Working in the computing industry?

Gavin Baldwin

New Member
Hi there all,

Im new to the forum and am looking for some advice or tips really. I am looking to do some courses within the computing industry but when you look at the jobs that are around they all want experience etc and certain types of knowledge in a given area.
What I'm trying to work out is how would you get that experience if say Im only just fresh out of completing an oracle database course etc? Same goes for say web developing or app developing. Is it a case of just practise practise and build up a portfolio etc.
Im 38 years of age need to know if it is worth investing time and money into these courses if most jobs are solely experience based as I dont seem to see many junior or trainee positions.

Thanks in advance for any help etc or criticism
 

_Pete_

Active Member
I think you will find that most jobs want experience as well as, or in some cases over and above, paper qualifications. You cannot do without the paper qualifications but all jobs require in house training and most companies would be unwilling to make the investment required to train someone up completely from scratch. Having said that eventually you will get that experience even if it means taking jobs, initially, that are well below your qualification status. You will just have to keep plugging at it. I do hope that this doesn't offend you but it is much easier for a younger person to take those "menial" jobs and work their way up. Especially if you are married and/or have children as in that case you will need a reasonable wage. But keep plugging away and something will come your way eventually.
 

_Pete_

Active Member
Sure you can. I've worked with several programmers whob have never been to school for anything. It's harder for sure, but it's doable

And that's what you took from my reply? As a retired employer the first thing I would have wanted to see from any potential employee would have been a resume. On that resume I would have expected to see a list of educational and academic institutions that that potential employee had attended and a list of the paper qualifications, paper for reference, that that potential employee had attained. I did not say it wasn't "doable" not to have any paper qualifications but it is eminently preferable to have them.
 

Cromewell

Administrator
Staff member
And that's what you took from my reply?
No. That was the specific part I wanted to address.
As a retired employer the first thing I would have wanted to see from any potential employee would have been a resume. On that resume I would have expected to see a list of educational and academic institutions that that potential employee had attended and a list of the paper qualifications
Having interviewed too many people myself, I can tell you first hand a resume counts for crap. I had multiple interviewees come in with a CCNA in Routing and Switching that couldn't figure out why a pair of machines in different /29 networks couldn't talk to each other when directly connected.

I'm saying that while paper qualifications will help with many employers, they aren't 100% necessary. Companies that only care about people with some degree will miss out on very talented self taught people. I have worked with many people with "higher" degrees that were right useless. In fact, one of the smartest guys I worked with had no education beyond highschool.

There are other ways to prove your cred than just listing previous employment, schooling and paid certifications (i.e. Cisco, Microsoft, etc) on your resume. Working on open source projects, volunteer time with some organization, doing something in your field on your own time and keeping a portfolio. You don't need a lot, just quality stuff. Smart employers will recognize it, and that's where you want to end up.
 

Geoff

VIP Member
No. That was the specific part I wanted to address.

Having interviewed too many people myself, I can tell you first hand a resume counts for crap. I had multiple interviewees come in with a CCNA in Routing and Switching that couldn't figure out why a pair of machines in different /29 networks couldn't talk to each other when directly connected.

I'm saying that while paper qualifications will help with many employers, they aren't 100% necessary. Companies that only care about people with some degree will miss out on very talented self taught people. I have worked with many people with "higher" degrees that were right useless. In fact, one of the smartest guys I worked with had no education beyond highschool.

There are other ways to prove your cred than just listing previous employment, schooling and paid certifications (i.e. Cisco, Microsoft, etc) on your resume. Working on open source projects, volunteer time with some organization, doing something in your field on your own time and keeping a portfolio. You don't need a lot, just quality stuff. Smart employers will recognize it, and that's where you want to end up.
I agree with what you're saying, but what's on your resume does matter as well. Unless you have connections, you are very unlikely to even get an interview if your resume lacks most of what that employer is requiring/recommending.
 
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