There's also Khan Academy CS and MIT Open Courseware, and a zillion others. For self-motivated people those are the best. But none of them offer an actual human being to talk to.
There's also Khan Academy CS and MIT Open Courseware, and a zillion others. For self-motivated people those are the best. But none of them offer an actual human being to talk to.
There is Stack Overflow and certain other communities for questions and problems, but still a gap in long-term mentoring.
There is Stack Overflow and certain other communities for questions and problems, but still a gap in long-term mentoring.
Stack Overflow can answer very specific questions when you have a specific problem. It can't help you when it comes to broader conceptual understanding.
Pretty much every other field is saturated. It's even beginning to be difficult to find good work as a math/science teacher, and that was always one of the easy fall-backs, because there was always a math/science teacher shortage. Not anymore. Well, to qualify it a bit for Cremlian, who loves to dispute me, I'll just say that it's harder now than ever to find work as a teacher - even though it's still POSSIBLE - it's just harder. Also, with all due respect to GreatTeacherMacRoss, who would want to be a teacher? I have taught on and off at the high school and college levels at different points in my life, and rarely found it very rewarding.
In general I like your post.
I too am a teacher. Like GreatTeacherMacRoss, I actually want to be a teacher. I love it, am passionate about it, and find it very rewarding. There are a lot of people like us out there, I figure. In our state, this is in a field where you need a masters to even be eligible. That said, there is a good chance that a large percentage of applicants around here are really dedicated to teaching. I'm sure there are a number of people who get into it for the wrong reasons and end up horrible, bitter husks, but it's still a big investment around here! It's too expensive and time-intensive to be called a 'fallback.'
"Possible, but harder" is very naively optimistic, and it's not the 'fallback' mentality that has ruined the market. States are cutting budgets and that necessitates layoffs. Attrition is high as well. NYC's district has had a hiring freeze on most teaching fields for the last 2 years. Two years worth of masters graduates have not gotten jobs. There are hundreds of applicants to every job. It's not just harder--it's almost impossible. And yet the hundreds have enough dedication to it to keep trying even though they all know it's almost impossible.
You're right about the whole, "doing more for less" thing. I am amazing (and lucky) enough to have secured a full time job teaching art to adults with Cerebral Palsy, but it is not a school position and it is therefore significantly underpaying me for my level of education. Yet compared to the thousands of aspiring teachers, I'm incredibly lucky. It doesn't feel like a fallback job that's 'harder to get into' now. It feels like a prize to be coveted.
TUTORING on the other hand is easy to find work for, and it pays well. Don't misconstrue tutoring for actual teaching. Tutoring may be easy to get and pay well, but you can rarely get enough to compare to a full time teaching position.
Actually I'm still serious about giving this a try. If anyone wants a free lesson in any of the following:
Computers from the ground up Git Amazon Web Services Linux using/administrating LAMP stack administration/configuration programming in Python, or other languages I know HTML, CSS, JS Something else I'm really good at that I forgot to list.
I've heard of this before. Seems too good to be true. What's the catch?
Performance...
After going through a development cycle where we tried to do something similar and at one point tried to use PhoneGap. HTML5 "apps" are nothing new. You can create a web wrapper in obj-c in 5 mins and deploy it as an app. But you have to deal with Mobile safari's poor javascript performance. Versus obj-c which is highly optimized and very snappy.
We ended up going Google Web Toolkit.
Anyone want HTML lessons? lol
Actually I'm still serious about giving this a try. If anyone wants a free lesson in any of the following:
Computers from the ground up Git Amazon Web Services Linux using/administrating LAMP stack administration/configuration programming in Python, or other languages I know HTML, CSS, JS Something else I'm really good at that I forgot to list.
I am very interested in learning Git. I use svn day to day.
Actually I'm still serious about giving this a try. If anyone wants a free lesson in any of the following:
Computers from the ground up Git Amazon Web Services Linux using/administrating LAMP stack administration/configuration programming in Python, or other languages I know HTML, CSS, JS Something else I'm really good at that I forgot to list.
Dude, do a Youtube series. "How Not To Suck at Computers, With Scott."
Actually I'm still serious about giving this a try. If anyone wants a free lesson in any of the following:
Computers from the ground up Git Amazon Web Services Linux using/administrating LAMP stack administration/configuration programming in Python, or other languages I know HTML, CSS, JS Something else I'm really good at that I forgot to list.
Dude, do a Youtube series. "How Not To Suck at Computers, With Scott."
That's vastly more difficult than you would think because you have to integrate the white board and also the computer screen and also the user following along on their computer and such.
I am interested in the linux course myself and could do a weekend spot if one is available.
Also interested. I worked in a server room for 2 1/2 years. I can get around a *nix shell and perform installs and configurations for LAMP and mail. But i feel like there are large gaps in my knowledge.
This has been a topic that has come up with my friends a lot in recent months, as there have been layoffs and other nastiness (like having to work twice as much for 0 more pay) recently.
I don't have a ton to add that hasn't already been said, but I can share my own experience even though some would argue I'm not in a strictly IT field (mostly I just get on coders' nerves). Learning to write or, at least, read code is a huge skill to have. It means that even if you don't think you'd qualify for a job as a developer, you can work in an ancillary position to support developers. This could be as a tester/QA person, higher-tier support person, or even technical documentation.
Additionally, while most jobs won't train you from 0 skill, most companies seem to understand that you'll learn more about their particular application of coding concepts on the job, so just being able to show that you can learn new skills and have an aptitude for project management/coding will put you ahead of a lot of other people.
Finally, the anecdote. When I got out of college it was with a Criminal Justice degree although I had already decided against going into law enforcement or law school (and I didn't want to start over in a CS degree as that would incur more debt). However, growing up as I did I knew a lot about computers anyway (ranging from back in DOS and having to modify .ini files and such manually) so I got the first job I could working with computers - selling them in Circuit City.
From there, I kept applying to "real" computer jobs (tier 1 help desk jobs, every software company's entry level job I could find) and eventually landed a poorly-paying job doing cold-calling for a software company. Stuck with that for about a year, after which I managed to get a "promotion" to their support division.
I strongly believe that anyone who has an interest in technology but no practical/resume skills should look into a support job. I was lucky that our customers rarely had a true IT department despite having complex software purchased, and our support department was "tier-less" meaning that you stuck with your cases forever. This means that I got to spend a lot of time troubleshooting everything from software issues to server and network issues remotely.
And eventually I got out of support and moved into my current position, since I had enough background exposure to coding and troubleshooting to work as more than just a simple tester.
Sorry for the text wall, but hopefully it helps illuminate what it's like to have a "career" in IT stuff without a CS degree or coding background.
Whoever is actually serious send me an e-mail and schedule a time for your free one-hour lesson. If you are satisfied we can arrange cash money payments for more lessons.
Whoever is actually serious send me an e-mail and schedule a time for your free one-hour lesson. If you are satisfied we can arrange cash money payments for more lessons.
Whoever is actually serious send me an e-mail and schedule a time for your free one-hour lesson. If you are satisfied we can arrange cash money payments for more lessons.
How about bartering for goods?
Of the knitted/crocheted/crafted kind? =P
We can work out exact pricing on an individual basis when the time comes. I'm like the Iron Monkey. The same medicine that costs the brothel owner a small fortune is free for the peasant.
I've done the "work my way up from the mail room" crap (aka QA for games) that SquadronROE was talking about and I ended up doing extremely specialized scripting and light coding (for AAA games) but it was pretty much entirely learn as I go type of work and 100% not applicable at any other company. Then I lost my job and had to start over from scratch.
Now I'm thinking of getting out of games and into normal software QA. When applying for an IT/CS job, do coders put together some kind of portfolio? Is it based entirely on how well you can use jargon correctly during the interview? I've seen postings that say "Knowledge of CSS, JavaScript and .NET required" but I have basic coding knowledge (Python mostly) and I have the ability to find pretty much anything about any of those to solve problems as I encounter them. What can I do to prove that, while I'm not a walking encyclopedia of languages, I have the ability to adapt and apply knowledge. Are there projects you guys do to get familiar with languages?
Is it based entirely on how well you can use jargon correctly during the interview?
Not even close. Every place does interviews differently. Some places will make you write code or pseudo code. Some places even make you do little homework projects before applying. For example https://www.facebook.com/careers/puzzles.php I tend to just talk to people, and I can tell how much technical understanding they have just through conversation. It's incredibly hard to fake true technical understanding.
Are there projects you guys do to get familiar with languages?
I've also said this a bajillion times. Once you learn to program you should be able to just pick up any language and start using it for real, immediately. Just grab a reference guide to look shit up while you work.
Also, despite so many people claiming to be interested, it seems that nobody was actually serious enough to e-mail me.
Also, despite so many people claiming to be interested, it seems that nobody was actually serious enough to e-mail me.
In relation to that i dont know how i should contact you privately. Should It be a conversation in the forum or do you prefer email.
I've said twice now to e-mail me. Are you trying to make the funny? If not, then I don't know how well tutoring will go if you don't read every word and follow directions precisely.
Actually I'm still serious about giving this a try. If anyone wants a free lesson in any of the following:
Computers from the ground up Git Amazon Web Services Linux using/administrating LAMP stack administration/configuration programming in Python, or other languages I know HTML, CSS, JS Something else I'm really good at that I forgot to list.
I am probably at/near the same level of proficiencies with everything but Git and the Amazon Web Services. But I would be willing to provide feedback/assistance if interested.
I've done the "work my way up from the mail room" crap (aka QA for games) that SquadronROE was talking about and I ended up doing extremely specialized scripting and light coding (for AAA games) but it was pretty much entirely learn as I go type of work and 100% not applicable at any other company. Then I lost my job and had to start over from scratch.
Now I'm thinking of getting out of games and into normal software QA. When applying for an IT/CS job, do coders put together some kind of portfolio? Is it based entirely on how well you can use jargon correctly during the interview? I've seen postings that say "Knowledge of CSS, JavaScript and .NET required" but I have basic coding knowledge (Python mostly) and I have the ability to find pretty much anything about any of those to solve problems as I encounter them. What can I do to prove that, while I'm not a walking encyclopedia of languages, I have the ability to adapt and apply knowledge. Are there projects you guys do to get familiar with languages?
Everybody does it differently. There are different work cultures, different priorities, different styles and purposes. And who looks at your resume and who conducts your interviews will matter. Some people really like buzz words and name dropping, others try to "break" you or test you to the n'th degree of knowledge - I'm of the opinion you should avoid both of those if you see it coming. Some other companies focus on whether you fit into their own social network, which can be good or bad, but you'll have to make a personal judgement call.
The more information you can get beforehand the better. In the Facebook example Apreche linked, that seems like a "good" form of testing someone's various skills. I say "good" because it's communicated up-front. I think it would be bad-form to suddenly surprise somebody by asking them for a textbook definition of polymorphism, or to hand-write syntax in a particular language, or to suffer through a reality-television-style adventure.
I agree with Scott that web development (especially mobile) and designers/typographers are really in demand right now. It seems that, as CMS's mature, companies are looking for more and more specialization. For example, 90% of what I'm doing right now is ExtJS/Sencha Touch, and I get solicited by Drupal recruiters every week because I used to work with it.
As for lessons, I'd love to learn some of the more advanced *nix administration things. I can navigate around a LAMP server, but I think I'm still a novice. Same with git. Two tools that I use every day, that I really should learn more about.
It's not that difficult. It's a SQL implementation, Do you mean administering a psql server or just learning how to mine the db engine for data? It's not too much different from MSSQL or MySQL. Go learn DB theory and then pick up the particulars as you go!
Comments
I too am a teacher. Like GreatTeacherMacRoss, I actually want to be a teacher. I love it, am passionate about it, and find it very rewarding. There are a lot of people like us out there, I figure. In our state, this is in a field where you need a masters to even be eligible. That said, there is a good chance that a large percentage of applicants around here are really dedicated to teaching. I'm sure there are a number of people who get into it for the wrong reasons and end up horrible, bitter husks, but it's still a big investment around here! It's too expensive and time-intensive to be called a 'fallback.'
"Possible, but harder" is very naively optimistic, and it's not the 'fallback' mentality that has ruined the market. States are cutting budgets and that necessitates layoffs. Attrition is high as well. NYC's district has had a hiring freeze on most teaching fields for the last 2 years. Two years worth of masters graduates have not gotten jobs. There are hundreds of applicants to every job. It's not just harder--it's almost impossible. And yet the hundreds have enough dedication to it to keep trying even though they all know it's almost impossible.
You're right about the whole, "doing more for less" thing. I am amazing (and lucky) enough to have secured a full time job teaching art to adults with Cerebral Palsy, but it is not a school position and it is therefore significantly underpaying me for my level of education. Yet compared to the thousands of aspiring teachers, I'm incredibly lucky. It doesn't feel like a fallback job that's 'harder to get into' now. It feels like a prize to be coveted.
TUTORING on the other hand is easy to find work for, and it pays well. Don't misconstrue tutoring for actual teaching. Tutoring may be easy to get and pay well, but you can rarely get enough to compare to a full time teaching position.
Actually I'm still serious about giving this a try. If anyone wants a free lesson in any of the following:
Computers from the ground up
Git
Amazon Web Services
Linux using/administrating
LAMP stack administration/configuration
programming in Python, or other languages I know
HTML, CSS, JS
Something else I'm really good at that I forgot to list.
After going through a development cycle where we tried to do something similar and at one point tried to use PhoneGap. HTML5 "apps" are nothing new. You can create a web wrapper in obj-c in 5 mins and deploy it as an app. But you have to deal with Mobile safari's poor javascript performance. Versus obj-c which is highly optimized and very snappy.
We ended up going Google Web Toolkit. I am very interested in learning Git. I use svn day to day.
I don't have a ton to add that hasn't already been said, but I can share my own experience even though some would argue I'm not in a strictly IT field (mostly I just get on coders' nerves). Learning to write or, at least, read code is a huge skill to have. It means that even if you don't think you'd qualify for a job as a developer, you can work in an ancillary position to support developers. This could be as a tester/QA person, higher-tier support person, or even technical documentation.
Additionally, while most jobs won't train you from 0 skill, most companies seem to understand that you'll learn more about their particular application of coding concepts on the job, so just being able to show that you can learn new skills and have an aptitude for project management/coding will put you ahead of a lot of other people.
Finally, the anecdote. When I got out of college it was with a Criminal Justice degree although I had already decided against going into law enforcement or law school (and I didn't want to start over in a CS degree as that would incur more debt). However, growing up as I did I knew a lot about computers anyway (ranging from back in DOS and having to modify .ini files and such manually) so I got the first job I could working with computers - selling them in Circuit City.
From there, I kept applying to "real" computer jobs (tier 1 help desk jobs, every software company's entry level job I could find) and eventually landed a poorly-paying job doing cold-calling for a software company. Stuck with that for about a year, after which I managed to get a "promotion" to their support division.
I strongly believe that anyone who has an interest in technology but no practical/resume skills should look into a support job. I was lucky that our customers rarely had a true IT department despite having complex software purchased, and our support department was "tier-less" meaning that you stuck with your cases forever. This means that I got to spend a lot of time troubleshooting everything from software issues to server and network issues remotely.
And eventually I got out of support and moved into my current position, since I had enough background exposure to coding and troubleshooting to work as more than just a simple tester.
Sorry for the text wall, but hopefully it helps illuminate what it's like to have a "career" in IT stuff without a CS degree or coding background.
Of the knitted/crocheted/crafted kind? =P
Now I'm thinking of getting out of games and into normal software QA. When applying for an IT/CS job, do coders put together some kind of portfolio? Is it based entirely on how well you can use jargon correctly during the interview? I've seen postings that say "Knowledge of CSS, JavaScript and .NET required" but I have basic coding knowledge (Python mostly) and I have the ability to find pretty much anything about any of those to solve problems as I encounter them. What can I do to prove that, while I'm not a walking encyclopedia of languages, I have the ability to adapt and apply knowledge. Are there projects you guys do to get familiar with languages?
I tend to just talk to people, and I can tell how much technical understanding they have just through conversation. It's incredibly hard to fake true technical understanding. I've also said this a bajillion times. Once you learn to program you should be able to just pick up any language and start using it for real, immediately. Just grab a reference guide to look shit up while you work.
Also, despite so many people claiming to be interested, it seems that nobody was actually serious enough to e-mail me.
The more information you can get beforehand the better. In the Facebook example Apreche linked, that seems like a "good" form of testing someone's various skills. I say "good" because it's communicated up-front. I think it would be bad-form to suddenly surprise somebody by asking them for a textbook definition of polymorphism, or to hand-write syntax in a particular language, or to suffer through a reality-television-style adventure.
I agree with Scott that web development (especially mobile) and designers/typographers are really in demand right now. It seems that, as CMS's mature, companies are looking for more and more specialization. For example, 90% of what I'm doing right now is ExtJS/Sencha Touch, and I get solicited by Drupal recruiters every week because I used to work with it.
As for lessons, I'd love to learn some of the more advanced *nix administration things. I can navigate around a LAMP server, but I think I'm still a novice. Same with git. Two tools that I use every day, that I really should learn more about.
EDIT: You know what I want to learn? PostgreSQL.
I see a pattern here >>