I'm currently in my final year of college (computer science). Our course started with Java (a relatively easy and comfortable starter) and Assembly and moved on from there, with some pitiful lecturers are times. By FAR, the best experience you can gain is from practical work. Theory is good, but always as a precursor to sitting down and running through code, getting bugs, mashing in print statements and then understanding how and why things fucked up the way they did.

If you're still "beginning" then it might comfort to know that for me and a lot of people I know, the experience started with cluelessness and an eventual 'clicking' that came from fucking around with simple programs until we understood what it all meant. Programming is a giant abstraction that you just need to get your head around - the rest falls into place with experience.

If you're not already doing regular exercises/projects it'd probably be best to get a book or series of online tutorials and write the recommended programs in them. Ramp up the difficulty level over time i.e. start with the basics and move onto more complex algorithms, file access, etc.


As far as "currently in demand" goes, it mightn't be a bad idea to learn PHP/SQL and associated stuff - getting freelance jobs that come from the ever increasing "web 2.0" shite. PHP's apparently similiar to C/C++ (and Perl) and SQL is pretty easy to get your head around (a defined standard where you just throw commands at it). Both are popular and free (for SQL look at MySQL). The only downer on this note is the sometimes necessity of a portfolio/demonstrable previous work.

mr.arrison wrote:

Kayte R. wrote:user interface design

the UX people I know are RICH MOTHERFUCKERS- this seems like a highly lucrative field to get into.

I'm talking 35 year olds that are raking in like 200k a year. It's even more lucrative to consult/freelance!

I think it is because many websites and applications suck and are hard to use/navigate. Good UX design build heuristics into application and web design, and that sells a company website as much as the content or design.

I'll second this. My job is really fucking easy and pays pretty well even though I'm still kinda on the low end of the scale for this kind of work.

You kind of have to have a knack for design to do it though, and reading a few books on "user-centric" design doesn't hurt.

Java is making a big comeback, but it's being used to design the back-end logic for large-scale business enterprises rather than the browser-side applets it was originally intended for. Java 2 has been optimized for this kind of work and it actually functions surprisingly well on the server-side. Its easy syntax and cross platform capability makes for great flexibility. Our department can get a basic application through development and testing within a few weeks.

J2EE developers are always in demand and the pay is surprisingly good, If you're interested, get a book on core Java basics, then download the MySQL database and learn how to connect to it, manage sessions and do queries (SQL is extremely easy). The Peachpit Press Visual Quickstart Guide ought to be enough to get you a good running start with MySQL.

mr.arrison wrote:

Kayte R. wrote:user interface design

the UX people I know are RICH MOTHERFUCKERS- this seems like a highly lucrative field to get into.

I'm talking 35 year olds that are raking in like 200k a year. It's even more lucrative to consult/freelance!

I think it is because many websites and applications suck and are hard to use/navigate. Good UX design build heuristics into application and web design, and that sells a company website as much as the content or design.

This is what I do. Okay, a little more broad -- information design for the web. I am not a rich motherfucker. Now you know one who isn't.

Fucking yeah about many applications and websites sucking at usability, this has something to do with the client most of the time, I assure you. There is always some nephew of the boss or an equally irrelevant loud mouth who is only pleased if every piece is above the fold or etc. etc. Have you seen the new site for Windows Mobile? Notice how they never show the application in a phone... hm, I wonder why not.

I recommend lots of Edward Tufte, on that front. Excellent, though not without his flaws here and there.

Anyway, back on topic, what do people think about Rub/Rails as a first language? It seems to promote really good practices, especially object-oriented-ness (OON?) just by the way its structured. My first language is... well... Processing. Its pretty much build on top of Java, to make all the visual stuff easier to access.

garble wrote:Anyway, back on topic, what do people think about Rub/Rails as a first language? It seems to promote really good practices, especially object-oriented-ness (OON?) just by the way its structured. My first language is... well... Processing. Its pretty much build on top of Java, to make all the visual stuff easier to access.

I'm presently picking up Ruby/Rails at the moment. I'm struggling a bit - but it could be because I was doing Java for so long. I personally think PHP is a bit easier to pick up. I would say give it a try, but don't get frustrated if it doesn't sink in overnight.

scott wrote:oh, and I took exactly one computer-related class in college (a semester of C++, at an art school). professional programmer for years now. go figure. things don't always make too much sense. in my case, they recognized that the way I solve problems, and the way I ask questions as appropriate, these make for a good programmer guy. they can say "here's the question we need an answer for... how can we address this question?" and I come up with the best, most defensible way to answer it, and then make it happen.

Unfortunately, the days that an employer would give a job to just any script kiddie with a killer app and a killer attitude are long past. These days they want people to have four-year degrees PLUS ten years experience in languages that have only existed for five years. Though maybe I shouldn't go just by what I see on monster.com. At the very least, someone just getting into the field isn't getting anywhere without a minimum of an Associate's degree and/or some certifications.

That's just how I see it as someone just starting out; my impressions could be inaccurate.

A decent portfolio with some nice, clean, intuitive and functional websites will get you farther than a bunch of buzzwords on your resume. However, a good sprinkling of the right buzzwords will get your resume noticed quicker.

You should also at least be aware of and be able to converse intelligently during an interview about a few of the hot current/emerging technologies. That shows that you're "forward-thinking" and like to stay on top of new developments in the industry.

I deal with fortran libraries on a semi-regular basis. There are a ton of libraries for High energy physics still written in fortran that nobody has wanted to port back to c++ or java or something so we just call the code from c++. I know a lot of professors that still program in fortran, some of them don't want to switch because they have been doing it forever. These people need an introduction to the past 20 years of programming.

as for programming, Java is kind of cool. Ruby on rails is pretty sweet, shell programming is always fun, c++/c always gets the job done, scheme sucks, lisp is the toolbox, MATLAB is a pain to switch back to, maple can be awesome, fortran is ghetto, assembly is the pwnz, basic is basic, and labview is by far the most awkward, nearly user friendly language.

Also, embedded programming fucking sucks. Atmel chips are cool. I'm not sure whether I hate SH4 processors or the FPGAs on some of our electronics.

install linux and learn c++/c and shell programming and be more productive with your life.

labview:

As far as computing goes, I think there are few skills more awesome than being able to open up a text editor, bang out a quick shell script, save and run it, then sit back watch your computer carry out a complex series of tasks in multiple applications automatically.

But then, I'm a fucking nerd so go figure.

Colonel Panic wrote:You should also at least be aware of and be able to converse intelligently during an interview about a few of the hot current/emerging technologies.

One word: plastics.

mr.arrison wrote:

Kayte R. wrote:user interface design

the UX people I know are RICH MOTHERFUCKERS- this seems like a highly lucrative field to get into.

I'm talking 35 year olds that are raking in like 200k a year. It's even more lucrative to consult/freelance!

I think it is because many websites and applications suck and are hard to use/navigate. Good UX design build heuristics into application and web design, and that sells a company website as much as the content or design.

That's cool. I'm probably not going to work for a company though, I'm planning on getting a doctorate and then doing cool shit in academia, possibly in the exciting realm of digitally delivered courses/degrees. I worked in that department as an undergrad, and now I'm about to start working in that department of my current university as well (so I'll have 5+ years experience by the time I graduate). It won't make a lot of money but academia rules, especially for women as well as people who are not the cutthroat competitive types.

But if all that fails I'm starting a sandwich shop.