Ideal Software position for beginners

[Paramedic12]

For those in software development/engineering what do you think is the easiest type position for a beginner? QA, front end, VOIP? How did you learn? Boot camp, online tutorials, traditional courses?

[davewill]

There's no particular discipline for a beginner. You need to look for what interests you, not what's easiest. I'd start with online tutorials until you figure out what area suits you best. Try web front end programming, embedded, and databases in turn. You'll need some knowledge of all of them, anyway.

Once you have decided you would be good at it, then consider spending money on formal instruction.

Whatever you do, don't run out and plunk down for an expensive bootcamp as a rank beginner.

[bjcheung77]

My recommendation and take would be to get the basics under your belt, what I mean is the beginner's programming languages of choice - I would choose C, C++, Java, Python as these four are the ones most used at the current time. Here are some FREE resources you may be interested in as they are a small part of what I am reading.

You want the "basics" before you jump forward, for example, if you are a teacher and want to change careers or something. If you are into IT certifications, the following would also be a stepping stone to the bigger leagues. I highly recommend reviewing what's available on Khan Academy/Udemy (when there are FREE courses being offered for Intro to Programming, etc) See below:

Free Code Camp: https://www.freecodecamp.org/
W3schools Web Developer Tools: https://www.w3schools.com/
SoloLearn Code: https://www.sololearn.com/
Code Academy: https://www.codecademy.com/
C++ Resources: Learn C++ - http://www.learncpp.com/
C++ Tutorials - http://www.penguinprogrammer.co.uk/c-beg...roduction/
C++ Videos - https://thenewboston.com/videos.php?cat=16&video=17477

Example IT Certifications: CIW SDA, LPIC-1, ISC2 SSCP > Microsoft MCSA Server > ISC2 CISSP
CompTIA IT Fundamentals, A+, Net+, Security+, Cloud+, Linux+, Project+, CSA+, CASP
Cisco CCENT, CCNA: R&S, CCNA: Security, CCNA: CyberSecurity, CCNP: Security, CCIE: Security

[jsd]

Example IT Certifications: CIW SDA, LPIC-1, ISC2 SSCP > Microsoft MCSA Server > ISC2 CISSP
CompTIA IT Fundamentals, A+, Net+, Security+, Cloud+, Linux+, Project+, CSA+, CASP
Cisco CCENT, CCNA: R&S, CCNA: Security, CCNA: CyberSecurity, CCNP: Security, CCIE: Security

Software devs shouldn't be wasting their time with these certifications. Only one of them has anything to do with development and it is completely useless and unknown in the industry.

[Paramedic12]

Example IT Certifications: CIW SDA, LPIC-1, ISC2 SSCP > Microsoft MCSA Server > ISC2 CISSP
CompTIA IT Fundamentals, A+, Net+, Security+, Cloud+, Linux+, Project+, CSA+, CASP
Cisco CCENT, CCNA: R&S, CCNA: Security, CCNA: CyberSecurity, CCNP: Security, CCIE: Security

Software devs shouldn't be wasting their time with these certifications. Only one of them has anything to do with development and it is completely useless and unknown in the industry.

Would you recommend a front-end boot camp? There’s a 16 week front-end program in my city that looks interesting. The program is a little expensive at 3,900 but it would be worth the investment if I truly enjoyed the program and landed a web dev job

[akr680]

Example IT Certifications: CIW SDA, LPIC-1, ISC2 SSCP > Microsoft MCSA Server > ISC2 CISSP
CompTIA IT Fundamentals, A+, Net+, Security+, Cloud+, Linux+, Project+, CSA+, CASP
Cisco CCENT, CCNA: R&S, CCNA: Security, CCNA: CyberSecurity, CCNP: Security, CCIE: Security

Software devs shouldn't be wasting their time with these certifications. Only one of them has anything to do with development and it is completely useless and unknown in the industry.

Would you recommend a front-end boot camp? There’s a 16 week front-end program in my city that looks interesting. The program is a little expensive at 3,900 but it would be worth the investment if I truly enjoyed the program and landed a web dev job

Instead you can join Treehouse.

If it is Data Analytics then I heard Data Quest is best

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[posabsolute]

look at the percentage of graduates that actually get a job if you decide to do a bootcamp. Online there is also this: https://www.udacity.com/course/react-nanodegree--nd019

There are many types of developers, one advices I would give you is that if you are looking at a software position don't take a QA position. It feels to me it's very hard to get out of QA as far as what I saw in actual companies..

[jsd]

Would you recommend a front-end boot camp? There’s a 16 week front-end program in my city that looks interesting. The program is a little expensive at 3,900 but it would be worth the investment if I truly enjoyed the program and landed a web dev job

I would recommend starting with various free options to get your feet wet, learn fundamentals, and see what actually interests you before throwing any big money at a bootcamp. There were some free options listed already, or you can for paid options like Pluralsight which are still a whole lot cheaper than a bootcamp (and easier to switch up to something different if you get involved in something that's not for you)

[davewill]

Would you recommend a front-end boot camp? There’s a 16 week front-end program in my city that looks interesting. The program is a little expensive at 3,900 but it would be worth the investment if I truly enjoyed the program and landed a web dev job

Not until you try some learning on your own. You might find you hate it...or you might be a natural and be able to just run with free options. You might find you like programming, but not front-end stuff.

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There are many types of developers, one advices I would give you is that if you are looking at a software position don't take a QA position. It feels to me it's very hard to get out of QA as far as what I saw in actual companies..

One note on a QA position is that you will make contacts with engineers, and the company might be willing to foot the bill for education.

[bjcheung77]

@akr680 - I noticed you've changed your signature.  Have you started taking courses at COSC yet?  If not, I highly suggest continuing with getting your BS SD at WGU completed with as many transfer credits as possible.  Then when you're done, you can go for the WGU MS ITM or MBA ITM.  Instead of forking out $ for two COSC courses, the capstone/cornerstone, use that $ towards the Masters at WGU.  

The reason you were going for the BSBA at COSC is because you need a "4 year degree" to get into a Masters as that BBA wasn't evaluated as a 4 year degree.  You can use your WGU BS SD as that 4 year degree for entry into a Masters, thus bypassing the COSC BSBA requirement and saving you energy/money/time!  Note: COSC BSBA would be a duplicate of your BBA, I did read your previous post here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid299323

For WGU, I recommend them if you're going for a degree in Business, IT, Nursing or Teaching as that's all they offer, the main difference is, they're not test-out but competency based. The max transfer is up to 90 credits before you enroll. If you can finish in a term, it's under 4K/term - I actually really recommend them for grad school as they are exclusively online vs a state university or if you're going for a Bachelors/Masters combo.

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@jsd - LOL, good point, I agree that most certifications aren't necessary for Software Dev.  I noticed they still have the CompTIA & CIW certs available for the WGU BS SD degree, I would have thought they may have changed the lineup of courses from last year...

Anyways, I look at things with a bigger picture, kinda like to future-proof thing or as a backup plan, etc.  I mentioned it just in case "pelican didn't like" continuing with software programming/web development, and may want to go into the Linux or Networking/security/hardware side of things.  That would be a change in the direction of IT....thus the certs recommendation, and it's just that, the OP can decide if it's worth the energy/money/time if there are any extra needed...

We're on the same wave-length, we like to use some of our time to learn things, complete courses that interest us and get college credit on our company's tuition reimbursement (for me it's just certifications). Just like you who would like to get a higher degree in Psychology, I would love to go for a Phd in Biology as that's my first choice of study but it's not something practical in my position, and obviously life plans change...

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@pelican - On some forums such as DegreeInfo, DegreeForum, InfosecInstitute (previously known as Techexams) I tell people to work on 3 things, degree, experience and lastly, certifications.   I think you already have a Bachelors degree, you may want to do a WGU BS SD (Software Development) and get that done in 6 months, vs spending about the same amount on a boot camp when you can get those skills learned "free/cheap".   Prob cheaper/easier/faster and has better value to get the degree.

Now to get the experience, you're actually going to have to work a bit harder, as you will spend at least 6 months working on the "cheap/free boot camps" and also getting your WGU courses completed.  You're gaining the knowledge by putting your hands/mind to work, all the while getting a college degree to back up your experience you're gaining.

Certifications I'm referring to are from WGU and are included in the cost of tuition for most if not all of them, that's the main reason I would recommend certs for people going for one WGU's degrees. If it's bundled into the degree, great. If you can get the certs free from work, that will do as well... For me, I don't get tuition assistance/reimbursement for school, but I do get reimbursement for business/it exams as long as I pass.

Side note: Some WGU courses are similar in nature to IT certifications but the certs are not required for the course, if your employer pays for the cert, you can just get the extra cert along with it.   The only way to by-pass the course is to either transfer them in as a course or certification in their transfer tables.  You may want to take a look at WGU BS CS as 4 of the certifications overlap.  See link to WGU Certs Link: https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/it...tions.html