Careers involving computers?

Post by **Ryoki** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:29 am

duffman91 wrote:LOL, worry about fucking girls and doing drugs for 3 more years. You're a fucking kid.

Haha, yes.

Post by **Dave** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:43 am

duffman91 wrote:edit: I will also say to you what I've told all the CS freshmen I ever met while at UNI: There is a huge difference between enjoying the use of computers and enjoying the theory behind them.

true, but as someone who has worked with many CS students (not grads), there is a big difference between learning and running computers as well... practical experience often trumps classroom theory. Maybe not so much as a programmer, but as a sysadmin, i think it applies. Plus there's the whole people skills/business culture your average CS grad never learns until the reach the real world.

Post by **inolen** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 1:58 am

ToxicBug wrote:
duffman91 wrote:
I cant spell u wrote: 15.
LOL, worry about fucking girls and doing drugs for 3 more years. You're a fucking kid.
Fuck yeah, I'm 19 and I've only decided what I wanted to do a week ago.

And you're also a fucking tool.

You can have a life and be dedicated to your career. But I think part of your problem is you are trying to find something to do just because it has to do with computers, rather than just doing something you like.

Post by **I cant spell u** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:04 am

inolen wrote: You can have a life and be dedicated to your career. But I think part of your problem is you are trying to find something to do just because it has to do with computers, rather than just doing something you like.

I like computers.....

Post by **bitWISE** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:18 am

duffman91 wrote:
Lotad wrote:Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Systems Analyst
Haven't all those jobs been reduced to consulting firms?

Nationwide still has all their systems people in-house. We use some contractors but many of them become full-time employees.

However, systems analyst is NOT something I recommend. I would be bored to death with that job.

My dream has always been to become a programmer. I'm not as good as inolen but I'm really good when it comes to working with business applications. Not as fun as game programming but there is a certain thrill in seeing anything you create come to life and gain acceptance from the end-user.

Post by **I cant spell u** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 2:29 am

Right now I've been messing with level design using the Source SDK. Kinda fun, I'll try other things too like texture design and modeling.

Post by **JooKed** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:53 am

I always wanted to do something with computer. I also, am just a 15 year old.

I seem to be really interested in the hardware field. I've always dreamed of getting a job, and then buying 2 $3000 gaming systems and then having a lan game or something. Theres a lot of kids in my computer programming class that are doing very well. We pretty much fend for ourselves when it comes to this kinda stuff. The teacher doesn't teach crap (good). Anyway.. even though some of these people are really good at programming, I find that most of them that I've talked to dont even know what graphics card or what kind of ram they have. Its almost impossible to start a good debate on what hardware is better for this and that.

I'd have to say, I've learned soooo much by buying my own hardware, and finding out that I can't use it because of something else I need.

So, anything in the hardware field?
Anyway to hardcore my skills in this stuff? Maybe hands on?
I hate math, so will that mean I will hate programming?

Post by **S@M** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:16 am

Clauz wrote:I am in healthcare IT consulting and it's pretty fucking sweet.

what country are you in? Im in Australia and looking for decent IT dev staff

Post by **simply** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:52 am

Some people say that real world experiences is more important then classroom theory. That only the case if your teacher doesn't know what they're doing. It took me 6 teachers to find one I liked, but when I did... DANG! What I learned in those basic c++ classes have been the foundation of every single line of code I have ever written. Every time I put some thing together, it directly relates to some concept I learned in that class. A great teacher will give you real world experiences. By making the students active in the learning and problem solving. When your done with the class, you should be able to run code in your head, and be able to write a 1000 lines of code, and have it compile/ run perfectly on the first attempt. Because your brain will have already ran it, and caught any errors.

Word for warning, Programing should be treated like any other basic class. It''s not a PE class. It's going to take allot of time, and be pretty challenging.

Post by **werldhed** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:05 am

To all interested in computer careers: since you can find computer-related jobs in any field, you may want to ask what other areas you have interests in, and try to incorporate the two.
I can only speak from experience, but as an example, if you like the life sciences at all, you can find any number of programing jobs that relate. Any lab is going to need imaging facilities, and often there is one guy who runs the whole place who is responsible for getting the hardware up and running, calibrating, and setting up and managing software and databases.
Or you can be directly involved in imaging research, doing 3D modelling of compounds.
Or, you can be involved in programing science software, developing new instruments, etc. The list goes on, and I'm sure you could find examples in any other field you care about. Movies, marketing, automotive, etc...

Post by **duffman91** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:14 am

Deathshroud wrote:So what do you career programmers suggest to Uni students? Pick up some kinda Linux developement project? I can't really think of much else.

Honestly? Help in some open source project. Code a virus. ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING with what you learn. So many kids just take classes and have nothing to show for it. Several of my friends have worked with mod communities and landed jobs straight out of college for their coding, maping, etc.

Government contractors like JT3 and Bechtel are always looking for CS kids that are willing to learn. Just put yourself out there and be involved in the field. Interships are a godsend.

As long as you are professional about it, even the simplest thing like a well written user manual can land you a job.

If you can show people that you know what you do, you'll have less problems landing a job than a fresh college grad with only homework under their belt.

Take me for example, before I graduated:

-I coded projects for money
-I coded projects for free
-I wrote professional grade documentation for projects
-I did my own research just for the fuck of it(You can probably still search for a post I did about an ALU benchmark I wrote)
-I joined engineering societies: ACM and SHPE
-I participated in industry conventions and competed in programming contests.

And that's a very abridged list of the things I did.

Post by **duffman91** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:16 am

JooKed wrote: I hate math, so will that mean I will hate programming?

If you hate math, do not even think about considering Computer Science as a career move.

edit: Inolen, good point.

Post by **inolen** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:30 pm

duffman91 wrote:Honestly? Help in some open source project. Code a virus. ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING with what you learn. So many kids just take classes and have nothing to show for it. Several of my friends have worked with mod communities and landed jobs straight out of college for their coding, maping, etc.

I think this is the best point. It doesn't matter if you go to school, don't go to school, whatever, if you have enough projects and demos to showcase your skills, you're good.

Post by **Grudge** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:36 am

duffman91 wrote:
JooKed wrote: I hate math, so will that mean I will hate programming?
If you hate math, do not even think about considering Computer Science as a career move.

edit: Inolen, good point.

Agreed. I've never been much interested in math so I went into Cognitive Science instead, focusing on interaction design. I took a couple of programming classes (LISP, C++, Java, databases etc), and while it was interesting, and gave me an understanding of how it works, it also confirmed that it was not something I would want to work with. Now, as an interaction/graphic designer I can still work with computers, but I don't have to do any programming, save perhaps for some simple scripting (actionscript, jsp etc). It does require a genuine interest for design and usability though.

Post by **diego** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:52 am

I have a university degree in german literature and switched careers just as of lately. I took a 1 year course mainly in database programming and I love it. It's nowhere near as complex as what a game programmer and/or an application programmer does, but I still love it.

And I'm always learning new things on a daily basis.

Did I mention I love it?