Software skills in demand.... (Houston: top, jobs, development)

[Jink]

Originally Posted by Austin97

I have an EE also and have only done software.

are you satisfied with what you're doing? what do you work with mostly? c/c++?

[beowulf77]

Hey Jink here's my lang/platform history:

BSEE from UT then
VB 5.0/Some maintenance FORTRAN/Some maintenance C++ w/ defense contractor for 2 yrs
C++ 1 yr with telecomm (then 2000-2001 telecomm bust happened)
Java/C++ 2 yrs with startup (failed, interesting concept/experience though)
C#, Embedded C++ 2 yrs contract work (theater work opp below came up after contract expired)
VB.NET/C#/SQL 3yrs with theater company (financials/backend/b2b)
C++/Embedded C++ w/ defense contractor last 4 yrs, old buddy from first job gave me an opportunity of a lifetime, couldnt pass it up

All in all I think the EE has served me well. The defense contractor in particular really likes EE's for their software. I think next step I will either go C# or more embedded C++. I like that .NET lets you focus on implementation as opposed to fighting over types/utility functions/etc with other groups. But that problem could just be a function of the size of this company. Many people like to do things many different ways here so we end up butting heads/reworking stuff that should be mundane. Utility-type stuff. Of course half the guys like working in Visual Studio (myself included) but should bite the bullet (which I did, eventually... ) and work in our linux environment instead so we don't have to port everything we try to integrate. But with this company there is no enforcement and everyone just does whatever they want. Frustrating at times.

Learning/experience in C++ was my first career goal. Because I figured once you get your head around that you can pretty much learn any of them. Then I touched on Java, C# or whatever was required of the job. Of course you can also take the approach of specializing in one language or in the case of .NET, a foundation, just learn the syntax differences between VB.net and C# and you are good to go.

This subject brings out very strong opinions at times, this is just my 2 cents.

[Jink]

Originally Posted by beowulf77

Hey Jink here's my lang/platform history:

BSEE from UT then
VB 5.0/Some maintenance FORTRAN/Some maintenance C++ w/ defense contractor for 2 yrs
C++ 1 yr with telecomm (then 2000-2001 telecomm bust happened)
Java/C++ 2 yrs with startup (failed, interesting concept/experience though)
C#, Embedded C++ 2 yrs contract work (theater work opp below came up after contract expired)
VB.NET/C#/SQL 3yrs with theater company (financials/backend/b2b)
C++/Embedded C++ w/ defense contractor last 4 yrs, old buddy from first job gave me an opportunity of a lifetime, couldnt pass it up

All in all I think the EE has served me well. The defense contractor in particular really likes EE's for their software. I think next step I will either go C# or more embedded C++. I like that .NET lets you focus on implementation as opposed to fighting over types/utility functions/etc with other groups. But that problem could just be a function of the size of this company. Many people like to do things many different ways here so we end up butting heads/reworking stuff that should be mundane. Utility-type stuff. Of course half the guys like working in Visual Studio (myself included) but should bite the bullet (which I did, eventually... ) and work in our linux environment instead so we don't have to port everything we try to integrate. But with this company there is no enforcement and everyone just does whatever they want. Frustrating at times.

Learning/experience in C++ was my first career goal. Because I figured once you get your head around that you can pretty much learn any of them. Then I touched on Java, C# or whatever was required of the job. Of course you can also take the approach of specializing in one language or in the case of .NET, a foundation, just learn the syntax differences between VB.net and C# and you are good to go.

This subject brings out very strong opinions at times, this is just my 2 cents.

Fantastic. Just what I was looking for. Can't believe all of that was required out of an EE and not a CE! Only problem with me is that I've been doing this job for the past ~3 years and if I really wanted to go do something more software-oriented, it'd be extremely difficult considering the fact that 1) I have lost touch with it for so long and 2) I don't have much experience in it professionally. I'll definitely be dancing around these languages for a while until I'm confident enough in them.

[Trainwreck20]

From an old friend of mine that has both taught college and been a programmer for years:

I'm about to start interviewing college students who will graduate in December. Of the 19 applicants so far, only 3 have gone to high school in the US. And people complain about companies hiring foreign workers. Well gee, I can’t even find enough US citizens with computer skills and NO EXPERIENCE to even have a sufficient interview pool.

This is in the Houston area, and he says the pay and number of programmer jobs there are better than they were 4 years ago.

[Jink]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

From an old friend of mine that has both taught college and been a programmer for years:


This is in the Houston area, and he says the pay and number of programmer jobs there are better than they were 4 years ago.

I believe I heard from somewhere that a lot of these companies are seeking people with the skills they need from other states (mostly California). If it's really that difficult to find someone, it'll definitely be a lot easier for me to transition.

I might look for a weekend position at a company to get the professional experience I'm looking for and even a foot in the door just in case I want to make the big switchover for good.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Jink

are you satisfied with what you're doing? what do you work with mostly? c/c++?

I mostly did C/C++ and Java. Around 10 years ago I stopped coding to run my own company. I have recently started doing ruby (on rails) development for a fun side project. Ruby is such a new language if you can teach yourself ruby you may be able to get jobs quickly because there is almost no competition and even the experienced people only have 5 years or so of experience. This was the way it was with Java. I started programming java when it was still in alpha, so when people wanted 1 year of experience hardly anyone had it.

Most startups are using ruby vs. enterprise software using C/C++ and java. Ruby projects at this point are just more fun. It will take about a month to be somewhat competent and probably about 6 months to be generally useful and probably 2 years to be an expert.

Contract ruby developers are making a minimum of 100/hour

[Tycho Brahe]

Originally Posted by Jink

Houston has a strong tech following and is known internationally as one of the major tech-centric cities.

Houston is NOT known for its tech scene. Name me one major conference held in Houston. Austin has a far greater reputation internationally.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

Houston is NOT known for its tech scene. Name me one major conference held in Houston. Austin has a far greater reputation internationally.

Houston's "tech scene" is overshadowed by oil and gas, but it is probably better than you think. BMC Software, one of the largest ISVs, is headquarted in Houston, and employs perhaps 2,000 there. Houston was the home of Compaq, now HP, and many people in Houston work for HP. Many other mid-sized software companies like NetIQ, Progress (Datadirect), etc. Some of the company names have disappeared via acquisitions (an example is Pentasafe).

For straight IT work - Houston is a very good location because so many large companies are located there. And all of them have thousands of servers, some mainframes, and big networks that need to be managed.

[Tycho Brahe]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Houston's "tech scene" is overshadowed by oil and gas, but it is probably better than you think.

I never said that Houston does not have a tech scene, just that it is not internationally known. Then again, not even nationally.

[Pulzar]

100/hr minimum for Ruby developers? You know that for a fact, or are you estimating? Seems awfully high for something any decent programmer can pick up in a month. Maybe that's what top experienced guys can ask for?