Wake Tech for Web Developer program?

[just800]

Originally Posted by rubelru

First, I think burn out around age 40 is normal in any industry. Most people feel something like this around mid-life one way or another, so you might consider riding it out before doing anything too drastic. In a tech field, you won't have anywhere near the job stability you've enjoyed so far in health care. Every time the stock market dips, the layoffs come and the roller coaster effect alone can wear you out. In good hiring climates like right now, tech probably seems tempting, but there's a dark side too.

A career change is a huge decision, and to be perfectly honest I think that leaving the comparative stability of health care behind for anything software development related at age 40 is an unnecessarily risky move. You'd be "entry level" at an age where folks are either very experienced and at their peak earning years, or they are feeling burnout after 15-20 years and looking to escape the industry rather than enter it. I think getting a foot in the door at an age where you have "real" salary requirements (unlike a 20 yr old intern) and need to make a living is either going to be hard to find, or is going to find you inserted in some very stressful situations that take advantage of your limited options.

Also be aware that software development in general has a reputation for a very high burnout rate, much more so than other professions. You mentioned enjoyment of graphic design, but that is a very different role than anything requiring actual development. You also mentioned wanting to avoid salary cut -- development jobs usually pay well because very few people will stay in them for very long without high pay! Most of the high paying jobs require you to mentally juggle insane amounts of complexity, deal with expectations and deadlines set by people who don't know what they are doing, and an endless list of other stress factors. There are exceptions to that, but in those cases salaries are usually high because the person has been doing it for 20 years, has been at the company for a while, etc.

If that hasn't discouraged you yet, here is some good news: there are an incredible amount of resources on-line (courses, tutorials, e-books) that will get you much farther down the road than any curriculum, but more importantly they will give you a chance to see if you will even enjoy doing it before you invest too much time or money elsewhere. What's more, they will help you figure out if you have the inner "self-starter" required to succeed in this industry. A surprising number of people seem to need a teacher or classroom environment to motivate them to learn something new, and they never make it as a software developer, you have to be willing to go out there and figure things out yourself. I would recommend spending at least six months in this self-taught mode to figure out if you have the passion or not.

Wake Tech is not a bad option at all for taking some courses, assuming the courses are stretched over appropriate some length of time (it's been proven that "rapid learning" doesn't work, you need to assimilate the material slowly over time for proper cognitive development to take place). If the goal is to quickly get a certification that makes you "employable", there is no short-term training solution that will help with that. A certificate in programming, added to an existing bachelors degree if you have one, might be a helpful addition to your resume, but that alone won't get you a good salary or even a foot in the door. The real value of a bachelors degree is to show that you can commit to, stick with, and get closure on a task over the long-term, and that you've had some exposure to a variety of subjects. So, I wouldn't rule out Wake Tech for taking some courses but I would not rely on it as your entry point into the world of programming either.

Is there some way you can leverage your health care experience and carve a path into IT simultaneously? That could be a major win, because whatever you do in health care has given you experience that most IT people working on health care related systems will not have, and there is a serious shortage of cross-over subject matter experts in pretty much every industry. Someone who knows enough about the technical side to communicate with the technical people, but has the industry experience to see things from the product customer standpoint.

That's the path I would look for if I were you. If done right, it could land you a nice salary in a position you could both contribute existing experience to, and learn new things at the same time.

I would completely ignore the "boot camp" type options that claim to fast track you. Useless, and provide less than you can find for free or very low cost on-line.

Wow..... thanks for the insight and your thorough response. Very helpful. These are definitely things to consider. That's why I got on here to get advice, suggestions, and input. All have been very useful.

[newbee2]

Originally Posted by just800

Is Wake Tech a good option for a web developer program? Burnt out in healthcare and actually considering a career change at 40 ....web development has been an interest and wondering if Wake Tech is a good option. I love graphic design as well but I think that would be a big salary cut. Feedback??

Have you looked at UNC coding bootcamp.

https://codingbootcamp.unc.edu/

[odisn]

Originally Posted by just800

Thanks Francois. Before I got to the bottom I was already wondering if you knew of programs in the area. I haven't looked into NCSU but I believe UNC has a Health Informatics Master's, and certificate I believe I just haven't heard many people talk about or reviews. I have had thoughts of completely leaving healthcare but something along the healthcare analytics would probably be a safer move with the ups and downs in computer/web development and programming.

McKimmon Center for Extension & Continuing Education | Technology Training Solutions

[Francois]

Originally Posted by just800

Thanks Francois. Before I got to the bottom I was already wondering if you knew of programs in the area. I haven't looked into NCSU but I believe UNC has a Health Informatics Master's, and certificate I believe I just haven't heard many people talk about or reviews. I have had thoughts of completely leaving healthcare but something along the healthcare analytics would probably be a safer move with the ups and downs in computer/web development and programming.

That Health Informatics Master's is through the program I went through, Information Science, and it's a 2-year program but very interesting (Info Sci--they were just talking about adding a health Informatics concentration when I was there). I think I've read about the Certificate you mention, but I believe it is only good as an add-on to grad students already enrolled in other programs.

If you want to keep working full- or mostly-full time and take some classes, look into the NCSU, Wake Tech, or even somewhere like William Peace. I concur with those who say do not try to learn programming in a "crash course", because it's a very sink-or-swim environment in the IT world...they typically resist hiring a new person until the workload gets so overwhelming, the current employees are revolting, meaning you'll "hit the ground running" and your co-workers, while they may be friendly, will be too overworked to spend a lot of time with you training. Almost all training and learning new skills in programming is done on one's own or while figuring out a work project. Good luck!

[CapitalBlvd]

Originally Posted by Francois

That Health Informatics Master's is through the program I went through, Information Science, and it's a 2-year program but very interesting (Info Sci--they were just talking about adding a health Informatics concentration when I was there). I think I've read about the Certificate you mention, but I believe it is only good as an add-on to grad students already enrolled in other programs.

If you want to keep working full- or mostly-full time and take some classes, look into the NCSU, Wake Tech, or even somewhere like William Peace. I concur with those who say do not try to learn programming in a "crash course", because it's a very sink-or-swim environment in the IT world...they typically resist hiring a new person until the workload gets so overwhelming, the current employees are revolting, meaning you'll "hit the ground running" and your co-workers, while they may be friendly, will be too overworked to spend a lot of time with you training. Almost all training and learning new skills in programming is done on one's own or while figuring out a work project. Good luck!

You are so right, Francois.

After graduating from my postgrad at NYU, Mobil assigned me to work for a guy who had a drinking problem and left me on my own.

Luckily, I was prepared and found a horrendous error in the specs I was given.

Programming is only for those with tremendous drive and tolerance for frustration.

My second supervisor told me how she tormented herself for weeks debugging a really difficult bug. She could not sleep thinking of how to solve the weird issue in this COBOL program.

Good luck.