Looking for Advice on starting a "computer" related career

[beuteugeu]

Hi, not sure if this is the exact place to post this.

 

I'm a 25 yo from Brazil who has a degree in law school (that I think was a complete waste of time, as I don't like the area) and who was recently trying/playing dota 2 professionally (for the last 2 years) and is as of now going to stop playing - passion has died.

That said, I'm looking for opinions on how to go about studying computer science and/or other areas related to software/hardware.

 

Because of family-related problems and living in a small town I don't have access to a good formal institution right now, and can't leave for the next 1 or 2 years.

 

How to know/test what I like/have affinity and what I don't? Is studying alone on the internet a good option? Is looking for a degree better? Maybe an online degree? A more individual work, or in team? I've seen that there is a LOT of content avaible online. 

 

Also tried to contact @Slick, as for me it seems that his opinions/views are very similar to mine, but maybe that could be true to most people with the same shared interests that end up watching wan show/ltt and channels/etc.

 

Looking for general advice for starting out, not specifically only answers to the questions above.

 

 

I greatly appreciate feedback. 

 

[jaslion]

15 minutes ago, beuteugeu said:

have affinity

All can be learned so I'd go into things with a mind of "eveb if I suck I can learn it"

 

What I like suggesting is following some basic practical courses on udemy, coursera,... all not the greatest peak of education but it can be fun.

 

Other sources would be following a python course to do the python one exam, the arduino course to do the arduino exam, a html css course for a basic website,...

 

Networking and hardware are more difficult to do as rhey require physical hardware to really do a lot. But a cheap linksys wrt router and a raspberry pi and/or random other pc can go a long way. To do some nas, firewall, routing,....

 

 

We get these questions here all the time and its basically "I like computers tell me what to do to get a job with computers" which is a very open and loaded question.

 

Other than give some small recommendations I can't do much more than say go around fuck about and find out what works for you

[Bismut]

20 minutes ago, jaslion said:

not the greatest peak of education but it can be fun

And it's not expensive to try. I can personally recommend YouTube tutorials, or entire channels if you want to go into specific things.

ServeTheHome and Level1Techs seem to do (professional) networking and general IT

Craft Computing is a good entry into homelabbing.

Jeff Geerling mostly does Raspberry Pi stuff, but also some networking and atypical use scenarios

Adrian's Digital Basement does retro computing, so does CRD (Cathode Ray Dude).

I'm sure there's tons of others as well, but as @jaslionsaid:

24 minutes ago, jaslion said:

go around fuck about and find out what works for you

[LogicalDrm]

Why the emphasis on "computer related"? If you don't have any idea about what you like on the space of computers (which is already limiting instead of general tech), why it must be computers?

 

Why did you go after law degree if you didn't like the subject? IMO it's among the harder and most time consuming subjects to learn (from dating law student).

 

You stopped going after professional gaming career, but did you lose passion for gaming overall? There are other aspects of that area than being equivalent to professional athlete.

 

I'm asking these because not all people make their hobby their profession and enjoy it. I wouldn't, which is why I haven't ever worked in position where it would be my main job. I do it as side in every place I work. But that gives me chance to choose what to spend my time with and what is for the actual IT people.

[theopenforum]

if you are more of a visual person, then I would recommend cbtnuggets, as they have several different topics for you to choose from.  To see which technology tickles your fancy.  If you are a more reddit/reading type person then books from authors you normally watch online would be the way to go.

[HumdrumPenguin]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:49 AM, beuteugeu said:

Hi, not sure if this is the exact place to post this.

 

I'm a 25 yo from Brazil who has a degree in law school (that I think was a complete waste of time, as I don't like the area) and who was recently trying/playing dota 2 professionally (for the last 2 years) and is as of now going to stop playing - passion has died.

That said, I'm looking for opinions on how to go about studying computer science and/or other areas related to software/hardware.

 

Because of family-related problems and living in a small town I don't have access to a good formal institution right now, and can't leave for the next 1 or 2 years.

 

How to know/test what I like/have affinity and what I don't? Is studying alone on the internet a good option? Is looking for a degree better? Maybe an online degree? A more individual work, or in team? I've seen that there is a LOT of content avaible online. 

 

Also tried to contact @Slick, as for me it seems that his opinions/views are very similar to mine, but maybe that could be true to most people with the same shared interests that end up watching wan show/ltt and channels/etc.

 

Looking for general advice for starting out, not specifically only answers to the questions above.

 

 

I greatly appreciate feedback. 

 

I'm not passionate about anything really, so I tried 6 or 7 formal educations. Ended up moving to a different country on my own and graduating in design. Now I work as a UX designer, and the pay is finally getting somewhere. When you really don't know what the heck to do, limiting your subjects of exploration to computer related areas is not a good idea in my opinion.

 

You also didn't discuss your personal or family financial situation, so that may limit your options as well, and you'd need to be more careful with your choices.

[beuteugeu]

On 1/25/2023 at 3:26 AM, LogicalDrm said:

Why the emphasis on "computer related"? If you don't have any idea about what you like on the space of computers (which is already limiting instead of general tech), why it must be computers?

Feels like a good place to start looking around - I always liked working with/around computers, talking about computer related themes, etc. But I do agree, general tech would also be a good way to look at it.

 

On 1/25/2023 at 3:26 AM, LogicalDrm said:

Why did you go after law degree if you didn't like the subject? IMO it's among the harder and most time consuming subjects to learn (from dating law student).

It's because I didn't know what to do and at the time was helping on a small family business. It's 5 years here but it's not hard at all. 

 

On 1/25/2023 at 3:26 AM, LogicalDrm said:

You stopped going after professional gaming career, but did you lose passion for gaming overall? There are other aspects of that area than being equivalent to professional athlete.

Good question. I do still like to game, but I'm not sure myself if I lost my overall gaming love. 

Other aspects you mean in a content creating way? If it is that, I've thought about it a bit, but didn't give it too much credit.

 

On 1/25/2023 at 3:26 AM, LogicalDrm said:

I'm asking these because not all people make their hobby their profession and enjoy it

This is also something that gives me a lot to think about.

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for the ideas, even if I didn't answer them directly

 

 

[igormp]

On 1/24/2023 at 1:49 PM, beuteugeu said:

How to know/test what I like/have affinity and what I don't? Is studying alone on the internet a good option?

Yes, if you want to get into programming specifically try to fuck around as others said, try to create a simple CLI calculator, hangman, stuff like that and search around how/what do you need to accomplish so. If you like it, then you can go further.

On 1/24/2023 at 1:49 PM, beuteugeu said:

Is looking for a degree better?

Not unless you're sure you're liking it and already have some experience, then I'd say that trying to get into an online course like Descomplica or FIAP would be a nice way to get started and look for an internship, since the market nowadays is kinda tough with many layoffs.

 

Avoid working with support, it will only bring you stress and you'll hardly ever be able to advance in your career, specially in a small city here in Brazil.

[LogicalDrm]

2 hours ago, beuteugeu said:

Good question. I do still like to game, but I'm not sure myself if I lost my overall gaming love. 

Other aspects you mean in a content creating way? If it is that, I've thought about it a bit, but didn't give it too much credit.

There's so much more. Just in eSports there's journalism and management, plus working for tournament organizers in some way. Expanding to different positions in game development, peripheral sales and community positions.

 

Ofc similar positions are available in general tech, if your mind isn't quite set into going all technical, mechanical or software side.