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Is it better to take advanced computer training and then go to college or go directly to college?
I’m a Job Corps student and I’m getting my GED and a basic technical career, I want to be a programmer. #computer-science #programming #college #computer #computer-software #train
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Trajon’s Answer
Well actually you have more options than you may think. The really cool thing about computer science in general is that this is a merit based career; if you put in work in building up projects that you can show to employers, you can earn yourself a job. I work currently at a job where the majority of my peers are actually bootcamp students that went to Flatiron, I did not go here, however from talking with them these were all people that did a career switch after having a well established career for decades in their industries, now making upwards of 80-100k+
College is a fine option as well, but the cost of that is the tuition, getting training assuming you are paying for that will more than likely be significantly less than with college, and will probably be quicker as well. Some jobs are still of the mindset that you need a college degree, however, their has been a major shift being pushed by major tech industries to take in people that do not have tech degrees, and places like Google and Amazon are even offering their own programs to help people get into tech. You do however get the advantage in college of building up a network, which is significantly harder to do when doing training or bootcamp, which is essential for the longevity of your career.
College is a fine option as well, but the cost of that is the tuition, getting training assuming you are paying for that will more than likely be significantly less than with college, and will probably be quicker as well. Some jobs are still of the mindset that you need a college degree, however, their has been a major shift being pushed by major tech industries to take in people that do not have tech degrees, and places like Google and Amazon are even offering their own programs to help people get into tech. You do however get the advantage in college of building up a network, which is significantly harder to do when doing training or bootcamp, which is essential for the longevity of your career.
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Klara’s Answer
Interesting enough with programming, you don't have to wait until college or take a class to start learning a language. There are so many free or very inexpensive options online that will expose you to different languages, teach you basic syntax, etc. You also might find once you do go to college that they utilize one of these online tools in your classes! Really, the big question is which language to focus on and that really depends on what type of work you think you might want to do. I am a Sr. IT Business Analyst at a credit union, so I utilize SQL regularly to query the credit union's data in order to create reports. SQL is a declarative language that I think is a lot of fun and good place to start because the basic courses out there will help you build a basic understanding of databases, which a lot of different languages use. Then again, I am somewhat biased!
I would definitely recommend taking some free courses online and dabbling around a bit before investing any money or committing a significant amount of time to a class. I was able to teach myself SQL in about six weeks using free online resources and ended up learning a lot of what I do on-the-job because any specific use-case for the language could be very, very different depending on things like the industry, etc.
YouTube is a great place to learn about the differences between programming languages and what they're used for.
Google 'learn [INSERT LANGUAGE HERE] for free" and you will get tons of resources. CodeAcademy is a big one I've used. Pluralsight and Coursera are others I've also dabbled around with.
As Trajon mentioned above, programming is merit-based, so you might be able to land a job if you have a programming degree, but that's not going to guarantee you'll be successful if your use-case for the language is so niche that you didn't learn anything about it in school or you end up having to learn a proprietary language that's industry-specific that colleges don't teach. At my credit union, our core system uses a language called PowerOn that I'm learning that can only be learned through the Jack Henry and Associates company. Going to school will definitely help you develop skills, but so will training courses and all of the freely available information online. Overall, I would only recommend investing in a degree if you know it's required for the specific industry you want to work in. Otherwise, demonstrating that you can use language and certifications are going to be what drive your employment opportunities.
I would definitely recommend taking some free courses online and dabbling around a bit before investing any money or committing a significant amount of time to a class. I was able to teach myself SQL in about six weeks using free online resources and ended up learning a lot of what I do on-the-job because any specific use-case for the language could be very, very different depending on things like the industry, etc.
YouTube is a great place to learn about the differences between programming languages and what they're used for.
Google 'learn [INSERT LANGUAGE HERE] for free" and you will get tons of resources. CodeAcademy is a big one I've used. Pluralsight and Coursera are others I've also dabbled around with.
As Trajon mentioned above, programming is merit-based, so you might be able to land a job if you have a programming degree, but that's not going to guarantee you'll be successful if your use-case for the language is so niche that you didn't learn anything about it in school or you end up having to learn a proprietary language that's industry-specific that colleges don't teach. At my credit union, our core system uses a language called PowerOn that I'm learning that can only be learned through the Jack Henry and Associates company. Going to school will definitely help you develop skills, but so will training courses and all of the freely available information online. Overall, I would only recommend investing in a degree if you know it's required for the specific industry you want to work in. Otherwise, demonstrating that you can use language and certifications are going to be what drive your employment opportunities.
Updated
Gloria’s Answer
Hi Emily,
I think that the answer to your question depends on your situation. Most colleges anticipate that you have little to no skills in a major area, so you may take the advanced training and then have to pay for that knowledge again when you go to college. It might be easier to go straight to college. However, I saw your question in another way. Advanced computer training can get you into the workforce faster since it is much more focused than any college education. If you think that you are going to need to work during college and you want to start your journey to your career, I saw take the advanced training, start working, and then go to college. That being said, working while in college can be hard. It's like having two jobs sometimes. But there is a benefit. I worked in the career field that I was trying to get a degree in. My work helped me understand what questions to ask in school. Sometimes there is a gap between what you learn in college in theory and how that knowledge is applied at a real job. It also allowed me to apply knowledge to my job immediately. My bosses along the way were excited by my ability to innovate with the latest and greatest knowledge that I learned while taking college courses and working.
Another thing - you may find that during your advanced classes, you may not enjoy programming as much as you would like. I changed my major from my first one because during college, I figured out that I was not cut out for that major. It was competitive and required of me things that I didn't want to give. I spent a lot of my mom's money to learn that I had made a mistake in my college major. Advanced classes can give you a sense of what you really want to do, often for less money.
Good luck,
Gloria
I think that the answer to your question depends on your situation. Most colleges anticipate that you have little to no skills in a major area, so you may take the advanced training and then have to pay for that knowledge again when you go to college. It might be easier to go straight to college. However, I saw your question in another way. Advanced computer training can get you into the workforce faster since it is much more focused than any college education. If you think that you are going to need to work during college and you want to start your journey to your career, I saw take the advanced training, start working, and then go to college. That being said, working while in college can be hard. It's like having two jobs sometimes. But there is a benefit. I worked in the career field that I was trying to get a degree in. My work helped me understand what questions to ask in school. Sometimes there is a gap between what you learn in college in theory and how that knowledge is applied at a real job. It also allowed me to apply knowledge to my job immediately. My bosses along the way were excited by my ability to innovate with the latest and greatest knowledge that I learned while taking college courses and working.
Another thing - you may find that during your advanced classes, you may not enjoy programming as much as you would like. I changed my major from my first one because during college, I figured out that I was not cut out for that major. It was competitive and required of me things that I didn't want to give. I spent a lot of my mom's money to learn that I had made a mistake in my college major. Advanced classes can give you a sense of what you really want to do, often for less money.
Good luck,
Gloria