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Message
Hello, all. Just a couple career questions for the tech field…
Posted on 6/6/22 at 9:45 am
Posted on 6/6/22 at 9:45 am
I’ve gone back to school because I would like a career change. I am a few courses away from my associates degree in computer science. Somewhat irrelevant note; I made the dean’s list and am very proud about that. Woo!
Anyway…
Is computer science too vague for the workforce? I hear mixed things about it.
On one hand, I’m learning a lot about various languages and programs. Python, Java, R and SQL so far. Mostly Java.
Ok the other hand, I will touch base on them but not necessarily specialize in anything. 2 courses for programming, 2 courses for database, 2 courses for web programming, 2 courses for operating systems, data mining, data structures etc.
Should I shoot for a more specific degree for my bachelors or is Computer Science at all respected in the workforce?
After getting to this point I worry that this will be a “jack of all trades, master of none” situation…
Anyway…
Is computer science too vague for the workforce? I hear mixed things about it.
On one hand, I’m learning a lot about various languages and programs. Python, Java, R and SQL so far. Mostly Java.
Ok the other hand, I will touch base on them but not necessarily specialize in anything. 2 courses for programming, 2 courses for database, 2 courses for web programming, 2 courses for operating systems, data mining, data structures etc.
Should I shoot for a more specific degree for my bachelors or is Computer Science at all respected in the workforce?
After getting to this point I worry that this will be a “jack of all trades, master of none” situation…
9
Posted on 6/6/22 at 9:52 am to RBWilliams8
quote:
RBWilliams8
my 2 cents..its great to have a CS background because concepts like OOP and best practices regarding code documentation will apply to anything you do.
However, you would probably be best served to target a vertical and get your certs in that area. Even something as 'simple' as becoming proficient in Amazon Web Services is a HUGE rabbit hole that you could go down for years and never fully grasp.
SQL is nothing more than a database structure & way to retrieve data; its deceptively easy on the surface but becomes ridiculously complex once you have to scale your database and apply all types of strategies to manage the record sets and queries. Its a damn black art.
So TL;DR -- go hit up some random free online classes or even youtube videos on different subjects and see if one piques your interest then look for a cert program and go to it.
Its much MUCH easier in a post-COVID world to get a job with nothing more than a certification in a given vertical without a college CS background. Also because everything changes constantly; you have lots of companies willing to train you in whatever it is you're looking to get into so they don't expect you to understand it all coming in.
Good luck and keep in my CAD usually has no idea what he's talking about.
This post was edited on 6/6/22 at 9:58 am
Posted on 6/6/22 at 10:35 am to CAD703X
I was kind of hoping a boot camp would be sufficient to stack on a CS degree… are those worth it? Or just better working leet code and self teach for specifics?
Yeah that’s where my B came from. I was using the functions of MySQL to build my databases all term and towards the end he wanted everything called in written code so I botched an assignment or 2.
quote:
SQL is nothing more than a database structure & way to retrieve data; its deceptively easy on the surface but becomes ridiculously complex once you have to scale your database and apply all types of strategies to manage the record sets and queries. Its a damn black art.
Yeah that’s where my B came from. I was using the functions of MySQL to build my databases all term and towards the end he wanted everything called in written code so I botched an assignment or 2.
This post was edited on 6/6/22 at 10:46 am
Posted on 6/6/22 at 11:12 am to RBWilliams8
Of course, CS is a perfect major for the tech field. Your specialization journey will mostly be outside of your college coursework. The coursework lays the foundation and gives you an opportunity to find what your preference is for specialization.
Posted on 6/6/22 at 11:26 am to RBWilliams8
quote:
I was kind of hoping a boot camp would be sufficient to stack on a CS degree… are those worth it? Or just better working leet code and self teach for specifics?
We hire people right out of college all the time, usually spend their first 2 weeks in a java boot camp, then another 3 days learning CICD.
Posted on 6/6/22 at 2:03 pm to RBWilliams8
Honestly, today, I hear this all the time from my wife, that she'd rather find the non-degreed tech propeller head that never leaves his home and has a server farm in his bedroom. She's just tired of people that come out of school with zero skills but plenty of boxes checked coming out of school. They generally don't know anything, really.
Posted on 6/6/22 at 2:08 pm to HubbaBubba
quote:
Honestly, today, I hear this all the time from my wife, that she'd rather find the non-degreed tech propeller head that never leaves his home and has a server farm in his bedroom. She's just tired of people that come out of school with zero skills but plenty of boxes checked coming out of school. They generally don't know anything, really.
our best SQL employee was a former hard-drinking airplane mechanic making next to nothing.
he came on in the QA department and carved out a niche for himself writing SQL to better pull data from the system and so he went to a 2 week SQL training camp and the rest is history.
he's been with the company 18 years now.
Posted on 6/6/22 at 2:58 pm to HubbaBubba
Well, I get that 100%. I started this as a hobby working on an app for my brother and found it to be really fun.
I have 16 years in the refineries (predominantly oil and gas). The current state of the country and this industry in particular kind of pushed me towards a career change but the hobby was already there.
While working on different apps from tutorials I realized I wanted to know the inner workings and not just follow tutorials.
Not a brag but I’m successful in what I do so I could afford to go to school and whatnot without student loans and all of that mess so really if I get nothing out of this but a better understanding of my hobby then I’ll be perfectly content with that as well.
My friend has a remote 200k job and I would be lying to say that isn’t tempting. He offered me a job (unrelated to his) but I don’t feel capable enough to accept at this point.
Making an iPhone app in my swimming pool while drinking a few with the wife was some of the coolest shite ever and totally beat FRC’s and steal toes in the Texas heat. I doubt I get a job like that but one can dream
I have 16 years in the refineries (predominantly oil and gas). The current state of the country and this industry in particular kind of pushed me towards a career change but the hobby was already there.
While working on different apps from tutorials I realized I wanted to know the inner workings and not just follow tutorials.
Not a brag but I’m successful in what I do so I could afford to go to school and whatnot without student loans and all of that mess so really if I get nothing out of this but a better understanding of my hobby then I’ll be perfectly content with that as well.
My friend has a remote 200k job and I would be lying to say that isn’t tempting. He offered me a job (unrelated to his) but I don’t feel capable enough to accept at this point.
Making an iPhone app in my swimming pool while drinking a few with the wife was some of the coolest shite ever and totally beat FRC’s and steal toes in the Texas heat. I doubt I get a job like that but one can dream
This post was edited on 6/6/22 at 3:00 pm
Posted on 6/6/22 at 4:12 pm to CAD703X
quote:I'm not surprised at all. Most coding and analysis is just problem solving and natural curiosity. A lot of people can go to school for 4 years and still suck at it, and vice versa.
airplane mechanic
I ask our junior analyst hires to simply give me an example of a situation outside of school where they had to figure out how something worked to solve a problem. It's amazing how many don't have a single example.
Posted on 6/7/22 at 4:54 pm to j1897
That’s good to know. I was aware that FAANG companies did this but wasn’t sure if smaller companies did any extensive training.
Posted on 6/9/22 at 5:30 pm to RBWilliams8
Have you considered Process Controls as a career path?
Posted on 6/10/22 at 10:15 am to RBWilliams8
quote:
Should I shoot for a more specific degree for my bachelors or is Computer Science at all respected in the workforce?
Depends on your goals - In my experience(Business consulting) a degree in IT is a "nice to have". Many times, your skillset and experience solving specific problems within a specific niche is much much more valuable.
I work alot in the Salesforce ecosystem, and there is such a lack of dev and admin resources that if you have proper certifications and some level of experience - you'll be a guaranteed a starting 6-figure income.
Posted on 6/10/22 at 1:16 pm to RBWilliams8
Well i'm at a big company, but yes we don't expect college grads to know enterprise coding standards, we don't really expect them to know anything.
Posted on 6/10/22 at 1:26 pm to TigerRagAndrew
That’s something to definitely look more into. Thanks for the heads up!
Posted on 6/10/22 at 1:40 pm to lilsnappa
My university offers a MS in IT but not a bachelors. I was told an IT degree was a waste of time and as you alluded, I should focus on something more specific.
I guess when I get closer to completing my bachelors I’ll look at some more specific fields.
I guess when I get closer to completing my bachelors I’ll look at some more specific fields.
Posted on 6/10/22 at 2:27 pm to RBWilliams8
quote:
Should I shoot for a more specific degree for my bachelors or is Computer Science at all respected in the workforce?
A bachelors in computer science is a great starting point IMO. Learning the concepts is much more important than learning something specific. It is not hard to jump from language to language if you have a firm grasp of the principals
Posted on 6/11/22 at 4:54 pm to RBWilliams8
It's more important to have a mind for solving problems IMO than knowing specific languages or knowing alot about specific topics. The language after all, no matter what or is, is just a tool to get to the solution. Don't disregard soft skills either. They're just as important or maybe even more important than technical skill. A good software engineer that can interact well with people will go further than one who wants to code all day and not interact with anyone.
Posted on 8/27/22 at 6:47 pm to RBWilliams8
I would focus on cloud development and the various tools there. It is in demand right now and some of the guys I interview are getting ridiculous salaries
Posted on 8/27/22 at 7:03 pm to RBWilliams8
(no message)
This post was edited on 8/29/22 at 9:56 pm
Posted on 8/28/22 at 4:24 pm to RBWilliams8
Computer science = programmer. That means that there is someone in Costa Rica that can do your job for 15% of what you get paid, so do not rely on geek knowledge.
Here's the basic deal: "coders" are the easiest and cheapest things to offshore. To give you a concrete example, my hours get billed to clients at around $400 an hour (I have 20+ years of experience, so it's not completely apples to apples). However, "coders" (which really kinda means implementation) my company has offshore are charged to the client at $30 an hour.
One of the previous commenters was spot on... Focus like hell on AWS/Azure certifications. AWS throws free training out like they're Cheerios, and is very well organized. You can get an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner for $100 (exam fee) and the training for that one is all free from AWS.
Another point... Most developers I've been around for the last 15-20 years have no idea how any of the hardware works. The point of programming languages is to obfuscate the hardware from the user/coder, but it's mildly frustrating to explain to teams why you really don't want to replicate Terabytes worth of information across the Atlantic 24x7, or why they need to shrink databases, or why legal shouldn't be copied on every data loss prevention "incident" that occurs (think thousands of emails a day), etc. It is like a basic lack of common sense. Avoid that.
Here's the basic deal: "coders" are the easiest and cheapest things to offshore. To give you a concrete example, my hours get billed to clients at around $400 an hour (I have 20+ years of experience, so it's not completely apples to apples). However, "coders" (which really kinda means implementation) my company has offshore are charged to the client at $30 an hour.
One of the previous commenters was spot on... Focus like hell on AWS/Azure certifications. AWS throws free training out like they're Cheerios, and is very well organized. You can get an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner for $100 (exam fee) and the training for that one is all free from AWS.
Another point... Most developers I've been around for the last 15-20 years have no idea how any of the hardware works. The point of programming languages is to obfuscate the hardware from the user/coder, but it's mildly frustrating to explain to teams why you really don't want to replicate Terabytes worth of information across the Atlantic 24x7, or why they need to shrink databases, or why legal shouldn't be copied on every data loss prevention "incident" that occurs (think thousands of emails a day), etc. It is like a basic lack of common sense. Avoid that.
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