Clint Of All Trades

Self-teach? Go to a bootcamp? University? Bachelors degree? Masters degree?  When you want to learn software development, there are many options. Which should you choose? It depends...   Grade School & High School If you're in high school or younger, take the self-teaching approach! You have time. You're curious. You don't need the quickest path. You should take the most fun path. Mark Twain once said "Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The best coders are the ones who love coding. This will set a good foundation for enjoying your career. Take any classes available at your school and extend those learnings on your own. If your school doesn't have any classes (or you've taken them all), find some online tutorial classes. YouTube and blogs are great for this. Udemy , Lynda , Coursera , etc may have cour ses in areas that interest you. Books are also great, if they fit your learning style. L...

I dumped 9 years (not including school) into a career I hoped I would like, but did not… how could I know a software engineering career would be any different? Changing careers is a risk. A lot of time. A big commitment. Here is what I would recommend. Fail Fast There’s a principle in startups & tech called “fail fast”. It's not that you WANT to fail, but if something is destined to fail, you want to figure that out as soon as possible to avoid wasted time (like my 9 years).  You should approach career considerations similarly.  Here are some questions to help you succeed or fail fast in software engineering: Does the tech industry EXCITE you? And by “excite”, I’m not talking about financially. There are many other careers that earn as much or more than tech. Do you like the idea of working with code and building software systems? Are you an entrepreneur and like the opportunity that coding opens up for your ideas. When you use software, do you think both: “...

Great question. There’s really no one answer. But I do have some perspective. Is it an awesome industry? Absolutely! The tech sector is surprisingly good to its employees. At times, it's as ridiculous & fun as Silicon Valley episodes make it seem (depending on the company & team).  Off the top of my head… Nerf wars are commonplace. Offices are dog-friendly (although “accidents” during meetings can be awkward). There are lots of company events involving free food and drinks. Not uncommon are company trips to tropical destinations. Lot of bonuses for travel, sporting-related equipment & activities, conferences, etc.  Most people would be surprised at what a good developer looks like . Cultural stereotypes are NOT a good litmus test. I’ve seen some very nerdy people who are very bad developers. I’ve seen some non-traditional software developers who are exceptionally skilled.  Software development - coding specifically - is definitely not for every...

Feeling Stuck & Unclear?  I spent almost a decade in a non-tech career. I had done well, but hated it. It was time for a change... but how? Going back to the University would be great... if I had that kind of time or money, but I had missed that window in life. I was eager to become a software engineer, but there was no clear roadmap. The web had plenty of stuff to sell me with big promises, but it was pretty easy to see the snake-oil behind the wrapper. How do I move forward assuredly? Without a roadmap, it was hard to tell if I was spending my time well or throwing it away. I didn't have "extra time" to be throwing away. These we re some of my questions. I'm now on the "other side", having transitioned successfully and quickly. I get asked about my transition often, so I have laid out my successful approach to help others (like yourself?) get "un-stuck" too. Getting Un-Stuck If you can get a degree in Computer Science (CS), DO THA...