5 replies to this topic

[upsidedowneyes]

Hi everybody,

I am currently going through a career transition and am luckly in a position where I am able to return to study. I have decided to learn Java but am a total newbe, not just to Java but to programming in general. Recently I have begun to self teach myself the language and am loving every minuite of it but feel a little lost as to where I should be heading and what I should be working towards.

After extensive research online I have come to the conclusion that working towards the Sun Certification, which is now fully Integrated with the oracle certification program should the way to go, HERE is a link.

As you can see the course is rather expensive (£1802). I have no problem in paying the course fee's but I was hoping that I might be able to get some advice.

In your experience's is this course worth while?

Do potential employers look for this when considering an applicant?

Are there any other course's or thing's I could be doing that will not only further my knowledge but will give me the best chance in securing employment?

Thankyou very much for your help, all answers and advice are much appreciated. :)

[WingedPanther]

Is your goal to get a certification, or to learn Java?

[upsidedowneyes]

My goal is to learn Java. However I am hoping to secure employment in the future and am under the impression that approaching potential employers with no relevent qualification's will hinder my possibilities? Im just unsure about which courses to possibly take and in which direction to go.

[WingedPanther]

If you don't have a related degree, the certificate may help. It's an unfortunate reality, however, that attitudes towards IT certificates vary widely based on both the certificate and field. CCNA is highly respected, for example. Many of the programming certs carry less weight. Generally, when looking at programming jobs, I don't see any mention of a programming cert as a factor in desired credentials.

[upsidedowneyes]

Thankyou for your answer's. As im very new to programming I have been self teaching getting some great advice from a selection of YouTube video's that have taught me a great amount already, Here is a link to the first of the series. These are very informative for the beginner, maybe you could add them to the forum somewhere to help beginner's like myself if it is allowed.

Do you have any suggestion's of other resources I could tap into? Are there any key area's that I should be concentrating on or shall I just do as I am doing and continue learning snippet's from here and there?

While learning I strive for structure and almost feel lost as there is so much information available and so much to learn. If there are no desired credentials that employer's are looking for, when and how does a budding programmer know that he/she is ready to start applying for positions? Programming seem's to be constant learning curve, and without a benchmark to asses myself Im finding it very difficult to judge my progress.

Thanks again.

[mr mike]

Congratulations on your first step towards learning the top level lingo of computers and welcome to the forum. This site has great tutorials for learning. WingedPanther is correct Ive never seen jobs that require a certificate. Most require at a very minimum an associative degree, but ideally a bachelors in CS or Tech related field is required, oh, or a bachelors in math can get you a programming job. Have you considered going back to school? If so, start at a community college and do a specific program that is designed for your goals. Computer Science if you want to go to a four year school or an IT specific field that prepares you for the business aspect. Either choice you will learn the basics of java, probably vb and c++.