Where to start? Want to become a computer.....

[WOIF]

As a future job I really interested in 

 

computer programmer 

 

computer engineer 

 

computer science 

 

and basically anything to do with computers I guess 

 

but I don’t know any languages or even how to build my own pc So uh .....

 

idk what I want to do more is computer science the same as programming or what here ? 

 

I really dont know where to start but all I know is I want to do something to do with I guess programming but like the problem is I’m not great as designing things as I’m bad at art and yeah all design lol

 

so really I want to code but not do anything where I have to kinda make my own stuff up or if I have template I can but I don’t like art or web design or anything I have to make my own stuff up

 

is there a way I can learn any of these for free or are they going to include paying for training ? 

 

Im 18 so I want to get a job pretty fast but this will take years to learn any of these of course but that’s why I want to start right now 

 

I didint do anything in college because I really really couldn’t think of what I wanted to do and now I choose this so FUK 

 

anyone suggest what one one I should start with out of like

 

conputer programming or engineering or science ? And where I could train for free or not

 

 

[Ryujin2003]

Computer science is the genetic root of all of it.

 

You'd probably need to figure out if you want to do more hardware it software, and then branch from there. Computer engineer is hardware at least at my school. Everyone else falls under general computer science, and is software oriented.

[MrDrWho13]

2 minutes ago, WOIF said:

As a future job I really interested in 

 

computer programmer 

 

computer engineer 

 

computer science 

Computer Programming / Software engineering is mostly coding in high level languages like Java, C#, PHP or whatever. Creating software which is used on PCs, or Apps for mobile etc.

 

Computer Science is mostly Software engineering but you begin to go to a lower level too such as Assembly language. There's also a focus on networking and databases amongst other things.

 

Computer Engineering is closer to Electronic Engineering. So you'd be doing some of the topics covered above, but with a strong focus on low level languages and the electronics behind modern digital computers.

 

What country are you in? Here in the UK you can get loans to go to University or go for apprenticeships of various levels in many areas of computing.

What's your background? What subjects have you done and had an interest in in the past?

[Looting]

I didn't know what I wanted to do in IT I just knew I wanted to do IT. So I applied for companies doing entry level work to showcase some of my technology related skills and to get my foot in the door. I ended up landing in Audio/Visual work which I enjoy a lot. The best thing about it is that I didn't spend a dime on it. The company I work for Sends me to school and pays the way for certifications. having the $0 in school debt is a nice

[Mira Yurizaki]

Software development is something I don't think you can get a job with by yourself unless you have something impressive to show for it. And something like that doesn't just come up overnight, but usually years. Otherwise, most companies, at least in the US, require some college degree. I am aware there are these "coding bootcamp" courses and supposedly they'll get you in touch with a recruiter, but whether that leads to a job or a lasting career is up for grabs.

 

And then I feel that simply knowing how to code doesn't make you a software developer. Software development is more than just coding. I'd argue ideally, that software development is really like 10%-20% actual coding. The rest is spent on identifying requirements, coming up with a sound design, and testing (though mostly testing).

 

I'm not trying to discourage you from becoming a software developer, but I just want you to know there's more to making programs that putting down code.

[Minbari]

When considering the financials of going back to university for a degree, remember the possibility of co-operative education/ internships. Most degrees in the field can be completed with 12-16 months of work placements, where your total income will probably be in the $40,000-60,000 range and likely pay for the majority/all of the degree itself. This also is a great foot in the door to a permanent job after graduating with the same employer. Before enrolling in a program I would suggest finding some free textbooks on a couple languages and try getting acquainted with coding to start. Then you can make a decision about whether you want to pursue a career in the field or not. Keep in mind a lot of the jobs go well beyond pure coding, and actual experience is worth so much more than schooling in the field. 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

16 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Software development is something I don't think you can get a job with by yourself unless you have something impressive to show for it. And something like that doesn't just come up overnight, but usually years. Otherwise, most companies, at least in the US, require some college degree. I am aware there are these "coding bootcamp" courses and supposedly they'll get you in touch with a recruiter, but whether that leads to a job or a lasting career is up for grabs.

 

And then I feel that simply knowing how to code doesn't make you a software developer. Software development is more than just coding. I'd argue ideally, that software development is really like 10%-20% actual coding. The rest is spent on identifying requirements, coming up with a sound design, and testing (though mostly testing).

 

I'm not trying to discourage you from becoming a software developer, but I just want you to know there's more to making programs that putting down code.

I agree. Most of the time I spend with my Computing Science assignments is actually planning things out with paper and pen, drawing UML diagrams. For example, in Java, you'll be spending a big chunk of your time planning your classes and objects, as well as how all of these relate to each other. You could just dive into it and you may be able to come up with the desired outcome. But your code would be a mess (or what we like to call spaghetti code) and unmanageable for someone else who might take over the project. People who can code to basic behaviour specifications are a dime a dozen. Finding people who can do this all while making their code manageable and workable for everyone else who might be working on the project is on another level. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.  

[AMDPRO]

Binge watch LTT BitWit, Hardware Canucks, JayzTwoCents etc. Then try and get a A+ certification. Along the way watch proffessor messer as well as learn some languages, primarily java.

[AngryBeaver]

1 hour ago, Minbari said:

When considering the financials of going back to university for a degree, remember the possibility of co-operative education/ internships. Most degrees in the field can be completed with 12-16 months of work placements, where your total income will probably be in the $40,000-60,000 range and likely pay for the majority/all of the degree itself. This also is a great foot in the door to a permanent job after graduating with the same employer. Before enrolling in a program I would suggest finding some free textbooks on a couple languages and try getting acquainted with coding to start. Then you can make a decision about whether you want to pursue a career in the field or not. Keep in mind a lot of the jobs go well beyond pure coding, and actual experience is worth so much more than schooling in the field. 

40-60k isn't a great starting place for what education costs these days.

 

That being said the OP should try looking online for some free coding resources. I would start with Java or Python personally. Python is probably more straight forward for most people.

 

This will give you an idea of if you actually like this kind of thing and will also let you start to understand how functions,loops, conditionals, etc all work. Once you have learned your first language it just becomes a matter of learning the syntax of the others.

 

Now you said you don't like to create things or aren't very creative. If that is the case you could probably get your foot in the door as a debugger. You will be able to apply your coding skills, but in order to hunt down and fix problems. This will give you more experience and let you see how other people go about creating things and also give you valuable experience in the field.

 

I would also suggest you look at other parts of the IT field like:

Forensics / E-discovery

Cyber Security

Pentesting

Network Administration

Computer Support

 

If you are wanting fields with a great entry level pay range... then the top two items I listed generally start in the 70-90k range for entry level.

[Minbari]

1 hour ago, AngryBeaver said:

40-60k isn't a great starting place for what education costs these days.

 

At least where I am from, making 60,000 a year as a temporary student employee with very little experience who will spend most of the year training is a very good deal. In Canada at most universities that would cover a 5 year undergrad degree in CS or software engineering. The year after graduating you would be paid as a regular employee would- much higher. 

[AngryBeaver]

I am talking USD.. So if we convert that to CAD that would be 90.2k - 116k CAD.

 

In the states you MIGHT get an entry level or paid internship while in school, but it will not be good pay... 12-15/hr in general. Then after getting out of school you will need experience which is gained from entry level employment normally in the form of contractor work.

 

So when you can start out as a contractor making what I stated above... it goes a long way in getting your education paid for. It also allows you to rent/buy a home and start to support a family early on... then in 2-3 years as you climb up the latter and are making a solid 6 figures you can start putting money back in savings or investing it. 

[Energycore]

Welcome to the forums!

 

If you want to become a computer you'll have to wait for the technology to upload your consciousness to be available.

 

But in all seriousness, Computer Science as a career is general enough that you can grab it then choose your path of preference. You can become a programmer, network manager, even a hacker or a CPU architect.

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 hour ago, AngryBeaver said:

40-60k isn't a great starting place for what education costs these days.

While I'm not going to say education isn't cheap, I think a lot of people make it needlessly expensive for themselves. I feel most employers don't care where you went to school, only that you completed it and took courses relevant to the job.

[AngryBeaver]

6 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

While I'm not going to say education isn't cheap, I think a lot of people make it needlessly expensive for themselves. I feel most employers don't care where you went to school, only that you completed it and took courses relevant to the job.

I think enough people don't take advantage of 2 yr schools. You can normally grab an AAS in your preferred field and an AA degree and be done with 85-90% of your 4yr curriculum. You might spend 2.5 yrs on getting both, but you also pay 180cr/h on average vs 450+ cr/hr at a 4yr. Now if you want to go to grad school be prepared to eat some costs... I guess schools like WGU are become more popular, but they are pretty hard for people without dedication as I think they require you to actually get your certs for certain areas.

[wasab]

 

4 hours ago, WOIF said:

As a future job I really interested in 

 

computer programmer 

 

computer engineer 

 

computer science 

 

and basically anything to do with computers I guess 

 

but I don’t know any languages or even how to build my own pc So uh .....

 

idk what I want to do more is computer science the same as programming or what here ? 

 

I really dont know where to start but all I know is I want to do something to do with I guess programming but like the problem is I’m not great as designing things as I’m bad at art and yeah all design lol

 

so really I want to code but not do anything where I have to kinda make my own stuff up or if I have template I can but I don’t like art or web design or anything I have to make my own stuff up

 

is there a way I can learn any of these for free or are they going to include paying for training ? 

 

Im 18 so I want to get a job pretty fast but this will take years to learn any of these of course but that’s why I want to start right now 

 

I didint do anything in college because I really really couldn’t think of what I wanted to do and now I choose this so FUK 

 

anyone suggest what one one I should start with out of like

 

conputer programming or engineering or science ? And where I could train for free or not

 

 

hm, get yourself books from amazon and learn that way. You dont need a computer science education to learn programming. In fact, computer science is as much about programming a computer as astronomy is about using a telescope. It falls under the mathematics department in many schools although nowadays, it tends to fall under Engineering department instead. CS predates programming and it predates the inventions of any computers and electronics. If you want to go into this field, you should be prepare to learn something else besides just coding.

 

Computer Engineer as an academic disciplined is about building electronic circuit. It has more in common with electrical engineering than computer science (at my school at least) and most classes you will take should you study in these fields are not going to be about programming.

 

Computer programmer is anyone who codes which can be anyone. what you really want to be is software engineer though. Although both sounds like the same but latter actually connotes higher responsibility, educational requirement, and professional certifications. You can compare it to construction tradesman vs a civil engineer i suppose. Just because you work on a construction site and can use hammer and nails and construct a house doesnt make you a civil engineer. But again.... many people today refer to these professional titles interchangeably. it is probably just as an excuse for those college educated programmers to demand Engineer level salary i guess.... 

 

oh, none of these will teach you how to build a pc or how to troubleshoot viruses and countless windows issues.  certify as a Microsoft technicians or go join best buy's geek squad if you want to learn these. So many of my friends expect me to fix their broken laptop screen just because i am a CS major which is quite ridiculous. 

 

 

 

 

[KAN1102]

3 hours ago, WOIF said:

As a future job I really interested in 

 

computer programmer 

 

computer engineer 

 

computer science 

 

and basically anything to do with computers I guess 

 

but I don’t know any languages or even how to build my own pc So uh .....

 

idk what I want to do more is computer science the same as programming or what here ? 

 

I really dont know where to start but all I know is I want to do something to do with I guess programming but like the problem is I’m not great as designing things as I’m bad at art and yeah all design lol

 

so really I want to code but not do anything where I have to kinda make my own stuff up or if I have template I can but I don’t like art or web design or anything I have to make my own stuff up

 

is there a way I can learn any of these for free or are they going to include paying for training ? 

 

Im 18 so I want to get a job pretty fast but this will take years to learn any of these of course but that’s why I want to start right now 

 

I didint do anything in college because I really really couldn’t think of what I wanted to do and now I choose this so FUK 

 

anyone suggest what one one I should start with out of like

 

conputer programming or engineering or science ? And where I could train for free or not

 

 

In the words of linus: try lynda.com

 

[Mira Yurizaki]

Just now, AngryBeaver said:

I think enough people don't take advantage of 2 yr schools. You can normally grab an AAS in your preferred file and an AA degree and be done with 85-90% of your 4yr curriculum. You might spend 2.5 yrs on getting both, but you also pay 180cr/h on average vs 450+ cr/hr at a 4yr. Now if you want to go to grad school be prepared to eat some costs... I guess schools like WGU are become more popular, but they are pretty hard for people without dedication as I think they require you to actually get your certs for certain areas.

I'm thinking of things like:

• Trying to go for that Ivy League school or some other private school.
• If you're going for a public state school, going to one that's out of state. All public universities charge a stupidly high out-of-state fee (my alma mater charges ~$400 per unit)
• Living in a dorm, which school can tack a bunch of other things.

[Techicolors]

3 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Software development is something I don't think you can get a job with by yourself unless you have something impressive to show for it. And something like that doesn't just come up overnight, but usually years. Otherwise, most companies, at least in the US, require some college degree. I am aware there are these "coding bootcamp" courses and supposedly they'll get you in touch with a recruiter, but whether that leads to a job or a lasting career is up for grabs.

 

And then I feel that simply knowing how to code doesn't make you a software developer. Software development is more than just coding. I'd argue ideally, that software development is really like 10%-20% actual coding. The rest is spent on identifying requirements, coming up with a sound design, and testing (though mostly testing).

 

I'm not trying to discourage you from becoming a software developer, but I just want you to know there's more to making programs that putting down code.

according to this employers care a lot about your portfolio and experience, but most importantly problem solving skills. hence the grueling interview prep i see all around the internet https://research.hackerrank.com/developer-skills/2018/ 

and it appears that after a while, your education matters little to none. i think it is because technology moving very fast these days so you learn practically everything on the job. 

 

but i think a degree will help to get your foot in the door. i am debating taking this route. however it might take me more than 4 years, and who knows how much the industry has changed. but the general concepts, like algorithms, will probably stay the same

 

as for the coding bootcamp route, it is interesting trend. there's more and more popping up in the US, all advertising the prospect of 6 figure jobs in a span of a year. i already read a couple of blogs of people landing said those 6 figure jobs after a few months graduating from bootcamp. however at the same time some of them are scams. and in general, require a ton of self-discipline and cash in hand. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, Technicolors said:

as for the coding bootcamp route, it is interesting trend. there's more and more popping up in the US, all advertising the prospect of 6 figure jobs in a span of a year. i already read a couple of blogs of people landing said those 6 figure jobs after a few months graduating from bootcamp. however at the same time some of them are scams. and in general, require a ton of self-discipline and cash in hand. 

Anyone who's promising a 6-figure career within a year is lying to you. Well, unless you kiss a lot of butt to get to a managerial or executive position, but anyone can do that. Or they live in Silicon Valley where you need a 6-figure salary to survive.

 

The average entry level salary for software developers in the US is $55K. The median is $106K, but that means 50% of all people are earning below that. I'd be damned to see someone getting a 200% raise in a year unless they made something absolutely revolutionary.

[AngryBeaver]

8 minutes ago, Technicolors said:

according to this employers care a lot about your portfolio and experience, but most importantly problem solving skills. hence the grueling interview prep i see all around the internet https://research.hackerrank.com/developer-skills/2018/ 

and it appears that after a while, your education matters little to none. i think it is because technology moving very fast these days so you learn practically everything on the job. 

 

but i think a degree will help to get your foot in the door. i am debating taking this route. however it might take me more than 4 years, and who knows how much the industry has changed. but the general concepts, like algorithms, will probably stay the same

 

as for the coding bootcamp route, it is interesting trend. there's more and more popping up in the US, all advertising the prospect of 6 figure jobs in a span of a year. i already read a couple of blogs of people landing said those 6 figure jobs after a few months graduating from bootcamp. however at the same time some of them are scams. and in general, require a ton of self-discipline and cash in hand. 

A lot of companies won't even see your resume if you don't have at least a bachelors. A lot of that is thanks to the resume sorting software that will discard anything not up to the search criteria.

 

On that note there is a trick to get your resume to the VERY top of all candidates on those systems. Create a new page on your resume file... copy the entire job posting add to it. Change the text to white on white. That means to the average person this looks like a blank page (happens often on submitted resumes), but to the resume software it sees you with ALL of the requirements they are looking for. 

 

As to 6 figure jobs starting out... it really depends on the field and location of the job. A 6 figure coding job in cali I can 100% see at entry level. Then again you might be paying 2500 or more for rent to live in that area... so cost of living means you are making much more, but in the scheme of things it isn't that much.

 

I for example work for a fortune 500 company (actually in the top 50). We pay well for Cyber Security, because of what we are protecting and because they know the value of it. So for us an Entry level person would expect to see 70-90k a year.  

[Mira Yurizaki]

I would argue the trick to really getting a job is to know someone. Except for one job, I got all of mine through a connection.

 

Of course, that presents a bit of a problem in that if that someone vouches for you, yours and their reputation is on the line.

[Techicolors]

2 hours ago, AngryBeaver said:

On that note there is a trick to get your resume to the VERY top of all candidates on those systems. Create a new page on your resume file... copy the entire job posting add to it. Change the text to white on white. That means to the average person this looks like a blank page (happens often on submitted resumes), but to the resume software it sees you with ALL of the requirements they are looking for. 

that's interesting. might try that. but wouldn't it be odd to see a blank page for your resume? normally it's just a cover page and the resume itself, both two pages at most. 

[samcool55]

15 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I would argue the trick to really getting a job is to know someone. Except for one job, I got all of mine through a connection.

 

Of course, that presents a bit of a problem in that if that someone vouches for you, yours and their reputation is on the line.

This, this is like the key to getting somewhere in the IT world, go to meet-ups, events, whatever. Meet people that might be interested in you, don't start right away but actually visit a few and you will end up with a nice job.

 

Where i live i "barely went outside" searching for a job and my inbox is already getting filled even tho they know i still have to finish my studies.

Also, i guess it depends what you like, try to find a market that companies want but you don't learn at school. That doesn't mean a niche market btw.

[wasab]

4 hours ago, samcool55 said:

This, this is like the key to getting somewhere in the IT world, go to meet-ups, events, whatever. Meet people that might be interested in you, don't start right away but actually visit a few and you will end up with a nice job.

 

Where i live i "barely went outside" searching for a job and my inbox is already getting filled even tho they know i still have to finish my studies.

Also, i guess it depends what you like, try to find a market that companies want but you don't learn at school. That doesn't mean a niche market btw.

Also the key way to meet a life partner. Like seriously, you need to network if you want friends, lovers, and jobs.

[Mykie]

On 3/6/2018 at 12:52 PM, Looting said:

I didn't know what I wanted to do in IT I just knew I wanted to do IT. So I applied for companies doing entry level work to showcase some of my technology related skills and to get my foot in the door. I ended up landing in Audio/Visual work which I enjoy a lot. The best thing about it is that I didn't spend a dime on it. The company I work for Sends me to school and pays the way for certifications. having the $0 in school debt is a nice

Sounds just like me. Wish I could do the same

 

Currently finishing Junior year in HS, then next year I'll be a senior and graduate soon...

 

For OP, from what I've heard, computer science seems to be the place to start, however that will involve programming.