Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Daughter has decided to study to be a software engineer.

Anju

Anju

Well-Known Member
Hi, our eldest daughter, recently turned 23, has decided to start studying to become a software engineer. Currently doing a free online course to see if she enjoys it.

I've looked online and there are quite a few companies offering training, some arrange a work placement on completion. Just a bit sceptical about whether it's possible to go from zero experience and knowledge to employable in a relatively short time.

Any thoughts or information would be greatly appreciated.
 
Firstly, YAY ! I converted from a science degree into software and spent many a long and happy, sometimes quite fruitful, year :D

Without wishing to rain on anyone's parade I would be wary of any company promising a job upon completion of training, especially if they want money to train people, it's not unheard of for someone to complete the training and then be offered unrelated employment. Free online courses are absolutely the best way to go to test the water and find out if she finds it enjoyable. From there, if the spirit is willing there could be a number of routes into a job, she could go for formal training with recognised qualifications or if she has a good academic record maybe see what the big firms offer in the way of apprenticeships. Or work backwards, research the kind of companies she'd like to work for and look for what qualifications etc. they ask for. I think it depends really what she has in the way of qualifications already, what's her academic record ? Does she have any work experience yet ?

Thirdly, YAY !
 
I got into software work when it was very easy to go from zero to a well-paid job pretty quickly. I imagine there is a bit more of ladder to climb up these days, but it should be possible to get work with a basic knowledge and some good skills.

First steps would be to work on real projects for real people. Tutorials are great, but that's only half the story.

Learning to write code takes quite a bit of effort. You've gotta really want to do it. But if you find it interesting (like I do), it can be a great way to make a living.
 
izz said:
Or work backwards, research the kind of companies she'd like to work for and look for what qualifications etc. they ask for. I think it depends really what she has in the way of qualifications already, what's her academic record ? Does she have any work experience yet ?

Thirdly, YAY !
Click to expand...
I'd say (as a not-software-engineer) this^^. What does she want to do with it? What aspects of technology is she interested in? What software does she use now?

Fourthly, YAY !
 
I'm an engineer though not software, but I am currently working with our team on a coding project. So my question would be why? Why software engineering?

Does she like solving problems? How does she handle deadlines and pressure,?
 
She'll make loads of money if she can get into it. Online courses and building up a portfolio of stuff def a good idea. If no paid work yet loads of options for part-time volunteering etc im sure.. she'd gain valuable skills.

Def a good career for those that have the skillz. She needs to be careful to avoid exploitative conditions as a newbie though. Probably quite a few junior/apprenticeship roles worth applying for... if shes studied something else, her knowledge in that area could be v valuable too.
 
Thanks two sheds, equationgirl, Riklet.

She finished a psychology degree in 2019 but has been struggling to move on. Managed to save money to go and meet up with friends in Japan and Korea but Covid stopped that and she's at a standstill now and doesn't seem able to get out of the deep rut she's found herself in. Currently in the process of being assessed for ADHD / ADD as well.

She likes the idea of coding and more project based work, maybe with an educational software company. I guess we'll have to see if she enjoys the stuff she's doing now and takes it further.

My main concern was whether she could get started without a CS degree.
 
I worked for an automotive company years ago and they had a good few software engineers, the projects were complicated and the code duplicated or quadruplicated, in an effort to iron out errors. That wasn't even critical real-time ABS or engine management systems.

I can see plenty of potential to build a career in software engineering, especially if you enjoy it.
 
She should def give it a go. She might love it. They def need people in that industry so there are plenty of options without doing a CS degree. I would get some skills/work experience first, see about job prospects and then study something in a year or two maybe. Especially at the moment! However... some good masters options out there e.g. CS Conversion at Bristol Uni.

Her studying psychology might be a bonus cos it opens doorways based on her already having a degree. Also it's a fairly scientific degree and there might even be software engineering stuff within the field of psychology.

Might take her a bit of time to build up skills though. Has she got work in the mean time?
 
Mind you I've said it before but whenever young people (happens all the time) ask me what they should do I say 'get a ticket', so how does she feel about plumbing?
 
JavaScript and SQL both bring in serious cash and shedloads of work for those who can get on with them.

Degrees are second fiddle to showing you can do the work. One of the few jobs you can still say that about.

It's also a good job for moving abroad now brexit has hit, it's in the skilled occupation list for most places
 
I wonder how much software will be automated by AI in the future? And what does that mean a new programmer should concentrate on?
 
Riklet said:
She should def give it a go. She might love it. They def need people in that industry so there are plenty of options without doing a CS degree. I would get some skills/work experience first, see about job prospects and then study something in a year or two maybe. Especially at the moment! However... some good masters options out there e.g. CS Conversion at Bristol Uni.

Her studying psychology might be a bonus cos it opens doorways based on her already having a degree. Also it's a fairly scientific degree and there might even be software engineering stuff within the field of psychology.

Might take her a bit of time to build up skills though. Has she got work in the mean time?
Click to expand...
Looking like she'll go for teaching assistant job and study at the same time.
 
two sheds said:
Mind you I've said it before but whenever young people (happens all the time) ask me what they should do I say 'get a ticket', so how does she feel about plumbing?
Click to expand...
I'm a plumber, though work as self employed handyman as plumbing alone was a bit boring and too much time working in cupboards. She has worked with me and we both enjoyed the experience, plus customers loved it and I did suggest it as an option but she wasn't keen.
 
Kids just don't follow work done by their parents any more :( Retrograde step if you ask me. My dad was a house painter and I should have done that really.
 
two sheds said:
I wonder how much software will be automated by AI in the future? And what does that mean a new programmer should concentrate on?
Click to expand...

Depends what your looking at, one if the major automation fields right now is Azure and cloud technology. MS is trying to simplify that but there is always going to be a need for someone to write the code it plugs into. Unless your buying fully off the shelf software as a service (in which case the SaaS guys are coding it for you and paying well)

Anyone who can muck about with api's is useful to have about
 
I got into programming back in the 1980's. Programmer, analyst programmer, software engineer, systems analyst. I had essentially the same sort of job for nearly 40 years, obviously with increasing experience but different job titles. I was lucky in that I found firms that still had in-house IT departments and home-grown code. That sort of thing still exists, but is increasingly rare. Nowadays most software comes off the shelf from software houses, may need a bit of tinkering. More and more I suspect the really interesting jobs will become fewer and fewer, replaced by more comprehensive software and who knows what kind of AI.

So I wouldn't say there was any kind of certainty about a job in Software Engineering, but as there's no certainty in anything else either, give it a go!
 
I learnt to code back in the 70's in C and assembly language on a machine the size of a wardrobe with 512K of memory fortunately things have moved on a bit since then.
A lot of basic coding these days in done in places like the Philippines and India (especially India) but there is still bags of demand for people who can think for themselves rather than just knock out lines of code.
At Evil American Megacorp I sat in on a lot of interviews for trainees and would offer the following take on it. In her favour she's young and (I presume ) single and has a degree which is good. Pyschology is not the top degree that they would look for (maths, science or computing are the best) but a degree in something like pyschology is still good since it shows she is a) intelligent and b) not afraid of work.
It's easy to train people to code, what's harder is to train them to think and solve problems which is what she wants to focus on. Demonstrating she has people skills these days is more use than being a geek.
Learning to code off her own bat is great though would definitely get her a tick from me if I was still doing this.
The best language these days to learn off the bat is Python, it's very flexible you can write almost anything in it from Windows GUI's to websites, it will run on any platform from a laptop to a supercomputer and there is loads of demand for it.
Not the easiest language to learn but well within the capability of a smart young woman. It's also Object Oriented which is a concept she will need to master soon rather than later.
Programming languages are like real ones, the hardest one to learn is the first, the second is much easier.
PHP, SQL and HTML (the primary coding tools for web programming) are also worth demonstrating a basic knowledge of but if she gets to the point of being offered a job she doesn't need to be an expert and no-one would expect her to be.
Don't bother with Microsoft languages, Visual Basic is basically a toy for schoolkids and Visual C (in it's many flavours) is a limited market. It will also cost a bomb to get a copy, thing likes Python can be downloaded for free.
Also I wouldn't really bother with any company that wants payng to train her, EAM didn't take many of those (even so some weren't bad). If she was 35 and desperate for work it might be worth a shot but for now her age and her current degree are the best things she has to offer. Check out your local FE college see what they offer before considering any commercial company.
I suggest she tries applying to smaller places as a preference, they often struggle to get staff and a lot more willing to take a chance on someone new. If she can get a job at somewhere like IBM, DXC or AWS then great but chances are she will probably have to move to get ahead.
Good Luck
 
I would think Node-Red would be quite a good thing to use to get her head around programming. You can download it for Windows or Linux Node-RED you can start off by dropping in function blocks such as website calls to get the data and use simple blocks to change that data and get output, as she progresses she can create Javascript code (native) or python (free add on ) to increase the complexity.
 
Just FTR, if she did decide to pursue a CS undergraduate degree (full time or part time), then you can get a second student loan for them even if you have a degree already. I'm sure the degree itself isn't actually necessary, but it might be a financially more feasible way of providing proof of skills in Python, etc, to get work even while studying.
 
I've got a CS degree and have worked in software for longer than I like to think about.

When we are taking on staff these days, in the absence of a degree if they have some project they've completed and can talk about that can help a lot.

So, if it were me, or I was advising my child I'd suggest to her she investigates Kotlin. There's lots of support online and it can be used to write Android apps. Android Studio is free to use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

starfish2000
My employer has cocked up my pension
Replies
15
Views
506
AnnO'Neemus
A
B
Got a job where they were advertising two roles and the other has been re-advertised at more money
Replies
16
Views
785
AnnO'Neemus
A
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Daughter melts down in exam conditions GCSE exam revision advice / suggestions?
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
168
Views
7K
ATOMIC SUPLEX
ATOMIC SUPLEX
P
Has your pension taken a massive dive?
2 3 4
Replies
90
Views
4K
kabbes
K
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Another child is using my daughters parent pay.
Replies
19
Views
1K
ATOMIC SUPLEX
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Back
Top Bottom