|
code academy is usually when I start when trying out a new language. it's low effort and hands-on enough to make you actually feel like you're getting something out of it: https://www.codecademy.com/catalog/language/sql
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2023 19:28
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 04:49 |
|
|
mrfreeze posted:SQL I ran through the W3Schools and Mode Analytics tutorials. I would say that the MA one is the superior tutorial, but the W3 course is still an excellent reference.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2023 19:57
|
|
|
The Art Of SQL is the best book I've read that covers the basics
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2023 20:13
|
|
|
I've been working my way through this book: https://practicalsql.com/ It's directed towards data analysts/scientists and examples are all in PostgreSQL. Overall I've found it pretty accessible for a total beginner like me.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2023 01:08
|
|
|
I'm in kind of a pickle, and I don't know where else to ask this, so if this is a bad post, let me know. I'm in IT and I'm about to get my job "transitioned" out of the country. I've got a nice long bunch of months before we completely transition away. I'm clueless about what to do. I have a minor in CS from UT, aka Software Dev for dummies, and I started the WGU Software Dev course years ago. I might be embarassingly close to finishing it, but I washed out from a combination of lack of funds, taking too many goddamn Database classes, and making money in IT. I don't really want to get back in to IT, even though I could probably make plenty of money at it. I'm going to have a nice little severance package, so I can afford to take several pathways. What would you do? A. Go back to WGU and finish the degree B. Take a Full-Stack bootcamp (i'm out of the door in 7 months) C. Go back to working IT, you scrub, you never had the makings of a varsity athlete
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 16:31
|
|
|
ElGroucho posted:I'm in kind of a pickle, and I don't know where else to ask this, so if this is a bad post, let me know. What problem are you trying to solve? Confidence in your own capabilities? Response rate to job applications? Ability to get through an interview loop? Money in the door?
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 16:48
|
|
|
leper khan posted:What problem are you trying to solve? Confidence in your own capabilities? Response rate to job applications? Ability to get through an interview loop? Money in the door? Where to put the time and money for the next 7 months.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 16:49
|
|
|
ElGroucho posted:Where to put the time and money for the next 7 months. Sure but what outcomes do you want?
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 16:55
|
|
|
leper khan posted:Sure but what outcomes do you want? Dream scenario, entry level software development position (I live in Austin).
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 16:58
|
|
|
ElGroucho posted:Dream scenario, entry level software development position (I live in Austin). Study data structures and algorithms. Build a small but non-trivial project you can talk enthusiastically about. Practice leet code. Go to local tech meetups and talk to people, and have normal conversations with them instead of making it weird and trying to force transactional relationships.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 17:06
|
|
|
Do you have a degree already? How close are you to finishing the WGU software dev track?
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 17:14
|
|
|
ultrafilter posted:Do you have a degree already? How close are you to finishing the WGU software dev track? Liberal Arts degree. CS Minor. I think 2-3 semesters left at WGU? They don't let you look at your student portal if you aren't enrolled.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 17:18
|
|
|
Since you already have a degree there's probably not a huge upside to further general education. This is where you want to focus:leper khan posted:Study data structures and algorithms. Build a small but non-trivial project you can talk enthusiastically about. Practice leet code.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 17:22
|
|
|
ElGroucho posted:Dream scenario, entry level software development position (I live in Austin). I had a philosophy major and was fixated on the idea that people would take me seriously as a software developer if I had a degree in computer science or software development. What actually worked was showing up to meetings and being like "I write code now, gimme a feature or some bugs to fix." The degree was mostly irrelevant to that.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2023 21:51
|
|
|
I hope this is the right thread! Slight necro bump but not sure where else this should go. Looking to make a career change into IT, could use some advice! I've currently been working as a cable technician for 7ish years, installing and repairing cable TV internet and phone. Tons of troubleshooting, customer service etc. I'm very good at my job and have been #1 in my region multiple years. No certifications and no degree. I've been a general nerd my whole life, building tons of PCs, taught myself HTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL when I was like 13 because it seemed fun, built a fully functional online shop from scratch back in the day, although thinking back it probably had a billion security issues  Here are my questions: Would an A+ still be recommended in 2023/2024? How about going straight to CCNA? My employer offers free CCNA training which I was working on for a bit but drat it's really difficult for me at my current knowledge level. Does my field tech experience count for anything at all? Could I possibly somehow skip the helpdesk step? If I could *not* take a massive pay cut for a year, that would be fantastic. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get out of this job, seriously. What I'm doing at the moment: still working full time so I'm splitting my free time between studying for the A+ and getting back into programming. Been working my way through code academy and I think it's going pretty well. Getting the passion for coding back. Any general advice for a career pivot would be very much appreciated!
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2023 13:40
|
|
|
Your field tech experience will count a lot for interviews. That experience means you were able to show up to a job everyday, on time, handle angry customers, and (apparently) excel. That counts for a lot more than you think. You won’t be able to skip any steps in a new career, but you’ll be more likely to get that first step. It’s currently not a great market for new programmers, but that means it is a good time to study and learn, especially if your current job is paying for it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2023 16:31
|
|
|
While there is some overlap IT and programming are different careers and you should pick one to focus on. If you want to go programming drop the A+ and add freecodecamp or odin project. If you want to do IT, look at the AWS cloud practitioner certification, CCNA, and/or Security+
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2023 17:13
|
|
|
Yeah I would not study IT and programming at the same time, those are two different careers. Front end web development is the lowest bar to entry, but nobody is really hiring entry level devs right now so I'd just focus on learning the skills and practicing the interview so that you'll be ready when it picks up again.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2023 20:07
|
|
|
Nobody is hiring entry level anything right now (the seniors are job hopping like mad right now tho) Doesn't mean you can't start studying for your interviews now. I recommend this (although the 2011 version is better imo, if you dig for it on the site it's available) https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-0001-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-in-python-fall-2016/ I would learn Python + Django + Postgres as your entry level stack, and either angular or vue for the front end. Get a free GitHub account and put a finished project on there Bonus points if you can speak coherently about Rust in an interview, that's a very trendy language right now Start talking to recruiters today if you can. After about 10 phone calls you'll have an idea of what recruiters want to hear and you can begin sharpening your talking points since they are the gatekeeper
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2023 21:55
|
|
|
zeldadude posted:
As has been said start by targeting what jobs you want and go after that. Almost no job will be "We need someone with A+ certs and but also completed a Python bootcamp". Your experience would lend quicker to a more IT path, but that may not be much better than what you're doing as a cable technician and you may find the same blockers. People are certainly hiring entry level but of course look at your job market in your area. I wouldn't count on getting remote jobs right away, that's a reasonable medium-term goal but for entry level development you'll be looking at a steep uphill climb. The Fool posted:While there is some overlap IT and programming are different careers and you should pick one to focus on. This is good succinct advice.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2023 23:31
|
|
|
On the topic of breaking in to the industry as a non-traditional candidate / career switcher, are machine learning skills helpful at all? In my intermediate python CC course our final project was to create a basic neural network without any libraries and confirm it works against the iris dataset and some other basic functions. Not saying this qualifies me for anything professional, but it did demystify some things, e.g. I can read about transformer architecture and generally understand what is happening. I’m staying the course with full stack web development no matter what and have a project that I like in progress. That said, there’s so much AI / ML content out there right now it’s hard to avoid. Part of me wants to take a detour to really learn how to train and deploy something related to my industry. Another part of me feels like this is a trap, and I should keep the momentum going with core development skills.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2023 19:38
|
|
|
There's never really been much of a market for people with an intermediate level of machine learning skills. Literacy is good, and being an expert is good, but in between you won't get to do much that's not open to beginners. That could change (although I don't see how), but for now I would assume it'll stay that way for a while.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2023 19:42
|
|
|
We would have an intermediate AI/ML position open but our lead backend developer wants to do it/learn it so we won't open that position Right now that stuff is so bright and shiny they're giving it to the senior devs just to keep them happy
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2023 19:49
|
|
|
I will say talking about an AI/ML project in an interview will get attention even if its for a CRUD backend role. So yes, I think its a good thing to do. You're going to have to talk about projects you worked on anyway, may as well talk about something cool.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2023 00:40
|
|
|
Thanks for the advice, everyone! I'm currently evaluating what route of IT sounds most appealing to me. Programming seems cool as a hobby but I'm having a hard time seeing myself doing that 8+ hours a day. Am I correct in thinking that programming jobs lean more towards WFH than IT? Currently leaning towards the network engineering side of things and as such I have started focusing my studies towards the CCNA. I'm not in *too* much of a rush, so I'm fine with just getting my knowledge up for a year or so if that's what it takes. I could maybe survive on a $22-24/hr wage but definitely not $18. And definitely not long term. I would love to transfer within my current company but the closest NOC is halfway across the country, and from what I've heard they aren't very supportive of field techs trying to get out of the field into different roles. I'm also going to start talking to the IT guys I deal with at my job, try to build some connections, get some advice. Cheers! zeldadude fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Dec 18, 2023 |
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2023 00:01
|
|
|
What do you want to optimize for? If it's starting salary, WFH, work/life balance and long term total comp it's programming IT can be a stepping stone to programming Network engineer is a good option, there's a clear will defined career path and you can get your Cisco certifications or whoever does them now etc
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2023 02:52
|
|
|
if you're going down the it route pop in to the it thread to say hi https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3653857
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2023 03:23
|
|
|
zeldadude posted:Programming seems cool as a hobby but I'm having a hard time seeing myself doing that 8+ hours a day. If only. After the hours you spend in meetings, arguing with PMs and dealing with annoying clients, 4 hours is a good day.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2023 09:57
|
|
|
Mega Comrade posted:If only. After the hours you spend in meetings, arguing with PMs and dealing with annoying clients, 4 hours is a good day. If I'm in an office I average 2.5 hours coding after meetings and firefighting, and it isn't sustained because of context switching.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2023 18:44
|
|
|
Mega Comrade posted:If only. After the hours you spend in meetings, arguing with PMs and dealing with annoying clients, 4 hours is a good day. One of the biggest misconceptions people have about being a software engineer is that they think it's head down 8 hours of code while wearing sunglasses and listening to techno (not really but you get my point). The amount of meetings, project roadmapping, work refinements, tracking down information, meetings, and meetings you are involved in is a wake up call to most new engineers. It's an extremely collaborative profession and you'll need to learn how to talk to business leadership. I'd say that it varies between me coding between 2 and 4 hours a day.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2023 03:16
|
|
|
It also depends on your role and company size. I will never go back to seed stage startups, but I was averaging ~ 7.5 hours a day of programming with 0.5 hours of meetings, and it’s an experience everyone should try.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2023 05:28
|
|
|
Hell…there are many WEEKS where I don’t code a total of 8 hours. It has been less and less coding as I move up the engineering levels.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2023 05:37
|
|
|
rally posted:Hell…there are many WEEKS where I don’t code a total of 8 hours. It has been less and less coding as I move up the engineering levels. This too. The tech leads at the company I work at code very very little. Almost fully removed from team-based delivery.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2023 12:35
|
|
|
My last job I was in a company with 60-70 engineers and about half my week was meetings as a senior/lead role New job we're the "engineering department" with 5 engineers and everyone is working on a dedicated thing. We have a sprint kickoff meeting on Monday and then two weeks later we have a sprint retrospective. That's it.  every day is heads down deep work day 
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2023 22:45
|
|
|
I'm also trying a career change. University is public where I live so as I work I'm slowly going through a computer engineering degree, which had always been my plan b before I went into academia and noped out after finishing my degree. (I'm 26) That has been great for logic, algos and data structures, although I'm still probably 1-1.5 years from being at the ideal "employable" point in the degree (most entry level stuff here is directed at "advanced students" of CS-related degree programs and whatnot), but my courses are clearly not concerned with preparing me for what I'll be doing on a daily basis or for what development-type work involves. So I'm trying to also work on the Odin Project and some udemy courses I bought on React, Node.js and JavaScript. The idea is to bring a github online with a few basic projects and hopefully with that manage to get something (acknowledging that jr. hiring is poo poo worldwide at the moment). I've posted about this a few times throughout the forum (I think I've probably asked in threads like these at every step from "I'm not sure if I want to do a PhD" to "How do I get literally any IT job as fast as possible") but a few posts up the discussion on programming vs frontend made me want to ask for any more specific advice. Like should I also be grinding certs right now or is that something I should do later on once I have a github I can present on a resume? Like Hadlock mentioned, I basically would like to start in frontend and continue to educate myself and see if I would rather be doing more backend, engineering-type work. I was in a molecular biology lab doing bioinformatics stuff on cancer patient datasets basically using Python and R for my undergrad, and did a basic but funded machine learning project with engineering students during the pandemic as well and it would be cool to leverage a mixed background in biology and computer science at some point in the future, but right now I'd be happy with any soulless entry level development job Tosk fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Jan 10, 2024 |
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2024 20:30
|
|
|
You're getting a degree in a related field, that seems better than any cert. It also seems like you're on the right track. You could look into contributing to an open source project once you learn the basics of React in addition to your other projects, so you get used to larger codebases and making PRs. Also you can grind the tech interview on the side since that can take months and months, but the first order of business is to get a resume that can land the initial phone screens.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2024 23:52
|
|
|
Is it standard to sign an NDA for an interview where you may look at the company's code? Any particular tricks I should look out for? This is for a senior (but not founder/C-level) position at a startup.
|
|
#
?
Jan 11, 2024 14:50
|
|
|
StumblyWumbly posted:Is it standard to sign an NDA for an interview where you may look at the company's code? Any particular tricks I should look out for? While I've never heard/seen that, I must say I'm impressed that they're so confident in their code that they're showing it to potential employees. Either they're amazing or high on their farts.
|
|
#
?
Jan 11, 2024 15:12
|
|
|
StumblyWumbly posted:Is it standard to sign an NDA for an interview where you may look at the company's code? Any particular tricks I should look out for? Don't work for free.
|
|
#
?
Jan 11, 2024 15:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 04:49 |
|
|
Or code something byzantine which means they pretty much have to hire you. I've heard of NDAs in interviews but it's rare. Probably not a red flag by itself but the NDA should be pretty specific and otherwise boilerplate. If they don't hire you its really unlikely they could pursue anything unless you actually steal something. The idea of "We'll get this candidate to do actual production work" I feel is mostly apocryphal outside of creative work. Tosk posted:Like Hadlock mentioned, I basically would like to start in frontend and continue to educate myself and see if I would rather be doing more backend, engineering-type work. I was in a molecular biology lab doing bioinformatics stuff on cancer patient datasets basically using Python and R for my undergrad, and did a basic but funded machine learning project with engineering students during the pandemic as well and it would be cool to leverage a mixed background in biology and computer science at some point in the future, but right now I'd be happy with any soulless entry level development job Build a good github, have your examples actually be live in the world. That's probably the best. I also would be surprised if actually all the entry level jobs are requiring advanced CS degrees. I hire in Europe and, at least where I've hired, that hasn't been the case. I am wondering if your maybe not looking at the right jobs. Based on what you're saying I'd think you may be qualified for a (kinda crappy but paying ok) entry level frontend CRUD job already, completing the CS degree would still probably be a good idea but something you could do while making money, getting experience, and getting the first, frequently crappy job out of the way.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2024 01:24
|
|