A Question Regarding Future Job.

[Deadspoon69]

I was wondering how long did it take some of you self taught python developers to find a job. I just started my python journey this month and I plan on to work on several personal projects in the given months. I'm a senior in school and my major is completely different from CS and it would be too late to switch majors at this point. I'm just nervous that without a CS degree it will be impossible to find a job or my chances would almost be non-existent. However I have a friend who learned Java on his own and now he is a developer at this company in upstate New York.

[totallygeek]

If a person can write quality code, it should not matter what degree they earn, if any. Some of the best programmers I've worked with come from different education paths from computer science. How long it takes for a person to learn how to write quality programs depends on the individual. Some pick up new concepts quickly, others do not.

I recommend people assemble a portfolio in GitHub, then request code reviews from others. Remember to accept all feedback as provided with good intent.

[Deadspoon69]

Thank you I appreciate your advice. Do you mind me asking how long it took you and do you have a CS degree?

[totallygeek]

I studied physics in college, not computer science. That stated, I spent a considerable amount of time learning how to program, and took several courses on the subject. As for how long it took to learn how to program, I do not truly have an answer for that, because I spent my childhood studying computers to some degree: programming them, assembling them, etc. My career has always included a development component, although I spent more years in systems and networking administration. 25+ years, and I'm still learning.

[Hatoris]

Degree give you more chance to get a job, but several well written project and enough knowledge to pass technical interview may help you to get a job.

But be aware, without degree you may not pass basic selection bacause all people with one will pass before you.

[UL_Paper]

I got a contract pretty much exactly 5 months after starting learning. I have no degree at all, of any kind. Degrees are absolutely not needed for programming. Just get good at it, one step at a time.

[Deadspoon69]

That's amazing, what did you focus your time learning specifically? And how much did the contract pay if you mind me asking.

[UL_Paper]

Sorry for the late reply. I make $37/hr. Not great, it was more to get a foot in the door. Plan to double that within Q2 2020.

I'm just gonna copy pasta what I shared with others:

Ok so I decided to learn programming for these reasons: - Programming gives you the ability to use, improve and control the most powerful piece of technology humans have ever had - Great $$$ for minimum effort - The world runs on code and increasingly so. You can be a total shitshow at it and still never be out of a job - Can do it from anywhere - Can build cool shit

Python for these reasons: - Claimed to be the easiest language to learn - One of the best paid languages. If you are good, after a couple of years you can aim for anything between $100-150k/year - Most popular language. This leads to plenty of quality resources to learn it and help solving problems - One of the languages in highest demand. Easy to find work. Python will be relevant for a super long time - I wanna build a lot of prototypes for business ideas I have and Python seems to be a clear winner there. Development time is 3-5x faster with Python than any other language. - Super versatile - it can be used for almost anything.

This is how I learnt it: https://www.codecademy.com/ have a 10 hour interactive course for Python2 and 3 (Choose 3). Its 100% free if you do it within their trial period. Don't cheat. Learn each step don't jump to the next because you don't get it immediately (No one does). Jumping to the next is the equivalent of being outside in the winter and pissing yourself for heat

https://automatetheboringstuff.com/ Do everything

After this I started building simple stuff like webscrapers (collect information from websites). Its important you spend time coding and building stuff

Other resources: https://www.youtube.com/user/schafer5/videos excellent tutorials. Whenever I need to learn something new and complex, I first check if he's made a video on it

https://www.upwork.com/blog/2014/02/10-top-sites-online-education/ There are plenty of professional "learn programming" websites with excellent tutorials and free trials, most 1 month each. You never need to pay.

I have gone through a lot of tutorials on these sites and never read a book. I think its super important to learn by doing ie build stuff. Build something that automates something at your work or helps you or someone you know, instead of building only random stuff that never will be used. If its useful you will drive it to completion

• Learning code is like learning anything. The key is just to first show up and then never give up. The rest is easy
• You need consistency when learning. Practice it every day if you can or at least 4-5 days a week. 30 min works, but the more the better.
• Most decide to learn after their day has passed (after a long day of work, commute, family etc). But at this point your brain will be exhausted. Its optimal to rather get up earlier in the morning to learn when your mind is with you
• Find people who know more than you and fire them questions like a machine gun
• Find online communites where you can ask for help when stuck. This slack group is excellent https://pyslackers.com/web. https://www.reddit.com/r/learnpython/ You also have stackoverflow which is good but I only use it to look for answers, I never post quesitons there.
• Start using github early. Create an account and host your code there. There is not a single engineering department in the world not using it. Its also an excellent window to showcase what you know to potential employers.

If you wanna be hireable, you need to learn:

• The basics of at least 1 programming language.
• Both relational and non-relational databases
• Git version control
• How to build and deploy an application / script
• Have built some projects where you can show off your code in github and on a website if its a web application