no income and I have come to the realization that it is the end of the road for the business. I have a side business from which I earn some income but it is still not a regular income I can rely on.

Unfortunately I am almost 40 witha family so going back to study is, both financially and family wise not viable. For the past few months I have been thinking of getting involved in software development. I will have to learn on my own time and will use online resources for this. During this time I will have to rely on my side business for a sufficient income. Luckily my side business has me being at home most of the time and I have some sparetime to learn.

After reading many blogs, forums and so on a lot of people suggest that you start with Python. Having no knowledge in the field, I cant tell if that is correct so some advice will be appreciated.

I also appreciate that it will take a lot of time and effort and I dont expect getting into the industry to be easy. I do, however, have a few questions:

1. Is it too late for me to start?
2. What are the prospects of someday being employed in the field without a degree?
3. What are some good resources to start with?

As I think of more questions I will post them here.

I appreciate your advice.

Thanks

 

[saor]

Free coding courses to get started:

https://www.codecademy.com/
https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming

 

[rodga]

Sorry can't help with the it related questions but what I can say is that it's never too late to educate yourself or increase your knowledge.

There's a Zimbabwean gent that helps out my friend on weekends with odd jobs, and once in a while helps me too, this is in addition to his normal weekly job. He has spent the last 2 years or so doing night classes to get his matric certificate. He is 57 years old.

 

[PrinceVlad]

Thanks guys.

So far I have registered on Visual Studio Dev Essentials where you get 3 months free on Pluralsight and 2 months free on DataCamp. I'm thinking of doing the complete Python course on Pluralsight to start off with. This consists of 7 courses for a total of 28 hours and according to them go from beginner to intermediate with one advanced course as well. Once completed I will move on from there.

 

[shooter69]

1. Is it too late for me to start?
2. What are the prospects of someday being employed in the field without a degree?
3. What are some good resources to start with?

1. It is never too late to learn to code
2. Lots of devs without degrees out there. But do not expect to earn anything more than minimum wage if you have no experience and no qualification.
3. Udemy has courses this week for R100. See if you can grab a couple. Try to get at least 1 course with "Programming concepts". No use in learning the code if you do not understand the concepts.

Hardest part of all is you need to create a project for yourself to complete. Could be anything. Maybe some software you can use in your side business. The reason this is hard is because most people including me start a project and kind of lose interest after a while. This means that most of my projects (Outside of work) is usually incomplete.

 

[wolverine_dcp]

Good luck bro

 

[Cius]

I would start learning. Not sure what type of work you used to do but software dev is a growing field in the world, with ever increasing demand. Not a bad idea to pick up skills in that direction if you have a knack for it.

 

[mr_norris]

I know a lot of people have already answered, thought I would anyway

1. Is it too late for me to start?
2. What are the prospects of someday being employed in the field without a degree?
3. What are some good resources to start with?

1. No
2. Not bad if you know what you are doing or you have good google foo. I know tons of software devs without degrees, and they earn a comfortable salary. Just brace yourself to work hard.
3. See below.

So far I have registered on Visual Studio Dev Essentials

I saw you mentioning that you wanted to get into Python. Why not C# though? There are lots of job opportunities. Not to mention Visual Studio + C# go together really well. Then of course there is Pluralsight (probably about the best I've used), Udemy (cheap, but look at the reviews and course content before committing), Microsoft Virtual Acadamy / Channel9 (I've watched a few courses there too), and many more suggested by other people. I'm not saying C# is better though, it's just a suggestion.

 

[namzsteve]

I just started with a mobile app development course on monday, it's never too late wiseman.

 

[PrinceVlad]

I know a lot of people have already answered, thought I would anyway



1. No
2. Not bad if you know what you are doing or you have good google foo. I know tons of software devs without degrees, and they earn a comfortable salary. Just brace yourself to work hard.
3. See below.



I saw you mentioning that you wanted to get into Python. Why not C# though? There are lots of job opportunities. Not to mention Visual Studio + C# go together really well. Then of course there is Pluralsight (probably about the best I've used), Udemy (cheap, but look at the reviews and course content before committing), Microsoft Virtual Acadamy / Channel9 (I've watched a few courses there too), and many more suggested by other people. I'm not saying C# is better though, it's just a suggestion.

Thanks for the advice. Not knowing much I was looking at Python due to many resources on the web stating that it is a good language to start with. But I will consider C#. With so much information out there it is easy to get confused and it gets more difficult to decide.

 

[animal531]

The language is pretty irrelevant, just learn the basics of what programming is all about and you can translate that to any language.

If I were you I'd look into development that overlaps with whatever you were doing before, so you're not starting at square one. Leverage what you already know.

 

[PrinceVlad]

The language is pretty irrelevant, just learn the basics of what programming is all about and you can translate that to any language.

If I were you I'd look into development that overlaps with whatever you were doing before, so you're not starting at square one. Leverage what you already know.

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately my previous field and qualification (law) is so far removed from software development that I suspect I will have to start at square one.

 

[bchip]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately my previous field and qualification (law) is so far removed from software development that I suspect I will have to start at square one.

Patent law?
Cybernetic Law?
Help with interpreting the new POPI act
Interpreting the Electronic Communications Act?

Theres the bridge.

Im sure major law firms need people who understand both sides.

 

[Spacerat]

Patent law?
Cybernetic Law?
Help with interpreting the new POPI act
Interpreting the Electronic Communications Act?

Theres the bridge.

Im sure major law firms need people who understand both sides.

Or software / apps that helps ppl in the law industry

 

[bchip]

Or software / apps that helps ppl in the law industry

Blockchain for legal contracts!!!

 

[PrinceVlad]

All things to consider. Will give it some thought

 

[PrinceVlad]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will be starting the path on Pluralsight today. Lets see what happens.

 

[kripstoe]

Patent law?
Cybernetic Law?
Help with interpreting the new POPI act
Interpreting the Electronic Communications Act?

Theres the bridge.

Im sure major law firms need people who understand both sides.

I agree with this. I know someone who's in development/IT, and moving into law. This was their approach.

A computer programming language can be picked up fairly quickly, but it really does take years be a good software developer. It's not about the language. It's about solving problems. The language is just one of the tools.

 

[animal531]

I agree with this. I know someone who's in development/IT, and moving into law. This was their approach.

A computer programming language can be picked up fairly quickly, but it really does take years be a good software developer. It's not about the language. It's about solving problems. The language is just one of the tools.

Yeah, as a new person it'll take a long time to compete just on pure development skill with a dedicated developer. So leverage everything you already know vs what people in the field that you know need, and automate/assist them. It's a quick leg up basically.

 

[PrinceVlad]

Did the first few modules of the Pluralsight Python path today. Mostly theory but the practical part will start soon. I must say it is totally different to the studying I am used to.