Made Redundant - Time for a new career direction

[craigo]

Hi to all

I have just been made redundant and have decided to make a leap and completely change career. Up until now, my (paid) professional life has revolved around supervision of a glorified Customer Service department including some regulatory compliance. However, I have always had a keen interest in computing, dating back to a childhood fascination with both the Sinclair Spectrum and BBC Micro's respective versions of BASIC.

I should provide a bit of background about me. I am 31 and have limited formal qualifications. I don't have a degree and was educated to GCSE level (4Bs, 4Cs, 2Ds). Although, I am currently studying part time for a BSc in Computing with the Open University. I have, as a hobby, learned web technologies including HTML, Javascript, PHP and used XML, as well as SQL databases. I have developed websites and applications, mostly for friends, for example I created a custom video streaming site with subscription and billing support built in. I've also dabbled a bit with C++.

Being situated in London, I have found a number of "computer colleges" offering various courses including Microsoft Certification and Comptia certification.

The two areas that I have the most interest in are software development and database management. I am just wondering how useful things like Microsoft Certification and Comptia certification would be to me, and what things more experienced programmers would recommend that I consider.

Does anyone have any advice that they think would be useful for me?

Thanks
Craig

[jlreich]

Welcome to the http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif forums.

Since you have learned all these programming languages on your own there is no reason for you to take classes for many of the certifications. They are easy to get on your own for someone who is good at self study. There are many great self-prep books out there for all the various certs. Anyone can take them, you don't need to be associated with a school or company in order to take them. Schedule a date, pay the fee, pass the exam and you are certified.

I'm not really a programmer so I will leave the advice of which ones would be best for those that are. But I will say it will depend on what direction you are looking to go into. Seems you have a knack for web development and already have many of the skills needed. But what, if any, other fields are you interested in?

[saphalline]

* DISCLAIMER : I am not a professional programmer! *

(I couldn't hack it as a programmer only. Too grueling for my tastes. I need more variation in my life. No offense. ;))

First of all, certs NEVER hurt! And if you're the type that excels at self-learning, then you can crank out a few certs in far less time and monetary investment than most people! I say go for whatever certs you can fit into your time and seem like a good idea for your new direction. Studying is free, test fees are insignificant.

As for the degree, that can't hurt, either - although the time and money spent there is more significant. But being 31 already (no offense again!) it would be highly advisable to finish off that degree now. Once you have a degree, "continuing education" in the IT field is more or less considered to be raw on-the-job experience. There's no going back to school to "refresh" a degree.

What you should do right now, I think, is continue your momentum as far as internet/network applications. Raw DB programmers have very little versatility on paper - only demonstrated skill can move you either up or laterally from there. But "web portals" are a solid field and looks to be something you can do. I'd say C++ will be important in this respect, but try to keep it within the realm of SQL-based interactivity. Java/Javascript are also important, but the implications there could lead you down a different direction. PHP and HTML are pretty "safe" things to learn.

From the "web portals" idea, you could concentrate more on web-based transactions. Always a big thing these days. You could also get into DB front-end development for a big company, either internally or to sell/license to other smaller companies. On a long shot, you could even leverage your skills (especially Java/Javascript) to the mobile market - as in web-enabled cell phones and other internet devices.

There are many direction in which you could go. If I were you, I'd start using your skills as searchable buzzwords that show up in job offers/descriptions. See what companies are looking for, make a few calls, etc. A little bit of market research goes a long way. Just don't let yourself be too defined by jobs that are available right now. You don't want to cut your more "upcoming" skills out of the picture if you still have some preparation left.

[BradleyDalton]

Hi

Hi to all

I have just been made redundant and have decided to make a leap and completely change career. Up until now, my (paid) professional life has revolved around supervision of a glorified Customer Service department including some regulatory compliance. However, I have always had a keen interest in computing, dating back to a childhood fascination with both the Sinclair Spectrum and BBC Micro's respective versions of BASIC and i thank u....