Thinking about a career change.

[JEW UNIT NY]

Hi everybody. Hope all is well. I am thinking about doing a career change and I am interested in software engineering. I do have a few questions about this career option. I have no experience programming. I just watched a few videos on youtube (on MIT’s channel) and really found it interesting.  I’m currently in my late 20s and want to go back to school.  I currently work for Walgreens so I have to ask them if there is a way I can get transferred from the retail space to the IT space of Walgreens, so that should be an interesting conversation I’ll have with my boss.

 

I currently have about 90 credits in community college. Current GPA and Science GPA of 3.3 and Math GPA of 4.0 (even though I didn’t have a math course in a few years and the highest I went up to is Calc. 1). I know it’s not the highest GPA. I will be trying to improve all of my GPA. I’m planning to go into ASU Tempe (I live in AZ).  I left school because I got into a graduate program and didn’t find it interesting after a few years (I was doing it for the money and wasn’t really happy with the career option I chose) and decided to withdraw from the program.

 

1. How do you guys recommend I approach schooling when I apply or getting into school? I don’t have any experience programming or any tech experiences (even though I do watch tech channels on youtube and am very interested in the subject matter).

 

2. For those of you that are working, what advice can you give to find a job after schooling? What should I be doing during school in order to increase my chances? How are job interviews like? I’m sure it’s drastically different from applying to a retail position.

 

I’m going to schedule an appointment with ASU for more information, but I don’t know how many more years of school I will have left. I just want to take advantage of my opportunity as much as I can.

 

3. For those that live in AZ and work in software engineering or computer science, what opportunities does AZ have to offer?  What are your experiences? Does anybody have trouble with employment in AZ?

 

4. I really want to do this career for a long time. Is ageism really an issue?

 

Thank you for taking the time for reading this. Sorry for the long read. I hope to hear from you soon.

[gtx1060=value]

first, you should go onto code academy and just take intro courses in javascript SQL and C# - as for jobs, you might end up taking an online quiz testing your knowledge - which is what i did and if your marks are high there and you have a likable personality, you should do fine - requesting a transfer after getting your degree would be a better idea - also, try to find some internships on weekends for a month or 2 to learn more about how workplaces like that operate and get some advice and tips from more experienced people - im a software engineer and honestly, work isnt that hard to find

[Luc401]

Can you see yourself programming when your 40 or 50, I sure cant see myself doing that crap. Maybe look into an IT job.

[Luc401]

1 minute ago, gtx1060=value said:

first, you should go onto code academy and just take intro courses in javascript SQL and C# - as for jobs, you might end up taking an online quiz testing your knowledge - which is what i did and if your marks are high there and you have a likable personality, you should do fine - requesting a transfer after getting your degree would be a better idea - also, try to find some internships on weekends for a month or 2 to learn more about how workplaces like that operate and get some advice and tips from more experienced people - im a software engineer and honestly, work isnt that hard to find

I totally disagree with the way code academy teaches, I find it not logical at all and never learnt much other than syntax. 

[gtx1060=value]

32 minutes ago, Luc401 said:

I totally disagree with the way code academy teaches, I find it not logical at all and never learnt much other than syntax. 

there aren't many other free sources luc, unless the OP has access to Lynda or something like that at his local library codeacademy is all he has

[Luc401]

5 minutes ago, gtx1060=value said:

there aren't many other free sources luc, unless the OP has access to Lynda or something like that at his local library codeacademy is all he has

Get a programming textbook and work through it.