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Here is the Reader's Question:

First, a little bit about myself.

I have been in Information Technology for many years and most of my time was spent in software application development.

I can honestly say that I have truly enjoyed a majority of those years and what I have valued most is working with people and solving their problems.

Building relationships is one of my strengths, although that does not seem like a skill, which one can market.

Challenges facing me:

I am an application developer working with COBOL and VMS skills.

I have some experience with .NET but dont really feel well versed in the technology.

I have taken several training programs but all of them left me wanting. Besides being uninspiring, none of them really knew how to impart knowledge so that an individual could become productive in a short period of time.

Your website seems to indicate that you do know how to do that.

I have also begun to wonder if learning JAVA is the better way to go, since to some degree it is more open than Microsofts .NET technology.

How To Become A Microsoft.NET Software Developer

Passion as a Strength: I am glad you are passionate about your information technology career.

Passionate people are more likely to go out of their way to make their career work and the lack of passion is one of the reasons why people get burnt out or stop producing in their careers!

1. 
   

   Relationship Building Skills / Strengths: Your relationship building skill is actually a strength that can be marketed. That is one of the things that you learn from SWOT Analysis ... "how to take advantage of your strengths by marketing to your opportunities".

   
   

   The reason why it seems that your relationship skills are of little financial value is that you haven't taken the time to identify or evaluate your opportunities in the light of your strengths.

   
   

   If I was to present you with a Cobol / VMS job, you will easily recognize it as an opportunity, because you have trained your mind to look out for or act on Cobol or VMS Job opportunities.

   But if I were to present you an opportunity to profit by exercising your relationship building skills, you may not recognize or act on it because you've not trained your mind to do so!

   
   

   SWOT Analysis helps you identify your opportunities in the light of your strengths and come up with a plan or strategy for acting on them.

   
   

   For example, you may be able to take advantage of or exercise your relationship building skills by referring contacts who need IT Career Advice, IT Coaching or IT Training to our website.

   If you have a really large list of contacts and you are really very skilled at building relationships, you may even go into a part-time or full time IT recruiting career!

   
   

   So opportunities to take advantage of your relationship building skills exist, you just have to take the time to properly identify, evaluate and act on them.

   
   


2. 
   

   How to Get Productive IT Knowledge in a Short Period of Time:

   Yes, you are right in saying that our website's focus is "impacting productive knowledge in a short period of time"!

   
   

   Our definition of productive knowledge is practical, hands-on, job or career focused skills that you can put to work immediately you complete training. This is how our training works:

   
   
   
   

   • Knowledge + Practice Based Online Training:

     Our online training provides you with a blend of knowledge based training and hands-on skill building, practice based training.

     
     

     Knowledge based training is the training gained only from watching videos or instructors in a traditional classroom education or information gained just by just a book.

     
     

     Knowledge based training alone does not help because you also need practical job-based skills which are gained by working on real-world problems

     So you learn by doing and not just by watching others!

     
     

     You learn by doing or practicing what you've learned in a course. Our online training incorporates multiple types of hands-on, practical, real-world training.

     What this means to you as a software developer is that you practice writing actual working Microsoft .NET Code in our Hands-On Labs before you perform the same tasks for an employer.

     
     
   
   

   • Skill Sharpening Online Training: It is not enough to learn a new programming skill, you also need to sharpen your new programming skill to the point where it becomes productive or highly effective.

     
     

     In the real-world, IT Managers assign aggressive deadlines to their software development projects and only those Computer Programmers with sharp programming skills are be able to meet those deadlines.

     
     

     So, it is not enough to learn the Microsoft .NET Programming Language (ASP.NET, C#, Visual Basic .NET), you also have to be sharp, effective or productive at writing code especially if you intend to transition from being a hobby programmer to a professional Microsoft .NET Developer!

     
     
   
   
   
   

3. Demand for Java versus Demand for Microsoft .NET Programming Skills:

   This is a sensitive question because whenever you compare the demand for a career like business analysis to the demand for another career like computer programming, people's feelings and emotions get involved, hurt or mixed-up!

   
   

   So, I want to preface by answer with this statement: Java and Microsoft .NET are both excellent programming languages because they are both object oriented programming (OOP) languages.

   
   

   However if you are looking for a stable, full-time, professional software developer career, I will recommend Microsoft .NET over the Java programming language and here are a few reasons why:

   
   
   
   

   • High Demand for Microsoft .NET Software Developers:

     The demand for Microsoft .NET computer programming skills is high because there are more Microsoft .NET (ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET) software developer job postings than there are competent or skilled Microsoft .NET computer programmers.

     I have also observed that the demand for Microsoft .NET Programmers jumped in the last five years compared to the demand for Java Programming Skills.

     Previous to that, there was a higher demand for Java Programmers because Microsoft.NET was still relatively new in the market.

     
     
   
   

   • The Marketing of Microsoft.NET Compared to Java Programming Language:

     
     

     Another reason why I recommend Microsoft .NET (ASP.NET, VB.NET, C#) over Java is that Microsoft has been successful at marketing the Microsoft .NET development environment to businesses based on their bigger, better marketing team.

     
     

     Now, I am not a blind supporter of Microsoft Tools. I also hate those Microsoft products that have been failures.

     For example, I like PHP while I hate Windows Vista with a Passion :-)

     I also don't use MSN Search and I use Google Search.

     However, Microsoft .NET Developers have more Career or Job options than their Java colleagues because the Microsoft .NET programming languages has also been extended to other platforms including Microsoft SharePoint (Collaboration, Communication), Microsoft Dynamics (Customer Relationship Management ), Microsoft SQL Server (Enterprise Database Computing), Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word), Microsoft Data Mining, Microsoft Mobile Devices.

     
     
   
   
   
   

   So, by learning Microsoft .NET you hook up your career or job prospects with Microsoft's product leadership and huge marketing muscle.

   
   

   Finally, I recommend Microsoft.NET over Java because it offers you a shorter learning curve and more career prospects or job options.

   
   

So, How Do You Become A Microsoft .NET Software Developer?

You become a Microsoft .NET Software Developer by enrolling at the SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS BOOT CAMP!

The software developers boot camp is an Online, Video Based, Web Based, Instructor Led, Beginner to Advanced Software Developer Training that incorporates knowledge based training in the form of Video Lessons and Hands-On Skill Building Microsoft ,NET Training in the form of Microsoft .NET Projects, Case Studies, Labs, Hands-On Coding Activities and more.

The SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS BOOT CAMP provides you with the skill needed to become a professional software developer or consultant.

You learn ASP.NET, C#, Web-Based development in a practical, real-world, hands-on online computer programming course!

Finally, I will also advise you to register for the SQL Boot Camp because SQL skills are usually required in software developer positions.

You should register for both the SQL Boot Camp and the Software Developers Boot Camp at the same time to get the best results.

So, register here for the SQL BOOT CAMP and also register here for the SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS BOOT CAMP!

This post answers a question posted by a reader on "How To Become a Microsoft .NET Software Developer! If you have any Question about your career, Post IT as a comment on this page and I will be sure to answer it for you!