Career Question

[Robvd]

Hi Guys

Was hoping to get some career advice if possible.

First off, just a quick explanation of where I am at currently,

I have a BTEC diploma in information technology (2year dep) also about 7 microsoft certifications and I am RedHat certified as well.

Worked in support since 2010, last year I moved from my Sysadmin position into an Administration position for Oracle Business Intelligence, lots of Linux work and working with weblogic, OBIEE etc.

For the past few months I have had to write scripts to automate most of the stuff i do on a daily basis and this has really given me a bug as I really enjoy it.

I wrote a shell menu for managing services, viewing logs etc.

It really feels to me like I need to move into the development space, the company I am currently based at is heavily Oracle SQL, but there is always a demand for any type of development.

What would be the best way to get into Development? Should I go ahead and join Unisa for the Bachelor of Science if computing degree? Really scared of this as I haven't done maths in like 10 years lol.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.

Oh and btw, I am 27 have about 7 years IT experience, married, no kids and i actually earn a decent salary at the moment so I probably need to keep that in mind as well.

Thanks!

 

[SauRoNZA]

No chance of simply moving over inside your company?

We've recently had a guy from sys admin move over into the testing side of things to start with day to day exposure in development and take it from there.

Your company might be willing to do the same.

 

[deweyzeph]

Don't waste your time (and money) doing another formal qualification. Qualifications are just to get you in the door. The real learning happens on the job. You already have a foot in the door, you just need to get an opportunity within your company.

 

[CamiKaze]

Don't waste your time (and money) doing another formal qualification. Qualifications are just to get you in the door. The real learning happens on the job. You already have a foot in the door, you just need to get an opportunity within your company.

+1 right here.

 

[Robvd]

Thanks for the response guys, really appreciate it! Ok good, I will definitely be able to speak to HR about a move in the near future.

I still think I need some basic understanding and exposure though. As mentioned we are predominantly an Oracle shop, I was thinking of starting with a book called automate the boring things with Python and then doing Oracle sql fundamentals. Any tips on what the best start would be for my situation?

Cheers

 

[deweyzeph]

Thanks for the response guys, really appreciate it! Ok good, I will definitely be able to speak to HR about a move in the near future.

I still think I need some basic understanding and exposure though. As mentioned we are predominantly an Oracle shop, I was thinking of starting with a book called automate the boring things with Python and then doing Oracle sql fundamentals. Any tips on what the best start would be for my situation?

Cheers

I would start with some online courses to teach yourself the fundamentals:

https://www.codecademy.com/

 

[shadow_man]

If you like the sys admin side of things then I'd keep going on the RH route.

RHCSA (assuming you've got this or RHCE) > RHCE > RHCA.

RH is hands on, shows you know your stuff and those types of enterprise Linux gigs usually pay well too.

Also - not too hard to find you on LinkedIn

 

[[)roi(]]

A developer needs to write code (obviously), but more important enjoy the challenge. As with most things practice makes perfect.

The only you'll know if this is a good match for you, is to try it out. Pick a project, something you've always wanted to build; this way the learning will just happen naturally -- use books, blogs, online tutorials, stack overflow, ... to help you complete this project.

Btw if at the end of this, you succeeded and you can't wait to start the next project (or you already have), then pursue it.

 

[cguy]

For the qualification, I would say the it depends on how far down the rabbit hole you intend/want/are-willing to go. If you want to do a bit more coding, automation, etc., I would agree that a degree is likely overkill. If you want to work as a high end developer, perhaps even with possibilities overseas, then I recommend doing a BSc (and honours).

 

[Robvd]

If you like the sys admin side of things then I'd keep going on the RH route.

RHCSA (assuming you've got this or RHCE) > RHCE > RHCA.

RH is hands on, shows you know your stuff and those types of enterprise Linux gigs usually pay well too.

Also - not too hard to find you on LinkedIn

Lol The thing is I am kind of over the administration/support thing, I would like to stop supporting and start creating but I get your point, it does make sense.

 

[^^vampire^^]

How the hell did you do a BTech IT without doing programming? Surely you should be qualified in this already?

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

How the hell did you do a BTech IT without doing programming? Surely you should be qualified in this already?

Probably similar to my BSc Informatics which is mostly business orientated and sprinkled with some development 101. Also he said two years which is a UK BTEC and not a three B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology).

Graduation is not makes you a developer and I filter out a lot of crap grads with a take home tests for our graduation program.