Studies Advice

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gksa

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Hi everyone... I'm hoping some of you would be willing to give me some advice about a possible career change to software development.

I'm 32 years old, studied psychology at university (disastrously wrong choice; didn't finish :cry:) and have been working in hospitality management for the past 9 years. I have come to realise that I absolutely hate that soul-destroying industry, and that I desperately need a change, so I've taken some time off to organise my personal life and contemplate my options.

One of the things I'm pretty keen to explore is software development. I'm analytical and logical in the way I approach any task, so I think I would be good at it, and it seems like a fairly creative field to be in, so I'm hoping I would be able to avoid the monotony and tedium of having to perform repetitive tasks every day (I know myself well enough now to know that repetitive tasks would be my worst nightmare in a job).

First of all, are my thoughts about this possible career choice accurate, or can it get tedious?

Second of all, since there is 6 months of the current year left, could anyone recommend a good short course and/or a tertiary institution to study this at, which would give a better idea of whether this would be the correct career choice for me, as well as teach me a few useful things in the process?

I would need to be able to hold down a part-time job as well, since I don't have any financial backing besides my own resources.

What do you guys think? :cool:
 
Computer Science tends to be mathematical to a significant degree. How's your math?

Self taught programming may limit your opportunities, but it's useful to have.
 
National Diploma - all the programming, none of the math, recognised by everyone.



Software development can be monotonous.

It can crush your soul.

It will make you hate life at some stage.

It is awesome fun if you land the right job.

Those jobs are scarce.



...it's just like any other job.
 
Hamster said:
National Diploma - all the programming, none of the math, recognised by everyone.



Software development can be monotonous.

It can crush your soul.

It will make you hate life at some stage.

It is awesome fun if you land the right job.

Those jobs are scarce.


...it's just like any other job.
Click to expand...

You forgot the [-]crappy[/-] amazing clients that expect magic in 2 days.
 
Put yourself on a SAP / oracle / Microsoft course to learn a Commercial off the shelf package.

Do a Business analysis course . Try FTI.

Or do a course in software testing.
 
Pho3nix said:
You forgot the [-]crappy[/-] amazing clients that expect magic in 2 days.
Click to expand...
Business that changes specs every second day
BA's that don't know what they are doing
Fellow developers that don't know what they are doing
Business shipping software without all the bugs being fixed
Project managers that are in panic state and don't know how to effectively manage a team
Long hours
Boring hours
Changing priorities
Micro management
Broken builds
Bugs being missed in QA and shipped to prod
Non technical managers introducing new buzz words and dictating how developers should work
...

Welcome to the glamorous world of software development.
 
If by your age you have not been spending late nights programming for fun/hobby I would be quite surprised if you get into it at this stage its not impossible but improbable imo.

Your best bet is to just start programming if you dont know how to do something watch a youtube video, read a book, google for help etc programming is 90% problem solving and research the actual coding is just the output.


One of the core functions of programming is to remove repetitive tasks and automate them but that does not mean you wont find repitition in the daily grind. There is still plenty of admin and other tasks you will need to do its just part of the working world and I despise them as much as most.

I guess what I am trying to say is if you want to be a programmer then start programming and see if its something you enjoy and go from there if its truly a passion you will find a way to make it happen.
 
Hamster said:
Business that changes specs every second day
BA's that don't know what they are doing
Fellow developers that don't know what they are doing
Business shipping software without all the bugs being fixed
Project managers that are in panic state and don't know how to effectively manage a team
Long hours
Boring hours
Changing priorities
Micro management
Broken builds
Bugs being missed in QA and shipped to prod
Non technical managers introducing new buzz words and dictating how developers should work
...

Welcome to the glamorous world of software development.
Click to expand...

This sounds so familiar. Maybe we work in the same area.
 
midnightcaller said:
This sounds so familiar. Maybe we work in the same area.
Click to expand...
In front of a laptop?

The above is what happens when you work at or for an enterprise like a bank. It makes me feel so ****ing BLUE sometimes!
 
Hamster said:
In front of a laptop?

The above is what happens when you work at or for an enterprise like a bank. It makes me feel so ****ing BLUE sometimes!
Click to expand...

You are agile so stop whinging and comment out that code you commented in yesterday after altering the business rules for the nth time.
 
Hamster said:
Business that changes specs every second day
BA's that don't know what they are doing
Fellow developers that don't know what they are doing
Business shipping software without all the bugs being fixed
Project managers that are in panic state and don't know how to effectively manage a team
Long hours
Boring hours
Changing priorities
Micro management
Broken builds
Bugs being missed in QA and shipped to prod
Non technical managers introducing new buzz words and dictating how developers should work
...

Welcome to the glamorous world of software development.
Click to expand...

You forgot the market related salaries :D
 
Beachless said:
You are agile so stop whinging and comment out that code you commented in yesterday after altering the business rules for the nth time.
Click to expand...
And don't expect a detailed spec. That's way too waterfall.
 
Hamster said:
And don't expect a detailed spec. That's way too waterfall.
Click to expand...

Who needs a detailed spec!!!!
In the last twenty years, I can only recall one time where we went and dug out a specification to find a business rule to prove to an auditor why we implemented a business rule that ended up in an audit finding.

Most of the time, the source code is perfect enough as a form of documentation for future coders to go reference.
 
Pffft, specs are for people that aren't agile enough to champion a solution for the team in an exciting new space!
 
midnightcaller said:
Who needs a detailed spec!!!!
In the last twenty years, I can only recall one time where we went and dug out a specification to find a business rule to prove to an auditor why we implemented a business rule that ended up in an audit finding.

Most of the time, the source code is perfect enough as a form of documentation for future coders to go reference.
Click to expand...

Edit
Puts on flame proof suit and heads for cover.
Lol
 
sorry couldnt help but ask my question also, which are the best institutions for the national diploma
 
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