--- In [email protected], "Nico Heinze" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], Thomas Hruska <thruska@> wrote: > > > > Millan wrote: > > > On Friday 22 June 2007 14:51:04 Steven wrote: > > >> Hello, > > >> > > >> I do not have a computer science background, having degrees > > >> in biology and chemistry, but I would like to get into > > >> programming professionally. Can anyone recommend what > > >> courses would be good to take that would give me marketable > > >> in the programming field, without having to go back for a > > >> CS degree? What minimum skills would employers look for? > > >> > > >> Thanks. > > >> Steve > > > > > > Hi Steve, > > > > > > With all due respect I don't mean in any way to insult Nico > > > and Thomas, I must say that it can really bothersome when > > > people (on computer) questions respond with some other > > > propasals/questions (not questions to directly clarify a > > > authors question), like if one asks on #linux channel why > > > doesn't he have a sound in Gnome, and people respond like > > > "Why don't you use KDE", "Why do you try to play mp3 files > > > when there is ogg OS format" or even "why don't you buy > > > some better sound-card", well he maybe doesn't like KDE, > > > don't have songs in ogg format and definitely doesn't wnat > > > to pay extra cash for some card when this one is more than > > > enough for his/hers needs. I understand that some other > > > aspects must also be taken into account when answering, > > > but proposal/question (as I call it) solely without even > > > very short answer can lead to tiresome discussion and/or > > > even off-topic. > > > > > > Back to the topic :) > > > > Didn't think I was all that off-topic. I was trying to figure > > out what triggered this sudden change. Someone who has been > > working in two related fields for many years and suddenly is > > looking at such a drastic career change needs to analyze 'why' > > they are looking in such a direction in the first place. > > Midlife crisis? Existing career/position not working out? > > Have a use for the ability to program in the existing > > career track? > <snip< > > I agree with Thomas. Of course we could recommend this and that course > and this or that programming language, but that's not the point. > > There is a huge difference between specific technical questions (such > as "why doesn't read() under Windows work as it does under Unix?") and > generic questions such as the one posted by Steve. I have seen too > many people (partially very good in their jobs) who have switched > either away from IT or to IT for this and that reason who in the end > were pretty unhappy with what they did. And this is an attitude I > don't want to see in any person. > In order to avoid such frustration I personally consider it worthwhile > taking the whole situation into account and not only look at the > "technical" questions. > > It's just the same like the difference between a good consultant and a > software developer who's working on solving a customer's problems > using some well-written software. While writing good software for IT > related issues is a must-have, it is not enough: you have to > understand how a client works and thinks before you can provide "good" > solutions (i.e. solutions that actually help an end user to do his job > better, more accurately, in less time, or whatever criteria are in > place). I prefer thinking like a consultant over thinking like a > software developer. > > [And you can trust me, Millan, I am yet far away from being a really > good consultant.] > > Regards, > Nico >
I also agree with Thomas. I also agree with the other guy who asked why the reason. thats a drastic change. From engineering to biology is like complete opposite of the spectrum. The mind set is different. I pretty much though myself how to program. not that I'm very good at it but most of what I know I obtained by reading books and practicing. It helps me at work. I know program these tools that test memory parts for reliability reasons. The program is written in C. I just maintain it and make modifications. Another thing I do a lot is make scripts to handle data. The last one I did takes the fail data of a part and puts it in a nice line that can be imported to a data base. It is not as complicated as it sounds. I used python for it. Love the language, is very strait forward and let you do this kind of things quick and not to painful. My advice to you is to first think of a project that you can apply programming to what you do right now. Maybe access data from a database or make a web page in java script or php or whatever ,so that everybody can access that data. The idea are endless. Pretty much when ever there is a tedious repetitive process, is a good idea to write a program to take care of it. Let the machine to the grunt work while the human does the brain work. Anyways, think of a small project and then think what tool will help you best meet that goal. Then go online and follow a couple of tutorials and start programming. Your first few codes will be ugly and inefficient but thats part of the learning process. The most important thing here is to see if you like doing this kind of thing. I mean you could be spending days trying to figure out why something doesn't work when everything looks ok. It takes a certain attitude and patience to program. I say try it first before you commit.
