Any Computer Programmers on the board?

[Nan411]

Hi,

   I am 26 yrs old and currently the sahm mom of an almost 2 yr old ds and 7 yr old dd. I've been staying home since my son was born. I am hoping to go back to work next year but when I think about it I cringe. I have a BA in child development and previously worked as a preschool teacher so wherever I work would probably be a preschool or daycare. I am not looking forward to being around needy children all day and then coming home to my needy children. When I worked as a PS teacher I would come home drained. I am an introvert and being around people all day just drains my energy.

   Lately, I have become interested in Computer Programming.I checked out some books from the library and I find it immensely interesting although a lot of it is really over my head at this point. I am not a exactly a computer person. I mean I have to call dh every time the computer freezes...lol, so I would really be starting out with the basics. Also, math is not my strongest subject. I'm sure I could take whatever classes are necessary but it would be a struggle.

I am interested in getting some info from anyone on this board who is a programmer.

1. What exactly does your job entail. What do you do from day to day?

2. What degree/certifications do you have?

3. How much higher level math is required?

4. What are the traits of a good programmer?

5. What was the most difficult thing about your schooling? Your job?

Any additional info that you would like to offer would be great. I appreciate any responses.

[Vaske]

I am not a full-time programmer, but am married to one and have done some myself in previous jobs.

Programming can be a very good job for introverts, because it is focused on working with things, not with people so much. 

On the down side, many programming jobs are given out on a contract basis these days--typically a few months per contract, along with all the joys of self-employment.  Nearly all the work is done at the computer, this can lead to repetitive stress issues and so on.

Training for programming:  varies widely because the field changes fairly rapidly.  Typically you have to show proficiency in a set of related technologies.  You can check job listings to see which technologies, credentials, and levels of experience are in demand from employers right now.  Degree or no, most of the practical things you need to become a good programmer are things that you will learn by self-teaching and practicing on your own, although classes can be good for keeping you motivated and for teaching you the basics and the high-level theory.  There are many tutorials online; if you pick something and start working through the exercises and using Google to find answers to your questions, you will learn a lot.  "You get better at the things that you do." 

As a total beginner, you can start with a simple tutorial on how to make your computer type "Hello, world" back at you.  Study the code in the tutorial that until you understand which part does what; try changing the code to make something different happen. 

Bookstores often have a huge array of books about the latest technologies--because programmers have to constantly keep updating their skills, and buying a book is cheaper than taking a class.  There are also online courses that you can pay to take.

It doesn't necessarily require a lot of hard math skills, except for some specialized areas.  What is mostly required is the ability to think logically and literally and abstractly, in a step-by-step way, like a computer does.  Also, it requires the ability to juggle a number of details in your head while you work to make them real in the computer.  (My husband compares it to building with Legos, making bigger and more complex things out of simple little blocks.)  Accuracy and attention to detail and careful organization of information are important.  Also, persistence to keep working at a problem until you solve it--programming in practice is like solving one puzzle after another.

For me, the hardest thing was trying to catch up on all the things that they did not teach me in school--I did a minor in computer science, and had some graduate-level classes, but never was taught much of the nitty-gritty of how programmers actually work.  My husband majored in CS, hung out with CS majors constantly, and picked up a lot of the lingo, tricks, and tools that I didn't. 

[coldandsleepy]

I'm a former programmer.  I actually left the field in large part due to my decision to have kids.  The places I worked as a programmer previously, everyone's salaried and working huge amounst of overtime (especially before major releases)  was expected and more or less required.  I loved the work, but I couldn't see working 60 hour weeks with a kid at home-- even if it was only every couple of months.

In the day to day, I usually worked on a couple of long-term programming projects (it's hard to explain what I mean by this, and I can't talk about the actual programs I worked on because I'm still under NDA!) and then helped people on my team with bug fixes.  Closer to deadlines, this was pretty frantic work, more or less non-stop staring at the computer... further out from deadlines, you might have more fluff stuff in your day, meetings, free time to read the internet or whatever. 

I have a degree in Computer Science and some graduate level work as well.

In my experience, higher level math rarely enters into the equation. 

I actually think interpersonal skills are a HUGE part of being a successful programmer in many situations.  The companies I've worked at, I've always been part of a large team-- which is common-- and you need to be able to talk to other people, understand them and their code, explain your ideas and visions to them, etc.

Beyond that, it helps to have a sort of um... obsessive personality?  And to be the sort of person who can't put a project down until it's finished.  To not be a person who is totally crushed by failure... because a lot of programming is making things, testing them out, discovering they don't work (at least not how you planned), doing them another way, realizing that you've been barking up the wrong tree for three hours or three days or three weeks etc... and then getting up and going at it again.

Think I already covered biggest challenge-- which is just the level of commitment required for a lot of jobs.  I really loved being a programmer, and somedays I miss it terribly, but I wanted to have room in my life for other things.

[JoyFilled]

1. What exactly does your job entail. What do you do from day to day?

I create surveys, data entry screens, websites, databases, statistical programs.  I also order, install and maintain all of our hardware and networking as I am the only computer person.

2. What degree/certifications do you have?

I have a degree in math with several computers courses.

3. How much higher level math is required?

Because I do statistics and modelling programming I need a bit higher level math, mainly linear algebra, probability and statistics.

4. What are the traits of a good programmer?

Ability to learn and master new things on your own, things are always changing.  

5. What was the most difficult thing about your schooling? Your job?

Schooling was easy to me.  My main problem is that I got my job based on my education not on experience.  I work alone so I have to know and do everything.  I am not as developed as someone who started on a team.

My advice to you is to think about what kind of programming you would be interested in.  Do you want to make pretty websites?  Work with large sets of data?  Do more networking?

I think there is demand for people to build websites and you could always work for yourself or on a small team with little training if you can show what you have made.