bored generalist wants to program NOW

[robert]

I'm a generalist with a BS degree in comp sci 10 years ago. I've done 2 years
of Perl now, programs up to 5K lines.
My background is a combo of light unix administration, help desk support,
PC repair, and C++ programming way back when.

Question: I'm bored to death in a State bureaucracy and going mad. Can I
somehow get into Perl work, or even Java, with no certs and no heavy experience?
Is there some kind of "junior" level position I can take? I don't care what
the salary is. I just want to be doing creative work again.

Oh, I have several side job opportunities creating catalogs for businesses
and the like, but I'd like to start with a day job I enjoy. Maybe software
QA?? Anything where I get to code.

[David K.]

I don't know if QA is where you want to go. From my experience, there isn't
a lot of coding in that area. Sounds like you want more of a software engineer/programmer/analyst
type of position.

My advice would be to try and use your Perl experience to get your foot in
the door somewhere. Try looking for a place that uses Perl but also does
programming in an area that you are interested in (C++ or Java). My impression
is that Perl is mostly used in UNIX shops, so you might want to concentrate
your effort there.

Also, I don't know what you mean by creating catalogs, but if there is any
programming involved, definitely mention that on your resume. It's work
experience so it'll look good.

Job experience and a college degree is a lot more important than certs.

[robert]

Thanks. I already knew that but I needed a confirmation. I can probably gain
the most experience, and the most valuable experience, doing independent
jobs in which I am the main technical decision-maker. I think I have a good
enough overview to do it.

So I will probably design this guy's web site in Java, just because that's
the technology I want to focus on in the next couple years, both for money
and philosophically. And I will then try to use Servelets, EJB, JSP, etc.
-- whatever -- to do what others do with CGI and ASP, etc. and see if it
handles the load OK. Of course if Java-related tools just are not appropriate,
I will end up using Perl, Python, JavaScript, etc.
He's offering me a portion of the business, or some pay. I'll take the royalty
and the freedom to do it my way. What a **** of a learning experience! He's
got 30K/mo in gross sales that he wants to expand by using the Web to display
his products and pricing tiers.

I just pray I can learn the technologies fast enough to know what the best
course is. I might have to start in Perl first. There's no harm in that.
Heck, I might have to start with canned software.

I didn't say it before, but there's a lot of near-perfect matches for my
skillset out there. The jobs all involve Perl, unix, a little C, the Web
markup languages, some XML (which I have to learn now), SQL (I need to brush
up on this), and .... Java. Since Java is my goal, learning Java and Oracle/SQL
is probably a good path to fame, fortune, and personal satisfaction.



I just don't think I QUITE have the background to "jump ship" just yet from
my State job. But with a few of these night jobs under my belt, maybe I will.
The trouble right now is I am rusty in XML, SQL/Databases, and Java. Add
a few sites / side jobs, and I can then claim I know these.





"David K." <davidk@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>I don't know if QA is where you want to go. From my experience, there isn't
>a lot of coding in that area. Sounds like you want more of a software engineer/programmer/analyst
>type of position.
>
>My advice would be to try and use your Perl experience to get your foot
in
>the door somewhere. Try looking for a place that uses Perl but also does
>programming in an area that you are interested in (C++ or Java). My impression
>is that Perl is mostly used in UNIX shops, so you might want to concentrate
>your effort there.
>
>Also, I don't know what you mean by creating catalogs, but if there is any
>programming involved, definitely mention that on your resume. It's work
>experience so it'll look good.
>
>Job experience and a college degree is a lot more important than certs.
>
>