bixby@pinocchio.Encore.COM (Peter Bixby) (05/03/91)
My sister has decided, after raising her kids, to go back to work. Since she saw lots of ads for programmers she started looking into some kind of technical school that teaches programming in a 6 month- 5 day a week program. So last night she called and asked my advice, but unfortunately I couldn't help much since I'm in a radically different end of the business (I can't even spell COBOL :-) I don't know the name of the school so I'm not asking about any one particular school, but a more general set of questions: - What is the job market for commercial programmers like? - Can you get a job with this kind of education or do you need a degree? - Any gotcha's she should know about? I believe that my sister is reasonably intelligent and capable (e.g., National Merit Finalist, etc.), if that has any bearing. Any input is welcome, thanks. -pete ****************************************************************** * * Pete Bixby Encore Computer Corporation * pbixby@encore.com 508-460-0500 x 2630 * ******************************************************************
marti@saturn.ucsc.edu (Marti Atkinson) (05/04/91)
> - What is the job market for commercial programmers like? Altho I can't speak for other parts of the country, even with a recession going on, there's still lots of jobs for commerial programmers in our neck of the woods, ie Silicon Valley, CA. > - Can you get a job with this kind of education or do you > need a degree? A degree certainly helps. Students graduating from UCSC with computer degrees get jobs faster and with higher pay than students looking for computer jobs from other majors or getting AS degrees from the local junior college. >- Any gotcha's she should know about? If time is short, she should stick to learning the most common systems. I quick look through your local newpapers' want ads should tell you what systems are popular in her area. Best Wishes! Marti Atkinson University of Calif. at Santa Cruz marti@saturn.ucsc.edu marti@uccrls.BITNET ..!ucbvax!ucscc!saturn!marti