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Well to be a good software engineer, you need patience. You need an ability to sit on your butt for days/months and design and write code. But the good part is that it is easy to try out. Not sure why you seems to be thinking for a long time. Just pick up a book or an on-line class on anything you are interested in and start doing exercises that they require. The exercises tend to grow in complexity so you should get an idea if you enjoy programming in a couple of weeks. You will also see if you have an insuficient math backround etc... If you do enjoy it, you can find an open source project to which you can start contributing. Once you do enough of that, you can get an hourly contractor job.
Thank you for the replies. The biggest issue for me usually has been time management. I felt like I needed to spend a minimum 30 minutes (ideally an hour) per day working earnestly towards learning the code, but I always found I would do it for a few days and life would ultimately get ahold of me (my day job, pursuing my college degree, wife and life, etc). I've been doing an online web development course (much setup like a bootcamp) for about a week now, but it's still covering high level stuff that is pretty simplistic. I hope I'll have the time to do more of it, as I think it will be a good estimate of whether or not I want to keep working on learning this after I am finished with the course (course is about 3-6 months depending on the time you can spend with it).
Sometimes I think I'm just more attracted to the "culture" and "allure" of programming more than programming itself which does worry me a bit. Like I said I mesh well with other development type of people, and most other jobs I've worked I've always felt a bit isolated, like I really didn't fit in with that crowd. I feel like I fit in with the IT crowd, but unfortunately that's not the way my life has pushed me yet and I haven't really tried to get on that path. I guess for now I'll just try to complete this bootcamp and see where it leaves me.
OP, reading your posting feels just like your user name- a ''grimace''-something forced, unpleasant, not natural to you, something you think you ''should or ought'' to do for some reason.That tone right there could answer your question of ''is it for you?''
I'd say no, because deep in your heart of hearts you really aren't drawn to it nor do YOU even seem to think you'd like it or be good at it.
Honestly, I have no clue what these jobs are. LOL I only read the post because I was curious as most of my apartment building neighbors are ''software developers''.
They drag their butts in here at all hours looking exhausted, bored, and carrying laptops and lunch bags. Then they stand out in the courtyard at all hours talking on their cell phones or playing on their tablets.
Doesn't seem like much fun to me but guess they're making a living.
I hope you find your niche in this world. You have a lot to offer, so keep plugging away and good luck! You will find your way and you've gotten some great advice here.
The big plus in your situation is that you are relatively young, have dabbled in various different professions (so you know what you don't want), have recently completed your BS in Accounting AND finally decided to pick (and hopefully launch) a career. However, we don't know yet if IT or programming is your thing. That is yet to be determined.
If I were you, I would go with the best thing you've got going for you, which is the accounting degree and your recent experience it that field. I am not in accounting but accounting could be really interesting if you pair it with a particular specialty or in a niche. You mention your interest in finance, and that is where I recommend you focus your attention on. One random particular niche that just came to me off the top of my head is "hedge accounting". This is very niche, and obviously only very large corporation will have need for it, but not boring at all! There are many niches like that in accounting.
But my point is that, I would launch my financial analyst career with my BS in Accounting degree starting point, with the goal to eventually end up with a gig with a title of something like Corporate Finance Analyst, in Financial Planning. BTW look it up and see if it is something that appeals to you.
Sounds like you need to get back into project management. Would give you an opportunity to work with the IT crowd and maybe open some doors for development work down the road.
I do know this, accountants work in a large variety of settings and do a large variety of job descriptions: non-profits, military, health care, education, local and Federal government, banking, real estate, hospitality, insurance, entertainment, retail, e-commerce, sports industry, manufacturing, etc.
Everybody needs accountants in their business structure! The ''world is your oyster'', OP!
The big plus in your situation is that you are relatively young, have dabbled in various different professions (so you know what you don't want), have recently completed your BS in Accounting AND finally decided to pick (and hopefully launch) a career. However, we don't know yet if IT or programming is your thing. That is yet to be determined.
If I were you, I would go with the best thing you've got going for you, which is the accounting degree and your recent experience it that field. I am not in accounting but accounting could be really interesting if you pair it with a particular specialty or in a niche. You mention your interest in finance, and that is where I recommend you focus your attention on. One random particular niche that just came to me off the top of my head is "hedge accounting". This is very niche, and obviously only very large corporation will have need for it, but not boring at all! There are many niches like that in accounting.
But my point is that, I would launch my financial analyst career with my BS in Accounting degree starting point, with the goal to eventually end up with a gig with a title of something like Corporate Finance Analyst, in Financial Planning. BTW look it up and see if it is something that appeals to you.
I've been looking for Financial Analyst or FP+A jobs, but no luck so far. Accounting positions seem much more plentiful and easier to get into, (have had a great response to my applications), but the Financial Analyst type roles seem much more stringent with requirements and generally harder to get hired for. Having done responsibilities in both Finance and Accounting though, I definitely like the Finance side more. There is more analysis, problem solving, and strategy, which is right up my alley and really something I enjoy doing. For now I was going to keep gaining new Accounting/Finance experience while I try to figure out things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by usamathman
Sounds like you need to get back into project management. Would give you an opportunity to work with the IT crowd and maybe open some doors for development work down the road.
Interestingly Project Management was not the right fit for me!! I always thought I would enjoy and be good at the job, but I quickly realized I didn't like it at all after getting hired as a Project Manager at a Web Development firm. Too much interaction with clients, and the job felt too intangible to me. I felt so busy, but couldn't really see what I was getting done. It was just like I was moving sheep around the farm all day from different points in order to get things done, and for lack of better words, I really disliked it. I liked being the guy in the background actually being the one getting things done. All I kept thinking when I was a PM was how I would like to do the tasks I was assigning and moderating, plus have some say in how they were done. All and all, not the right fit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FeelinLow
I do know this, accountants work in a large variety of settings and do a large variety of job descriptions: non-profits, military, health care, education, local and Federal government, banking, real estate, hospitality, insurance, entertainment, retail, e-commerce, sports industry, manufacturing, etc.
Everybody needs accountants in their business structure! The ''world is your oyster'', OP!
This has been the nice thing I've noticed about Accounting so far. There are jobs everywhere. My last two jobs were in manufacturing and I really disliked it, but I sometimes think if maybe I found a role in software/entertainment it would be a much better fit for me.
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I also wanted to add one more thing about my fear of not being cut out to do programming. I think that I may be psyching myself out because I remember I felt similarly very scared before I took the plunge to pursue my sound design career. Lo and behold, once I started training and working at it, it actually came quickly once I actually put the time towards it (I went to a technical school for audio engineering). I graduated top of my class and had a great internship before I even graduated. It's a shame that career never took off, but I just could never secure a FTE position after my internship. I worked as a permatemp at my internship company for 2 years, then took a variety of contract and freelance work over the next 3 years. I had more final on-site interviews than I can even count at this point all over the country, but I never could get that offer! I still have my passion for sound design and do some side work every once and awhile, but I realized I needed a more steady and safe career to pay the bills and what not. Maybe I'll fall back into it someday, but it's a rough industry.
The point is, I thought about doing one of those bootcamps since it would force me to put the time towards it, but I'm unsure if I really would want to put the money down for it at the current time.
Without a bootcamp or CSCI degree...you will have an extremely difficult time finding an entry level gig.
If you search the forum you find many threads from people on this topic.
Getting an entry level job in development will be the most challenging step.
I say.....
(1) focus web language (PHP, JavaScript, Ruby etc) or on learning a regular object oriented language (Java or C#).
HTML/CSS are a good supplement if you decide to go the web development route.
(2) Purchase the book...."Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions". CSCI interviews
are almost always very technical in nature. Especially for entry level positions. You will need to spend time preparing.
(3) Go to meetup.com and find a couple of meetup groups in your area that focus solely on software development / programming. There should be several if you live anywhere near a major city. Attend the meetings....network...and ask as many questions as you can.
Other than that....it is up to you to figure out what you want to do. Nobody can make the decision for you. Just know that the longer you wait the more difficult the journey will be.
Consider enrolling in a coder bootcamp. They are all over the place. Some last a few weeks. Some last a month.
Price tag can be heavy...but the experience you gain from those camps will be more valuable than any you can get from an online class.
Guarantee you that you will have a much clearer idea of what you want to do after attending one of those camps.
I thought omaba was pumping them through at tax payer expense???
Consider enrolling in a coder bootcamp. They are all over the place. Some last a few weeks. Some last a month.
Price tag can be heavy...but the experience you gain from those camps will be more valuable than any you can get from an online class.
Guarantee you that you will have a much clearer idea of what you want to do after attending one of those camps.
I'm thinking about it, but it will be a big commitment for me to make so I want to think it through first. The nice thing about a lot of these camps though is surprisingly high job placement rates which is almost a bit shocking to me. Quite a few boast 95% employment rates in software development at least as a junior developer. Some of the camps seem so confident in their ability to teach you to code and be job ready they will refund tuition if you can't find a development job within 6 months or something. I'm sure there is some fine print with policies like that, but it still seems very promising.
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