Where to study programming part time/correspondence

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terencevs

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I want to study programming specialising in C# part time....

Does anyone know of a good responsible place I could either do correspondence or part time?

Saw a course at Intec "Diploma in computer programming" but thats about what I have found...
 
C# or Programming

terencevs said:
I want to study programming specialising in C# part time....

Does anyone know of a good responsible place I could either do correspondence or part time?

Saw a course at Intec "Diploma in computer programming" but thats about what I have found...
Click to expand...

1.) Do you want to study programming or the C# language?
Programming skills and language skills/knowledge are NOT the same thing.
Programming is the ability to deconstruct a problem/task and design a logical, non-ambiguous way to achieve a solution with the minimum of effort.
The language is merely the tool you use to implement your solution.
If you learn to programme you can pick up the basics of any language in a very short period of time (and Google is your friend!).
2.) Languages come and go ... don't bet your career on knowing a specific language (well, maybe Cobol :D)
3.) Google ... (try "C Sharp") ... there are PLENTY of free resources out there.

I've programmed in GW Basic, Q-Basic, Clipper :cry:, Turbo Pascal [my 1st real :love:], dBase VI, Visual Basic (for Dos, nogal!), Delphi, C++, C#, T-SQL, VBA, and dabbled in Java & Perl. Guess what ... I currently only use T-SQL, VBA & C# ... the rest are all consigned to the discard pile ... it's NOT the language that makes you a programmer, it's the ability to clearly see a problem or task and to solve it in a logical way.
 
You get taught some problem solving skills when you learn to program. It's like knowing how to operate a car and driving on a road.
 
If you are going to do it part time, you might as well enrol for a computer science degree from Unisa. You'll have the basics down (in other words, you'd know at least one language) by the end of the first year.

The main advantage of doing a degree over doing any certificate course is that the Unisa degree is internationally accredited.

Like pmbellis points out, there is a huge difference between learning programming and learning a technology or language like C#. You really can learn C, Java, C# or any of these in 21 days as those books suggest, but it is impossible to learn programming in 21 days. A certificate/diploma course will teach you a technology, so if you really are keen on C# and nothing else, then you can contact one of the many diploma mills in your area (Damelin is just about everywhere). Most of them offer part time study opportunities, but they are expensive when you compare their fees with university fees.

You'll find that one year of diploma college would pay for almost your entire degree at Unisa. The difference is that most university degrees focus on teaching you programming, while most diploma/certificate courses focus on teaching you applied skills in a specific technology. For me, the degree path worked better as I can adapt to any new technology fairly easily.
 
I've also recently started learning programming (C++) - I have found a lot of great resources on the internet, however I found by actually getting a decent book or more than one, makes things a lot easier. I suppose getting a degree or even diploma would be great, but there is nothing stopping you from just doing it yourself.
 
ZombiePriest said:
If you are going to do it part time, you might as well enrol for a computer science degree from Unisa. You'll have the basics down (in other words, you'd know at least one language) by the end of the first year.

The main advantage of doing a degree over doing any certificate course is that the Unisa degree is internationally accredited.

Like pmbellis points out, there is a huge difference between learning programming and learning a technology or language like C#. You really can learn C, Java, C# or any of these in 21 days as those books suggest, but it is impossible to learn programming in 21 days. A certificate/diploma course will teach you a technology, so if you really are keen on C# and nothing else, then you can contact one of the many diploma mills in your area (Damelin is just about everywhere). Most of them offer part time study opportunities, but they are expensive when you compare their fees with university fees.

You'll find that one year of diploma college would pay for almost your entire degree at Unisa. The difference is that most university degrees focus on teaching you programming, while most diploma/certificate courses focus on teaching you applied skills in a specific technology. For me, the degree path worked better as I can adapt to any new technology fairly easily.
Click to expand...

As a UNISA Bsc student (and I'm 35, been coding as a hobby since 1980!) I can also add that its not just about code. Currently studying project analysis and design this semester, the real world realities when you end up in IT.

This can all be self taught, but your prospective employer will not show you much confidence without it.

Then when you get to your late 30's your going to see you career not having much growth without a degree - my situation.
 
Looking at my recent thread and now this one, I'm beginning to wonder if anybody on this forum can answer this question at all!
 
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also doing bsc through Unisa. Covers a broad range of subjects: stats maths logic and algorithms. so far only coded in c++ though.
 
At the moment, I am re-skilling myself on CodeAcademy for frontend.
They probably have c#.

Best place I found is the Linkedin Learning platform.
 
Solarion said:
Looking at my recent thread and now this one, I'm beginning to wonder if anybody on this forum can answer this question at all!
Click to expand...

Someone who asks this question likely needs some guidance. Assuming that they want to ultimately become a competent programmer, doing a course on a particular language is not the best way to achieve this goal.
 
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DrJohnZoidberg said:
I've also recently started learning programming (C++) - I have found a lot of great resources on the internet, however I found by actually getting a decent book or more than one, makes things a lot easier. I suppose getting a degree or even diploma would be great, but there is nothing stopping you from just doing it yourself.
Click to expand...

Ha, nice necro! I'm doing C++ full time now :D
 
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