IT/computer science job advice

[calamari kid]

So I'm looking to make a career change. I was in software support for a couple years, then moved to testing for about 6 years. Never had any formal training for either, just kind of fell into the gigs. I've been out of software since '04 or so, and haven't even remotely kept up with what's been happening in the industry. I'm thinking about either going back to testing and/or development, or system administration of some sort. If I go with the former, I'm going to need to pick up a language or two. If I go with the latter, I figure I'll need to pick an area like databases or messaging or some such to focus on.

Anyone know what language(s) are most in demand/marketable right now, or what IT specialists are most in demand? Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[Shhted]

Steady work? Learn .Net in an Agile methodology. But while you're training, keep an ear to the rail as this shit changes rapidly.

[rolly]

Well, first you should watch the acclaimed documentary The IT Crowd to get a feel for the industry, if you haven't already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9j80Jk ... re=related

[Toonce(s)]

I can't make any specific language recommendations, but I'd suggest you look into your local market to see what's in demand in the region.

One thing to note, in my little slice of the technology world, we've off-shored the vast majority of our engineering work to Bangalore. It's hard to compete with a phd level engineer in India that will work for a third less than your average fresh-out-of-college B.S level kid would expect to make. Hopefully the landscape isn't so grim on your side of the country.

It is weird, we do energy related software and there is zero outsourcing and we have a hell of a time finding good candidates when we get an open position. Must be a niche thing. We look for MS CS types that know c++. It seems like the fallout from dot bomb has eventually led to small supply of good CS people in the labor pool, so I would say it is a good time to get into the field.

Look at the sectors that are not being outsourced and go for those, they are great jobs.

[Rabbit_Fighter]

If you are looking for good job opportunities, I'd consider training to be an SDET (Software Developer in Test). My team hired an SDET last winter, and it was very difficult to find qualified candidates. I talked to a friend of mine who is a hiring manager at another local tech company (and a college dropout btw) said that SDETs are by far the hardest jobs to fill.

I'm a functional analyst, and I really enjoy it. I fell into this job over the last decade and never would have thought I'd end up in IT. I don't do any programming, but do a lot of sql analysis and write technical requirements.

My company has people working in all kinds of languages. My team is primarily java, but from what I've heard, it is not as common in Seattle.

[absent_carlo]

+1 on watching the IT crowd. Esp S02E01.

Document Management, Workflow, Records Management, and Imaging has been a good engineering/admin niche for me. Key players are IBM/FileNet, Documentum, Sharepoint, Pega, Tibco, etc. We do onshore and offshore a lot because there is work to go around. Most implementations are done by contractors, while the hired crew keeps the roads paved and works with other engineers and architects. That being said, it's probably more for med-to-large companies and a little harder to get training on. My hope is that due to the sensitive nature of the data our group works with (checks, HR apps, etc), they will be more hesitant to offshore the whole lot once/if things ever settle down.

From an admin/eng stand point, you probably can't go wrong learning VMWare ESX Server, or whatever Citrix's version of that is. Websphere App Server (WAS) or Weblogic would also be good middleware choices because if you can analyze a heap dump or performance tune deployed Java apps you will most likely blow peoples' mind.

For coding, I guess I am a little bias toward the J2EE stack, because I like the quasi plug-n-play aspect of the containers and how they *say* they are platform independent.

This is just based on my experience in a mongonormous corporate behemoth.

[rhinoviper]

+1 to other posts above. .Net, JAVA, J2EE, Agile, and more. Certifications/specializations are always a plus...

Here are some requirements listed in a couple of current postings within the company I work for:

# A 2-4 years of object-oriented design/development required, including a minimum of 2 or more year's JAVA/J2EE programming and web development
# Design, code, analyzes, evaluates, tests, debugs, documents, and implements complex software apps.
# 2 years of Web Services experience
# Previous experience with a relational database query language such as Oracle SQL including tuning


Other desirable experience:

* Application Servers such as BEA Weblogic or JBoss
* UNIX operating systems such as Sun Solaris or Linux, Tools & Utilities
* XML, EJB, CORBA, JDBC
* Iona Orbix
* Ant, MAVEN, CA Harvest
* Sun JAVA Certification
* Web Services (Axis2) / SOA

* Object-oriented analysis, design, and development abilities
* 3+ years general Java language experience
* Previous experience with JSP/Struts or Java Servlets
* Previous experience with a relational database query language such as Oracle SQL
* EJBs using BEA Weblogic Application server

Other desirable experience:

* Development experience writing and debugging J2EE Web applications
* Experience with web languages and standards including HTML, XML, CSS and JavaScript
* UNIX operating systems (Sun Solaris), Tools & Utilities
* AJAX
* Sun JAVA Certification
* Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Excel, Project)
* This position requires a degree in Computer Science or Information Systems, or equivalent applicable work experience.

(Oracle PRO*C Developer)
Minimum Requirements

* 4 years of recent Pro*C
* PL/SQL

OR

* 4 years experience with Oracle Forms

(Filenet Software Sys Engineer)
Minimum Qualifications:

* Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, related business field, or equivalent experience
* Minimum five (5) years of relevant IT experience
* Advanced knowledge in IBM’s FileNet P8 4.0/4.5.1, Administration, troubleshooting, installation.
* Advanced knowledge in Unix(Solaris), Oracle, Java/J2EE, Perl, JBoss, and System administration skills,
* Advanced knowledge with Design/Architecture of medium and large scale IT projects
* Experience with PKI encryption algorithms, and computer security (Unix, Windows and Web Applications).
* Experience in presenting ideas to management through email/PowerPoint and presentations.
* Strong organizational and communication skills.

Responsibilities

* (65%) IBM FileNet server and content administration including day-to-day troubleshooting, patching, configuring and adapting new business units to use the ECM.
* (15%) Supporting a number of other Java/Perl applications.
* (15%) Develop/Architect/Deploy new applications to satisfy business needs.
* (5%) - Other duties as assigned.

BEST OF LUCK AND SUCCESS TO YA!

[calamari kid]

Thanks all for the info. First off The IT Crowd is hi-larious, hadn't seen that before. The SDET info is encouraging. I just need to add the "D" to my toolbox. I'm looking at an online course in C++, and will look hard at Java as well, as it seems to be popular for phone/handheld apps. I think my big challenge at this point is the lack of actual programming experience. Hopefully my time in test will help to offset this a bit. We'll see.

[dozer]

I dunno about all these c++ and JDEE languages, but if you learn italian or french you'll totally get the job too, just serenade the HR people.

[cjp]

Knowing a particular language isn't always as important as knowing any. The syntax and restrictions can be taught to someone who knows another language and is a good developer easier than good design can be taught. If you can solve the problem in Perl, and your team uses Python, or C++, a lot of times its easy enough to port a good design over, and then learn how to do it in the language dujour next time.

I'm biased though, being in a non-Microsoft shop, so asp/.net and all that doesn't fly over here.

Most of our openings in PD are for C/++, and Per/Python/Java/PHP, though there are specialized opening in Linux Kernel programming, and occasionally web-oriented stuff for out inhouse sites etc.

Also, we're often hiring a lot of testers, so depending on your experience that might be a great way to get in the door and learn what you'd need to do to move to coding, while already in the neighborhood.

Let me know if you're ever interested in anything here. Internal referrals are always looked kindly upon.

[calamari kid]

Thanks for the offer of resume submission cjp, very much appreciated. Nothing on the current job postings matches my skill set very well, but I'll keep my eye on the list. Are you going to be at Backfire this week? I'd like to pick your brain a bit about your company.