I was just wondering if there are any SW engineers on here? I have recently been interested in this subject and Im pretty good with the computer so.... Straight to the point im wondering if its possible for a average joe to jump in the field (with the right training of course) and what would you recommend? Id like to ask some questions to any one who may be in this field. Thanks
Though I'm not a software engineer/developer/architect, below are some 2-cent thoughts while you await other replies. As you may imagine, building up proven experience is all important. I have read probably thousands of software development job ads over the years. (Metasearch job sites like Indeed and SimplyHired are my favorite.) Even if one decides not to become a software engineer, any established software development skills can be highly marketable -- and it makes a great lifetime hobby. If you haven't already, I would suggest getting started with learning C# and Microsoft's .NET framework and downloading Visual C# 2008 Express Edition. Though Java has a large market share as well, .NET seems "hotter" and I certainly like it more. Of course, having experience with both Java and .NET is helpful. However, most job ads I read seem to want a ".NET developer" or a "Java Developer" with at least a couple years of proven experience, ideally in a team environment building enterprise-level applications. The book I am using now is the top selling book on Amazon for C#, and it certainly earns such a ranking: http://www.amazon.com/Pro-2008-NET-Platform-Fourth/dp/1590598849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197125482&sr=8-1 However, Microsoft has many free learning tools on their website, including learning clinics, labs, webcasts, etc. For example: http://learning.microsoft.com/Manager/Catalog.aspx?view=free http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/virtuallabs/aa740375.aspx My favorite resource, however, is the DotNetRocks podcast. It is fun, educational, and even inspiring. To build up your resume, you can prove your skills by competing in competitions at TopCoder. There are also freelance sites like Guru where you can do freelance work on the cheap as a way to gain experience and references. Participating in an open-source project, such as at Microsoft's CodePlex, is also often recommended, especially for gaining experience dealing with other people's code and using versioning control tools.
If you are interested in programming jobs, then you will have to quickly learn a technology. This could be .Net, Java, Oracle or any such variant. All of these tools have very good online help available. It is recommended to start with the company websites and then branch out to other sites. Daniel has already give you some very good links to MS, so here are a few more. Sun Java - Along with Java, Sun also offers its Netbeans IDE which can be used to develop programs. Oracle TechNet - Here you can download Oracle 10g Express Edition database and other Oracle tools. No matter what technology, like .Net, Java, you learn, it is good to know some database concepts. Oracle is a good. Also Oracle offers a lot of web development tools like JDeveloper, which can be used to develop Enterprise Java Applications. MSDN - The home of what Daniel was eluding to, contains all details about MS products and very sound technical articles and code examples. I am not sure if you can get a limited version of SQL Server. If you can, then it is a good choice for database. Let me tell you that programming is not a very difficult aspect, if you have good reasoning ability and sound logic. It is definitely learnable. Good Luck
Cool! I never knew there was a free version of Oracle. Similarly, for SQL Server: http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/register/
Thanks for the replies. I will definately check these out. im slowly working at going to school and trying to figure out what i wanna be when i grow up so im looking into different things etc. Ive looked at job posts to get an idea of things people are looking for. Its just a matter of knowing which things to go after since I dont have any experience using these applications etc. Also can anyone comment on how much math knowledge one must have for various positions? or any other subjects that would help in the field?
Thanks for the link. I have used Oracle for most of the time, and was not aware of the SQL Server offering. Will download it.
While you are waiting for other replies... There are many different domains where software engineering and development is applied. Most software development, however, does not require advanced math. For most corporate applications, having a background in accounting and finance would be far more helpful than having taken advanced math courses:
If that interests you, then you may also want to check out: PostgreSQL, which is very powerful SQLite, which has a small footprint and is designed to be embedded into applications MySQL, which a lot of people seem to like All of them are open source, i.e., entirely free to download and use. -=Steve=-
I agree. Recently i got a chance to work in MySQL. It is really really good. A lot of developers using PHP uses MySQL in a big way.
Math as such is not the most important thing, but general problem solving ability is a must. Ability to understand a functional area like finance, SCM, CRM, would be a definite plus. If you have previous working experience in any of these areas, or any other, then try to build your SW abilities around that. In that sense the above comment of knowing Economics is very very valid.
