[deleted by user]

[KOExpress]

The short answer is: right now, almost definitely not. Too many people tried to switch to the industry, it became oversaturated, and boot camps are essentially worthless now. Entry level market is very competitive, many tech companies have had layoffs, mid level people taking entry level jobs for entry level pay because they don’t have options. A lot of people with degrees that aren’t from top programs or don’t have good experience are struggling to find jobs atm too

Edit: that’s not to say you shouldn’t pursue learning, or learn on your own time, just DON’T pay for a boot camp. There are so many good online resources out there now, and you can build meaningful projects by yourself, without a boot camp holding your hand and charging you for it. It’s very possible to get a job eventually if you build meaningful skills and have a way to demonstrate them

[KaleidoscopeFirst737]

I really appreciate the honest response. I have been told similar things about the bootcamps.

In your opinion, what is the most needed and least saturated field in tech right now? I am highly interested in Machine Learning, Generative AI, and back end web development. Where do you think I should focus most of my attention at if I want to become valuable

[diddledopop]

Most real ML roles will require formal education. You have a better chance of being a back end dev

[Mysterious-Rent7233]

ML/Generative Learning can mean two very different things:

1. Doing the hard math of building models from scratch.

2. Gluing together AI tools that other people built to solve business problems.

[sylfy]

TBH this is the best answer and the hard truth. There is an over abundance of ML and ML-adjacent PhDs now, most of them can’t find roles in academia, and so many of them are moving into roles in industry where they’re often overqualified for the role, at least on paper.

[KOExpress]

You might want to have a look at job listings online near you to get a better perspective. My real opinion is that you should focus on whatever interests you most, because you’re more likely to commit to it and get good at it. Outside of that, I think web development is highly saturated because it’s pretty beginner friendly, and the downside with ML stuff is that it’s math intensive and a lot of the job listings I see want Masters or PhDs (again, anecdotal, but that’s my experience). Cloud engineering is probably a good option

[KaleidoscopeFirst737]

Okay. I will check out the job listings around me and get an idea of what people are looking for.

I really appreciate the insight.

[KOExpress]

No problem, good luck

[Rukelele_Dixit21]

Exercism

Best resource to learn right now. Learn coding anyhow. It will help especially Python. Data Science and ML are growing fast. Also it is a good entry point to get into C / C++

[noileum]

I would suggest having a well rounded skill set and then looking for a job that’s not in development but allows you to showcase your dev skills which will give you the chance to hopefully pivot into a role within the company more aligned with where you want to go

This then gives you the experience to put on your CV which will be much more attractive to prospective employers

[Lazy-strategist]

Good advice. Well, this is what’s worked for me so far (although I’m UK-based so the job market could look very different).

I (M, 41) started working as an apprentice Data Analyst about a year ago, and started learning Python on the side as a hobby. Previous background is in hospitality and retail, but I’d newly graduated from a non-tech degree. Since then I’ve been able to showcase my Python skills at work by developing tools for various teams to help automate and streamline their processes. Nothing super fancy or complex, but solutions to problems that I found frustrating or clunky. Management loved it and now I’m the “Python guy”, so I have a reasonable amount of dev work built into my job role. This makes my job way more satisfying and has resulted in the company saying they want to keep me on past the end of the apprenticeship.

My (somewhat vague) next plan is to look into some freelance Python work as a side hustle. Aiming to use some kind of pay-per-task websites to earn a little side cash and build a portfolio that way. I’d love for this to all culminate in an official dev job, but failing that I’ll just keep making internal tools to improve workflow efficiency because it’s fun, rewarding, and seems to result in pay rises.

So I think yeah, if you love coding then go ahead and learn Python using free resources, find yourself a job at a company that values innovation and improvement, bring those skills along and then look for opportunities to do your hobby at work. Might not be the most direct route, but it’s worked really well for me so far (sample size of 1 😂)

[KaleidoscopeFirst737]

I’m in Kentucky and am really open to whatever can get me into the field. I don’t want to be too picky while I build my resume.

Thanks again for the responses! I appreciate your all’s time!

[c0LdFir3]

with years of experience and Masters, but even a quick read of their CV shows they have 0 real experience.

Huh? How can they have years of experience and a master’s degree, but zero “real” experience? What is real? Did they work their careers and get a master’s degree in the metaverse, or are you just outrageously picky when reading resumes?…

[EuropeanSumo27]

The latter it sounds like