Enquiring minds want to know ...

I meet regularly with high school and college students interested in the technology field.  No, not just software development, though, I must admit that I attempt to sway them to the field that has brought me success.  But any job within the technology arena.  You see, I don’t care if people want to program, repair computers, perform installation work, build and maintain networks, manage projects, or test stuff.  I just want them to do it!  There are fantastic opportunities within this field and the projections all show that we are going to need more of these people – not less!  If you doubt my word – go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and look at what the job growth rate is expected to be through the year 2020 for ‘Software Developers, Systems Software’ and ‘Software Developers, Applications’.

http://data.bls.gov/oep/noeted/empoptd.jsp

As I meet with these students, there are several questions that seem to come up during the conversations.  Aren’t these jobs all moving overseas?  All the job postings want someone with experience – how do I get experience?

First, let me assure you – no, the jobs are not all moving overseas.  Yes, over the last 15 years, many jobs that were once done solely here in the US have moved abroad.  There were many reasons for this – but the most common one being that companies wanted to shed the payroll costs associated with their internal technology teams.  There are arguments for and against this – but this is not the place to debate those decisions, they were made.  What is interesting, is the pendulum has started to swing back and  we are hearing more and more companies wanting to bring those jobs back.  Maybe not as direct hires, but to on-shore organizations that are nearer their base of operations.

Additionally, there is a sizable chunk of the workforce that are baby boomers.  These folks are beginning to leave the workforce and somebody needs to be ready to fill those shoes.  Yes, most likely, people will be promoted to back fill those positions, but that only means that there will be more entry level positions opening up.  As people move up the ladder, those lower rungs are going to need to be filled by someone.  Maybe that someone is you!

So the jobs are there and will be there in the future.  According to various web sites that I’ve done research on – the current lead time to fill a software developer job is an average of 42 days (6 weeks) across the US.  Those numbers may vary depending on location.  But the overall story is the same – these are positions in demand.

At this point, I’m going to focus on software development – I’ll touch on other jobs in later posts.

Now you want to get noticed by a potential employer.  How do you go about doing that?  One, you need to have some level of training – yes, some companies will want formal educational degrees to prove that you know what you’re doing.  Notice I said some!  Many companies just want to see that you can do the job – so do it!  Most households now have computers in the home.  Find an open source programming language.  You can find open source scripting languages: Ruby, Python, JavaScript.  You can find open source traditional languages: C++, Cobol, Pascal.  Download it, get playing and make something.  Heck there are even open source tools that allow you to build mobile applications.

Traditional Languages:

•        List of Language Compilers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compilers

Mobile and Web Development:

•        Node.js: http://nodejs.org/
•        Sencha: http://www.sencha.com/
•        Rhodes: http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/RhoMobile+Suite/Rhodes

Then, sit down and learn!  There are tutorials on the internet.  There are books you can order from Barnes and Noble!  Open them up and start –now!  If you have the money and can find a way to swing taking a couple of classes at your local community college – do it!  Figure out what variables are.  Figure out what objects are.  Figure out what the scope of a variable is.  Figure out what control structures are.  No, you won’t become a software architect learning on your own, but you will at least be able to understand what the structure of a program is and how to create a program.

At some point, figure out how to use a database within your programs.  Download a copy of SQLite or MySQL and figure out how to get your programs attached to the database so that you can store information for your programs.

One – this shows initiative!  Two, you are ready to show that you can compete for an entry level job.  Notice I said ‘entry level’.  Don’t expect to walk in and compete with the folks who’ve been doing this awhile, this is about getting your foot in the door.

In future posts – I’ll talk about additional ways that you can gain experience that will differentiate you from the pack and give you a step up on the competition.

If you'd like more information on my background: LinkedIn Profile