Programming In College

[Harblkipz]

I've looked around this forum and found a few threads related to this topic, but they went off on a total tangent about unrelated topics, so I thought I'd start another one.

Like most students nearing the end of high school, I have no god damn clue what I want to do for a career. I have a broad idea, computers obviously, and landed on a few ideas for post-secondary. I was looking at Computer Programming, specifically at Seneca. I don't really have a strong math background (I'll have 12C Tech Math at the end of the next semester), thus my reason for choosing college. I was wondering how difficult it would be for me to find a decent job once I finished the program, will I be delightfully surprised, or completely out of luck. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Tony]

That would obviously depend on your definition of "decent" and how well you'll do.

[Harblkipz]

A 'decent' job to me is one that isn't managed like a forced labour camp, and pays around maybe fifty thousand a year. Hopefully thats realistic.
And lets just imagine I would do good in the course, 80's area, to be more specific.

Also, Merry Christmas Compsci!

[Harblkipz]

I'll assume either
A) No one knows/cares, or
B) College is seen as taboo in the programming world.

Happy New Year Compsci.

[jbking]

I'm not sure how many people would post between Christmas and New Years, so that may play a role. Usually for developer positions a Bachelor's degree would be preferred over a diploma from a College, at least that has been my experience.

[Dan]

There are "forced labour camp" style jobs in every industry, it relay depends on who you work for and if you care about what you do for a living. My impression has been that there are more "code monkey" type development jobs at the college level then bachelors however it relay depends on your experience and the job it's self.

You could always be a contractor and try to control your own hours and work environment. However there is a lot less job stability in that option.

As for income my understand (based mostly just on googling the question) is it would range from about 30k to 100k. Again it ranges a lot depending on the persons experience, company and the job they are doing but the most common would be between 40k and 60k.

[Harblkipz]

So it wont be a bleak future if I decide to take programming in college. Not as good, I assume, but not terrible. Thanks for the input!

[jbking]

If you believe that some degree or diploma will automatically give you a job somewhere, think again. IME, there is a combination of people, skills and education that tends to be what determines who gets what job. Another way to put this is that there are tons of different technical positions out there including administrators, analysts and technical support that may also be worth examining.

Something to consider to my mind: How many positions exist where someone isn't using computers? Most jobs these days require some use of computers and some familiarity with using various input and output devices. So to say you want a job that involves computers is like saying I want to live where there is water. I think there are very few people that live without having some source of water nearby whether that be in a tank as part of their home or in a nearby well or coming in via pipes.

If you haven't gone through What Color is Your Parachute and its site that could also be a good starting point. What do you like to do? What are you good at doing?

[Harblkipz]

I would to think it was obvious that I knew that a degree/diploma wasn't some sort of golden ticket to a job, but I guess it's hard to assume these things over the Internet, with its vast amount of goons. I know the difficulties of finding a job, I know it isn't just handed to you if you have the educational requirements, and there are a lot of other factors. I also know that almost every job, no matter how important or how tedious, involves computer interaction. Just because I was thinking about taking College Programming, It doesn't mean that I am a dunce. You probably get this and similar questions a few times a week, and it probably gets annoying, and I'm sorry for the over-asked question.

[jbking]

Not everyone shares the same sense of obvious. If I wrote on a board Euler's Identity while some may acknolwedge that as true there would be just as many if not more blank stares as a, "What the...?" would likely be the most common reaction, I'd guess. I have no desire to get juvenile here, but there is a search feature to this site so that if you think this is an often-asked question, you could probably use that feature to verify that conjecture.

[Harblkipz]

Harblkipz @ Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:17 pm wrote:

I've looked around this forum and found a few threads related to this topic, but they went off on a total tangent about unrelated topics, so I thought I'd start another one.

[accechaps]

There are such programs and it would take some time to learn them. Also, one needs some background in design principles to make it look good. Heres my thought on your needs.When someone looks at your website that may be the first impression they get of your shop. The first attraction to any consumer is the packaging. Do you really want that to be left to someone who has no professional skills in programming and design? Answer that and youll know your next step.