Best method for moving into programming career

Question

I have been programming in VB.NET for a few years, but it has always been in a Desktop Support/Engineering Position. While I've made some passable applications, it has never been in a professional development environment.

I'm content with working on Desktops, but I really enjoy programming. My main problem is that I have worked up to a salary, which would be cut nearly in half if I just took a entry level programming position.

How can I enter a professional development position while at the same time not significantly cutting my salary?

Rob

Answer 1

Start applying for software development jobs. Only accept the ones that pay well.

This is not facetious, it is the best way to move up in the world.

Answer 2

You have to remember that you are not just moving to a new position; you will be moving your career which you have little experience in. Because of that, you have to keep in mind that moving into that career at an entry level position you will expect to get that same pay scale that others would have. If you have the chance to go back to school and get a degree in software development that might allow you to get into a mid-level programming. This would be because you have experience in the IT field to begin with.

If you are in the company that you are trying to program for already, it might be easier and more of a lateral move that would work for you.

Answer 3

There is no better way to start getting into programming than to have a passion for it.

Build a few applications and then start applying. There is not a good chance that you will end up being a great developer without working with other developers.

Because you have a passion you are automatically set apart from people that went into Computer Science degrees without it, and that passion and desire to learn is the only way to become a really successful/effective programmer.

Unfortunately, often times with passion comes a pay cut. If it's truly what you want to do, take the leap sooner rather than later; I don't know of that many people that have changed careers to do their passion and have regretted it.

Answer 4

gbrandt is correct; i would only add that to get the new job you must emphasize how much additional value your prior troubleshooting and user-focused experience will add to the development process. In other words, don't say that you dabbled in VB.NET development while doing tech support, instead say that you developed applications but also concentrated on solving user issues, picking up valuable communication skills and insights into how to talk to non-technical users, and also how non-technical users want their software to work.

I am assuming that you are already a good developer, but have also picked up lighting-fast diagnostic skills and marvelous communication skills from your thousands of hours of close interaction with non-technical users. This should make you a very good analyst, in that as a good analyst you have to listen, understand, empathize, and dig deeper into root causes.

focus on that, and ask for more than the prevailing wage because you add so much more value than an ordinary people-phobic developer

[if my assumptions are wrong, and you really don't have superior people skills, diagnostic/troubleshooting skills, and development skills, then go back and do entry-level programming jobs for a couple of years if you really want to switch careers. From skimming your blog, though, it looks like you are Smarter Than The Average Bear^TM ;-)]

Answer 5

Reading between the lines, it sounds as if you want to move to a programming role, but not change you remuneration. The reality is that salaries are fundamentally indexed to knowledge and experience. While it might be possible for you to move to a similarly paid full-time programming job, it maybe tough to meet your expectations without some hard work.

My suggestion is that if you truly love to program, then do it. Whether paid or not. This will mean spending time building your own applications, reading about different languages, design philosophies and key algorithms, listening to podcasts, etc. It's a hard slog, but the reward is that you will be doing what you enjoy doing. All of this can be used when applying for future programming positions, so long as you present it effectively.

Answer 6

Moving to a new career means starting at the bottom. There is no easy way to make the jump. You won't likely find someone who will pay you to learn. Especially not in today's economy. That said, here's the best way I can think of:

Take time outside of work to become a good programmer. This can mean working on your own project or working on something open source. You have to be serious about this. It can't be something you do on the side. It has to dominate your spare time. If you can't put that much effort into it, stick with your current career and forget about becoming a programmer.

Once you are truly skilled, then go look for a job. This is probably a year from now.

Answer 7

Perhaps you can transition straight across. I could not. Moving from any sort of senior position (with the possible exception of Head Fry Cook) to an entry level position almost always involves effort and a willingness to start low(er).

(Aside: I'm a 30-something with 4 kids and a stay-at-home-works-her-tucas-off-homeschooling-wife...so if I can make it work, you can too!)

I completed a very similar jump almost exactly a year ago. I say "completed" because getting hired was the end of a long process.

After spending 2 years installing other folks' software (sysadmin), and then 6 years breaking other folks's software (qa) I decided that I wanted the chance to build the stuff. I spent 2 years priming myself:

• Doing every bit of development work I could justify at my (then) current job
• Interviewing everywhere I could find.
• Finding and attending (regularly) several of our local developers users groups
• Presenting at our local yearly code camp
• Reading and reading and reading some more (design patterns, head first books, code complete, programmer to developer..etc)

In the end I took a 25%+ (effective, including benefits/etc) pay cut moving from the IT department of the fortune 100 company to an entry-level developer position with a small local consulting house.

Was it worth it? Yes. Tough. Absolutely. The eventual financial upside is higher, but more importantly I'm enjoying what I do. I also happen to be working with folks who are both smarter than I am and do their best to do the right thing (development-wise). It doesn't get much better than that.

cheers, and best of luck! -adb

(note: I could have done dev work where I was at. I would have just had to move to India to do it. They had already moved ~70% of the dev team to Bangalore, and it was very clear that the rest was following.)

Answer 8

You could try to find a small company where being a developer means you may also have other duties like systems administration and technical support. The pay may not be the best, but because of having all the duties the qualifications may make it so recent grads may not have the desired experience in a sense.

Another idea would be to see if there are any local user groups that may offer networking opportunities for you to find a position where things would work for you.

Answer 9

I am also in a similar situation....I am currently working in Service Desk for a IT/TELECOM company

I have a Computer Science Degree and I have been very passionate about web programming and design...I have made a few website projects for others as well....But I havent been able to find a suitable job where I can apply.

May be I have not tried harder, but looks like so far I have taken a job that suited my financial need. I need the money and I know that if I have to start this new career again, I will have to compromise on the money.

I am confused.