quit with programming. how to restart

Question

I am really willing to restart with programming:

• Quit right after uni (5yrs computer science).
• Went working as a pre-sale(7months)
• Then got bored and switched to Business Intelligence (2yrs) (thought it was about programming but almost everything is done through booooring tools..yes shame on me.. I'm a consultant..)

now I'm close to 3 years of non programming, the point upon which I'm stuck is HOW TO RESTART:

• Do I have to immediatly switch to a programming position thus as junion?
• Do I have to train myself again before applying for a new progr. position?
• LAST BUT NOT LEAST: is C/C++ on unix/linux platforms a good restart-choiche?

Thank you all

Answer 1

I'd say programming is like going to the gym. If you quit for some time then you have to restart almost at the beginning. Take a look around and see what languages/technologies you find interesting and read a book or 5 :)

Answer 2

Do I have to immediatly switch to a programming position thus as junion?

You shouldn't advertise yourself as a senior programmer when you aren't one. But you should advertise your skills in other areas. Many programmers are highly skilled in their niche but lack skills in other areas such as the sales aspect. You can use this to your advantage.

Do I have to train myself again before applying for a new progr. position?

Probably a good idea if you want to stand out from the crowd. If you know something well and can talk about it, it will leave a good impression.

is C/C++ on unix/linux platforms a good restart-choiche?

I don't think so. I think it's better to learn a high level general purpose language first. When learning lower level languages you can easily spend half your time trying to do the simple things, trying to make the compiler happy, debugging memory corruption errors and generally just being excited just to get something working. With a high level language it's easier to think about the best data structures and algorithms to use as most of the messy details are handled for you. I do think it's important to understand what's going on at the compiler level, but there are better ways of doing that than learning C as your first language. I'd advise starting with a high level language like Python or C# and learn C afterwords. Opinions on this may differ.

Answer 3

Your education should be good enough. Read a book or two and start applying. A lot of programmers lack good communication skills, your sales/business history is a pre. Use it.

Answer 4

The best programmers do it because they love it. If you were not interested enough to maintain your skills outside of a work environment during this period, you may not be much of an asset to the software development world.

If possible, look for a position where your existing domain expertise gained in the workplace would be an asset, and work with whichever language and platform that requires; otherwise you are just a graduate level entrant (and a rusty one who has shown no interest or aptitude at that! That may not be fair, but that is how your resume may look to an employer).

Answer 5

Additionally to what others have already said:

I would say.. get back into programming if you enjoy it. Its very important. I love programming.. its gives me such a buzz.

Start by giving yourself a fun project. e.g. Create a website for yourself. Try out some of the new development things such as MVC (this will make you valuable).

I'm a .Net developer so from my point of view you should learn C#, Asp.Net . I think there is quite a bit of demand for this. You can choose to go with other languages for learning.. but think of the benefits long term for whatever you learn. Best to specialise in something!

Final point - its a competitive area, you will need to be devoted to your learning through out a programming career. If you don't put the effort in (out of hours), you'll struggle to be a big shot. :)

Answer 6

Hello world!

You don't really say what you want. Looking for a job? (unlikely, as it stands)

Just for fun? In any case, ask yourself what will interest and motivate you?

Web related (in the sense of web sites)? Or internet (in the sense of communicating)? Windows? Linux? Games? Embedded?

It's going to go a lot easier if you want to do it.

Chose a field (or possibly a language you like the sound of, but I would rather recommend a field). Then code "hello world".

And work your way up.

Maybe you would like a particular app that doesn't seem to exist? There's your motivation.

Gradually get into open source. Go to SourceForge & start a project or volunteer for one that interests you.

And if it is a job you are after, then working on such a project could help (I know I would give points for that when interviewing you).

Depends how far you want to take it. You might consider evening course or distance learning to get a qualification...

Whatever your motivation - congratulations and wlecome back!