How To Gain Hands-on Experience in-Information Technology
When it comes to the Information Technology Industry, getting more hands-on experience is one of your most important professional development activities.
In this post, I will explain how information technology workers including business analysts, computer programmers, database developers, data analysts, project managers, software testers and infrastructure / networking professionals can gain extensive, high visibility, career defining hands-on experience!
More Opportunities To Get Hands-on Experience
By far, the number one place to find hands-on project experience in the information technology industry is in web or software development projects!
How To Earn Significantly More Money, When Your Career Hits a Plateau!
Have you you reached a plateau in your career?
If you have, consider becoming a contractor.
As a contractor, you may earn significantly more money (20% to 50% more) and you will find more challenging work for your skill sets.
In this post, I will show how you to minimize the risks while maximizing the benefits of being a contractor so that you end up with significantly more money in your pocket!
This question was submitted by Anoush from Glendale, California … Hello, I am a 55 years old female, I have done mainframe programming for more than 25 years before and I was very good in that.
However i have left my job for 10 years now helping my husband in accounting firm.
Do I have a chance to be hired if I learn .NET and create a software?
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Do What You Love – Do You Love Computer Programming?
Your long term success as a computer programmer depends more on how passionate you are about learning programming than it does on your age!
If you love learning programming languages you will put in the hard work that it takes to be the best programmer you can be.
How To Learn .NET Programming In Six (6) Months And Get A Job
[Ask IT Career Coach] is a Career Advice Column for Information Technology (IT) professionals looking for answers to their most challenging career situations …
Submit questions about your career using the [Ask IT Career Coach] service and I will answer it for you just like I am answering this question …
Hi My name is Josh Kemp I am 26 married and self employed currently, I have read almost half of “Learn .Net 3.5 in 24 hours” by SAMs.
How To Become A Faster Programmer?
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This post answers the question of “how to write or code faster in ASP.NET, C#, .NET Framework or Visual Studio” or any computer programming language.
If you have a question about your computer programmer or software developer career, post it here and I will answer it for you, just like I am answering this computer programmer’s question today!
Java, C# or C++, Which Is Better?
Sometimes, you have to look to the past to see the future. To see the future of our more popular programming languages including Java, C#, Visual Basic, C/C++, let’s first review their histories.
Is C/C++ the Best Programming Language?
The C programming language was standardized in the early 70s for the UNIX operating system (and not Windows) by Dennis Ritchie.
In the early 80s Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs invented the C++ programming language as classes that extend the C language.
The C/C++ programming language is primarily used in writing operating systems, video games, device drivers, embedded systems and commercial, shrink-wrapped windows based software programs.
Hands-on Experience Is The Key To Landing Good Jobs!
Once a computer programmer with marketable programming skills gains handson experience by building real-world, practical applications, he or she is virtually guaranteed not just any type of job … but a portable, marketable, high-paying professional career as a software developer!!
Why? Because in the software development industry, Experience is King!.
Real world, hands on, practical, computer programming experience is valued more than computer programming certifications or even computer science diplomas or college degrees!
Are You Chasing Rabbits For A Living?
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Do not worry about how to get handson experience in a programming language before you actually learn the programming language … that is called putting the cart before the horse.
If you choose to worry about handson experience before learning the programming language, all that you will end up achieving is nothing … those worries, fears or doubts will only delay your progress because they are either imaginary or harmful!
Keep your Skills Current or In Demand
It is a commonly held belief that once you learn “how to code in one programming language“, you can easily transition your programming skills to another.
Yet many computer programmers never quite make it because they get lost in the transition from one programming language to another.
This is true of computer programmers transitioning away from legacy programming languages like Cobol or relatively more modern programming languages like classic Visual Basic.
When a computer programmer falls behind the technology (programming language) curve, the developer may experience:
Cobol Mainframe Programmers Changing Careers!
COBOL Mainframe Programmers switching careers have to overcome several challenges including the fear of learning new programming languages.
In addition, cobol programmers have to pick the right programming language which is not an easy task considering the range of possibilities (C#, Java, C/C++, PHP, Python, Visual Basic, Perl, etc.).
Cobol programmers also have to brand their resumes to look like that of modern, object oriented software developers.
Considering these challenges, one is not surprised whenever a cobol programmer decides to stick with legacy programming skills.
Cowboy Coder Or Agile Programmer
Are You A Cowboy Coder Or Agile Software Developer?
Software Developers facing a new programming project sometimes start coding before thinking through or planning an approach.
Coding without first planning or thinking through is a programming method known as cowboy coding.
Cowboy coders approach work with the mindset of coding without estimating or planning.
And they are at a complete lost when the results achieved by their cowboy coding tactics does not meet expectations.
Cowboy Coding Is Dead, Long Live Cowboy Coding
While many programmers publicly ridicule cowboy coding, they privately practice cowboy coding because it is the easier thing to do.
how to: ace technical interviews and land jobs
This question was submitted by Vijay who needs advice on “how to ace programming interviews and land the next job!“
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering Vijay’s questions below!
Question: How To Impress Hiring Manager at Programming Interviews
Here is the question submitted by Vijay:
On my last job I was given a technical test to write nested SQL queries.
Learn Hot Programming Languages
Learning new software development languages can be fun.
That is one of the reasons why software developers like their careers … they get to learn or solve problems with new software development languages.
However, learning a software development language is a real-world exercise because programming is learnt by doing.
That’s why computer programmer job interviews are designed to test practical programming skills or abilities.
Apparently, some college graduates have a hard time grasping this concept because they seem clueless on how to get a programming job despite their computer science degrees!
Choose a Freelance Career
This question was posted by Mallory who needs advice on “how to begin a freelance software developer career!”
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering Mallory’s questions below!
Mallory’s Questions Are:
I have started an account on scriptlance which is for programmers. However I am not a professional programmer.
I joined because I was looking for genuine data entry jobs i could do as a freelancer.
learning multiple programming languages?
This question was posted by a reader who needs advice on
“how to learn many programming languages!”.
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
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Develop Your Personal Brand - Become A Leader
Develop Your Personal Brand And Become a Leader
This course teaches you how to develop and use your competitive advantages in the workplace, job market and industry using the PULL method.
You will learn how to become a leader in your industry by developing and taking advantage of your personal brand using PULL techniques.
By the end of this course, you will have learnt how to select the best leadership projects for your industry based on your background, skills, education, training, job history and interests.
highly paid corporate programmer
Becoming a corporate software developer is not the same thing as becoming a freelance programmer or a systems programmer.
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Corporate programmers are hired for coding skills in programming languages like Microsoft .NET (ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET, SQL Server) and they tend to work regular, office jobs as contract or full-time programmers.
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Systems programmers tend to work with programming languages like C/C++ and they also work for companies like Microsoft that build operating systems or systems software.
Become A Leader-Get The Job You Want!
Become a Leader And Get The Job You Want!
Getting a job by sending out resumes to employers is known as the push method because it depends on you pushing the employer to hire you!
The problem with the traditional method of getting a job is that everyone who is out-of-a-job is probably doing the same thing … pushing their resumes to hiring managers or employers!
Getting hired in a competitive job market doesn’t mean … “do what other job applicants are doing” … it means “do more than your competition!“
Ask IT Career Coach
This question was posted by a reader who wants to overcome obstacles posed by employment gaps in an Oracle Programming Career!
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If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
microsoft.net software developer job
This question was posted by a reader who wants to become a Microsoft .NET Developer!
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
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By Sharing This Post you are helping your friends receive valuable information or succeed.
Here is the Reader’s Question:
First, a little bit about myself.
Ask IT Career Coach
This question was posted by a reader who wants to become a computer programmer!
If you need help with a Question or Challenge, be sure to ask it as a comment on this page and I will answer it fully just as I am answering this reader’s question below!
Please, send this post to your friends using the “Tell a Friend” Button button below. You earn points or cash each time you refer an article to your friends using the Tell a Friend Button.
Here is the Question:
hi
The Software Developers Internship Coaching Opportunity
About The 2012 Software Developer Internship Opportunity!
Computer programming is one of those few careers that offers you the option to either freelance, get a full-time job or become an independent consultant even when you are really just a beginner!
As a freelance software developer, you may live in the United States, India, UK, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa or any country and work for clients located anywhere on the planet!
There are several specializations available to software developers including Mobile Application Development, Desktop Programming and Web Programming.
Top Paying Skills in High Demand
HTML programming skills are in high-demand for freelance consulting gigs, web design jobs, web development careers or internet businesses.
HTML web design and programming skills are some of the most frequently asked for skills in out-sourced or freelance computer programming projects.
Why HTML Skills Training?
HTML web design skills are among the most frequently asked for computer programming skills because almost every business has a website that needs to be maintained, redesigned or developed from scratch. In bigger corporations, the HTML web design or development jobs are taken care of by a specialized web design or web development team.
Top Paying Skills in High Demand
CSharp (C#) software developers with as little as six months of computer programming experience can get full-time jobs, consulting or contracting positions from any state, province or city.
C# developer salaries range from $60,000 to six figures. Though, six figure salaries are more common for C# software development consultants than full-time employees, they are still available for really good C# developers.
Why CSharp (C#) Skills Training?
C# programming skills are by far the top-paying, in-demand computer programming skill. C# programming skills are in-demand in most cities or states because it is a modern, object oriented programming languages (OOP).
How To Become A Web Programmer
The post which you are just about to read answers the question of:“what is the most compelling thing on a web programmer’s resume or how do you gain the type of resume that will make you standout in the web development industry!“
Let me begin by saying that, the key thing that hiring managers are looking for on your resume is not your programming certifications or your college degrees or computer science education but your handson web programming experience.
Be Wise ... Get Experience
In the computer programming industry, experience is King.
Real world, hands on, practical programming experience is valued more than computer programming certifications, software development diplomas or even programming job titles.
What you know is much more important than how you obtained the knowledge!
The next time you read a computer programming job description and you feel overwhelmed by the list of degrees or certifications required, just remember that the job market for computer programmers is not really that formal.
In 2009, there will be technology changes that business analysts, software developers and database developers should note for the purpose of advancing their careers. Social Media and Agile Development are two of the major trends that IT workers would do well to utilize in the year 2009.
2009 Tech Predictions
Happy New Year!! Here are some technology predictions for 2009 that are worth a read for software developers, business analysts and database developers who want to position themselves for success in 2009:
1. Pay attention to Social Media says CapGemini:
“2009 will be the year when use of social networking tools within companies will be the talk of the town. Yes, it has been around for a while but to be honest, nothing much has really happened apart from that Serena Software uses Facebook internally.
No doubt you already know how the recession affects the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Unemployment Rate or Stock Market. So, I won’t waste your time by repeating all that bad news.
What I would talk about is what really matters:”how you or your loved ones can protect your finances by staying employed in this recession!“
The best way to keep your job in a recession or to find a new job easily is to become “The Most Over Qualified, Under Paid Professional” on your team.
Here is why becoming over-qualified and under-paid work hand in hand to protect your career:
How you value knowledge tells me a lot about who you are … because knowledge capital is the most important resource in any organization.
In the digital age, what makes one employee more valuable than the next employee is simply stated … the amount of knowledge, skill, expertise, training and learning they have managed to acquire and put to use.
Now, managers are not interested in employees that know it all … only in employees that constantly put their knowledge capital to work by solving corporate problems or challenges … those employees are the gold mines in any organization.
I just received a question that has to do with age discrimination for a Java programmer and I would like to share it with you.
Reader Question:
I would like to find an IT Career Coach in San Diego CA.
I am a certified Java Programmer, and have an academic background in applied mathematics, but I did not work with J2EE and data bases, I would like to know what type of career is available in my age 55, what additional training is necessary.
Sincerely.
Here is my answer to this question:
Hi :
If you want to excel in an information technology career, you need to make a career plan or plot a career road map that will take you from your current skill level to a professional, highly skilled or expert level.
You will also need to create a plan for maintaining your skills at the level of
top performers or experts in your field when you get there.
Whatever your current career (business analyst, data analyst, software
developer, report writer, database developer, web designer, etc.), you need to
sharpen your skills using one or more of the following training options:
Have you taken advantage of the online training for computer programmers?
If you want step-by-step computer programming training that covers what a professional software developer needs to know, then this online training program is for you:
http://www.softwaredevelopercoaching.com/ Here are some of the details of the online training program:
Training Duration:
The online computer programmer training service is a 16 weeks (4 months) to 24 weeks (6 months) program.
Training Prerequisites:
You must be completely comfortable with using the computer. You need to know how to perform routine tasks with your computer like, installing a software program. You don’t need a Bachelors or Graduate degree. You don’t need a math or technical background.
Our blog readership has grown a lot and there are now a lot of new readers.
What I would like to do is to highlight some of the most significant articles or posts that has to do with “how to learn programming” or “how to become a computer programmer“.
1. The Secret Art of Writing Highly Effective Killer Resumes for Computer Programming Jobs
http://www.it-career-coach.net/2006/08/27/the-secret-art-of-writing-highly-effective-killer-resumes-for-computer-programming-jobs/
2. How to become a database developer
Almost every business software application depends on a database. This post gives you a concise, step-by-step plan for becoming a database developer.
http://www.it-career-coach.net/2006/09/04/sql-developers-are-in-high-demand-and-how-to-become-a-sql-programmer/
One of the reasons why you may find yourself struggling with your career is that you have too many goals. So, I’m writing this article “pick a technology and master it” to help you achieve your goals more easily.
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of choices you have to make?
Perhaps, you’re married, you have 2 kids, you have a job, your spouse has a job, you spend quality time with your family every day and you want to become a better software developer or business analyst.
If you are having a hard time choosing between a business analyst career and a computer programming career, perhaps it is because you can’t tell the difference.
I want to help you out by explaining the major differences between business analyst and computer programming careers.
These differences include:
1. Technical Skills
2. People / Leadership Skills
3. Educational Requirements
4. Learning Curve
5. 2007 and 2008 Job Market Outlook
6. Salaries, Wages and Compensation
7. Job Satisfaction
I’m finally done with it … the book that’s 10 years in the making and tonight I”m releasing the How To Ace Programming Job Interviews Book.
Why The Programming Job Interviews Book Took Ten Years To Write
If you are my customer, by that I mean you’ve bought one of my books, you will realize that i’m pretty thorough and not one to release a half-baked book. You will also realize that my computer programming books and business analyst books are practical, comprehensive and based on tactics, strategies and information that gets results in the software development industry.
Now that how to become a business analyst book is released, I’m also releasing the business analyst interview questions book and here is the reason why.
It’s Proven Difficult to Prepare for Business Analyst Job Interviews
Presently, it’s challenging to study for business analyst interviews because job boards, job descriptions, hiring managers and human resources (hr) specialists are not consistent in what they are looking for in a business analyst.
While some emphasize communication skills, others emphasize leadership skills in business analyst job postings.
While some business analyst job openings emphasize requirements gathering, analysis and documentation, others emphasize software development skills, reporting skills or data analysis skills.
One of the challenges I faced when I peeked inside my first programming book more than 15 years ago was the difficult of understanding the programming concepts taught in the textbooks I was reading. Think about it for a moment – if you walk into a store and buy a book on “how to master a programming language”, you should be able to read the book once or at most a couple of times and understand it correct?
Well, I’m afraid that’s not how it works in real life. Computer programming books are notoriously scary and difficult to read.
If you have read my books by now, you probably know a few things about me already.
I am a Software Development Consultant and a Software Developer Mentor living in Saint Louis, USA.
Over the last decade I have been contracted to develop enterprise software applications for Fortune 1000 and small business organizations.
I also coach individuals who want to learn leading-edge computer programming skills or get hired into full-time software developer or contract programmer jobs just like me.
Since this website (IT Career Coach) is about careers, it makes sense for me to discuss at some point, the benefits of becoming a computer programmer.
So, I will continue along the lines set by part 1 of benefits of becoming a computer programmer, by discussing further, the advantages or benefits of choosing a career in computer programming.
1. Lots of different companies hire computer programmers
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