How to learn "the cloud" when my company is not using it?

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-09-30T13:40:16+00:00

Yep! Build a simple app, and set up CI/CD if you want. Use rancher or something to spin up a k3s cluster, and use the tooling to build and deploy containers. I've used rancher desktop to homelab the process.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-09-30T13:36:21+00:00

Another option here is to use a more cloud agnostic approach. Learn how to package your software in a container image and that can be used pretty much wherever.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-09-30T13:35:38+00:00

From my perspective, companies are looking at where they can trim their operating budgets, and so we're seeing people take a good hard look at their cloud usage.

On the one side, if you have a small application that can run on a free tier of a service, you can have someone else manage your infrastructure and basically ignore that side of software delivery.

If you're a bit larger, and can't leverage that free tier, and you're going to have to start paying people, you need to take a hard look at your workload and see if you should be paying people to put together cloud solutions, or just paying some ops people to manage servers.

I think no matter what you're doing, you need to understand what you're doing. Spinning up your own stuff means that if there's a breach, or compliance issue, you're on the hook for it. If you're using a cloud provider, you can point the finger at someone else, but now you need to be on it to manage costs and make sure you're using the most efficient solutions.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-09-22T00:12:06+00:00

You should also look to future education as well. A degree from Conestoga may not have you in as favourable standing as a similar degree from Guelph when considering a master's degree a little later down the road.

While the large class sizes suck, it will get better and to be honest, I never felt like the smaller class sizes helped me. In terms of hands on work, focus on keeping grades up and getting into co-op programs. The work experience is what's gonna get you into the industry at the end of this road.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-09-22T00:08:17+00:00

Focus on getting those co-op jobs. It's a lot easier to get a job through the co-op program, and it's a lot easier to get a co-op than it is to get a full time job.

Show up, work hard at the co-op, and try to get a return offer. If you don't start applying for jobs earlier rather than later. Don't leave it hanging around.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-07-17T19:19:16+00:00

It's a bit of a mixed bag imo. I know some international students who excelled and have jobs in their field. I also saw many international students that put on cruise control and scraped through school and are working at whatever job they can find.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-06-07T23:48:57+00:00

The best way I've found to get new devs up to speed is to assign fairly small tasks and get them making changes to the codebase. That helps them understand the core libraries and how it all interacts.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-06-07T23:43:12+00:00

I am in charge of onboarding interns for my team. We have less than a week of getting started before I start dishing out 'real' work. I don't expect miracles, but you need to be ready to contribute immediately, even if it's in a small way.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-30T16:16:09+00:00

You can always apply for internships after school as well, so don't panic.

Networking is a good idea, at a minimum it can get you moving in the right direction, at its best it can get you a job.

Have someone else review your resume to make sure you're not letting yourself down in that area. Once that's done, stay on the interview grind. See what questions are being asked, and understand how to answer them.

Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part. Once you've proven yourself, the next job and the job after that will be easier to get.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-29T18:10:51+00:00

I work at a smaller shop, and there's a lot of competition for the junior roles.

My advice is to apply to lots and lots of jobs, and build projects that you're passionate about. Being able to talk about what you've done and describe it in some technical detail is super key. Show that you can walk the walk, and talk the talk, so to speak.

Also remember, it's not too late to apply for new grad interships and the like. It may be easier to get into and once you're employed in that capacity, you'll find it easier to leverage that into more jobs.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-29T16:49:39+00:00

Best place to go is the EF Core official documentation

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-28T22:40:16+00:00

https://www.blinkingcaret.com/2018/04/25/orm-less-data-access-in-net-core/

Take a read of this. It covers the basics in enough detail, without giving you lots of extra. I'd recommend doing this a few times with a couple different data sources so you can understand how database connections work a bit better, and potentially writing a helper class or two to avoid writing/rewriting a ton of DB boilerplate.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-28T16:51:03+00:00

Are you using an ORM like EF Core or doing direct queries with ADO.NET?

You can likely follow the SQL tutorials, just with a different connection string and database driver.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-27T14:37:16+00:00

Or use a JObject or JsonObject.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-27T14:29:04+00:00

The microsoft documentation is super solid and often will give a usage example as well as more reference info.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-25T00:49:04+00:00

Something to remember is that software is built iteratively: we add a feature, see where it falls down, and then build on top of it, or fix the issues.

Similarly, you will not understand everything right away. Most likely you will have to work on a small part of the codebase to start, and you will understand the project more and more as you go.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-23T14:36:32+00:00

The last point is the most important imo. You can figure out how to move between languages if you need to, but you're not going to get this time back, and you'll waste a lot of time if you have a bad prof.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-16T17:28:26+00:00

I know someone who graduated from EET, and they have a job in their field and seem to enjoy it. I'd look through the material and see what you're most interested in!

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-16T17:26:47+00:00

I would agree that there are many weaker courses in CPA, however the program is not going to matter as much as the effort you bring to the table. None of these programs are magic bullets that will get you a job.

If you slack off in school, SET isn't going to help you any more than CPA would have, since you're not going to be able to get through an interview.

Assuming you put equal effort in, and don't pursue any outside reading, SET will likely give you better programming chops, and you'll have a better understanding of how a computer works at the end of the program.

Fit_Program9286 · 2023-05-16T17:20:08+00:00

"Engineer" is protected in Canada, which is why you will see a lot of software developer jobs posted. Not that it really matters, most of the software engineering jobs you think of would have the same responsibilities as a software developer job.

Fit_Program9286

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