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by **I.D** » Mar 15th, '07, 13:55

Hi all

Had a bloke come round to talk about a programming course.. from computeach

Comptia+ to start..
then an introduction to programming ( I have a little past experience )

The finish off with 2 courses in c+net

This is the exact route that Im going to take. Forget web desing i can move into that area later.. Im better at this stuff

Anyway £4650 for the complete course ( including all resources, books to keep and exam fees). I cant afford this. Well, I dont want to pay this much as its is a little excessive

Does anyone here know where I can learn these areas a lot cheaper.. not being cheap, just need to be realistic.

I was thinking of buying books on compTIA+, teaching myself.. then buying moxk papers.. and when Im ready just paying for my exams.. just through the first couple of stages then go into theprogramming after as this would save money..

Anyone know how to go about that or just another place to go that might be cheaper?

by **Lady of Mystery** » Mar 15th, '07, 14:04

I'll have a word with Dave for you, he's a programmer so should probably have some ideas.

by **I.D** » Mar 15th, '07, 14:54

Thanks hun.. appreciate it..

by **saxmad** » Mar 15th, '07, 15:47

It's very difficult to get into the programming world by teaching yourself.
And Computeach is little/no better.

Is there a local college course you can do?

If you already have a degree some of the bigger companies might take you on as a trainee programmer.

by **beeno** » Mar 15th, '07, 16:04

A HND/Degree will stand you with more change of gaining work in that field.
You can choose which modules you want to study, and tailor the course to your own needs. You will also gain a large understanding of all aspects of computing.

I'm not a fan of these get rich quick courses. I know a few people who've completed such courses, only to find that no one wants to employ them.

by **I.D** » Mar 15th, '07, 16:17

Which is why I have no intention of paying that much money for it.

I taught myself HTML pretty well. Im pretty sure I could teach myself compTIA and an introduction to programming ( I have a brief history with programming so I do know the basics ) just so I have got my head around it already so when I go to a college, I have a good head start.

I want to do compTIA+, a basic programming course.. then a more specified course in c#.net or VB.net ( most likely VB ), Im not really to keen on Java.

If it takes a couple of years it takes a couple of years.. but I want to be realistic in terms of price. I just want to change my job from this well paid hell to a decent paid paradise and have a job which I enjoy!!

by **I.D** » Mar 15th, '07, 16:40

thing is I would go to a college but it would have to be a weekend as I work 12-8's every day

by **Lady of Mystery** » Mar 15th, '07, 17:10

I copied your post into an email to Dave and this is his reply...

Hi Bex,

What's his background? If he's starting from scratch with no qualifications I'd suggest starting off by looking at an HND or GNVQ as both of these will cover the basics of programming. Even going for an ECDL wouldn't be a bad place to start or possibly a computing A Level.

It really is worth him getting a good solid qualification under his belt. There are loads of people out there who have taught themselves but never really grasped the fundamentals of software design or even how to structure a program correctly and are just script monkies. It's very difficult to really understand these principles if you're purely self taught. Without experience or qualifications no one's going to take him seriously.

The actual language he learns is largely irrelavent at this stage as a good understanding of object orientated programming is much more important. Once he has this, it's very simple to pick up other languages. You never know what language a job will want you to write in anyway, I've had to learn all sorts of different languages on the job before now.

The best thing to do would be to get hold of the local college and have a chat to them about what they've got to offer.

Hope this helps, cya later,

Dave

by **I.D** » Mar 15th, '07, 17:26

Thanks bex :wink:

I have a computing A level thats my background qualificationwise.

I am going to look for a collge that does compTIA+ as I think I will need to know all this stuff regardless. Then take an introduction to programming to learn the basics. I have gone through a lot of this but I need a refresher as its all a few years ago.

So ill forget the actual language and just focus on the fundamentals of programming and how it works.. get some basic languages under my belt and build up a portfolio as I go along.. then when I have some qualifiactions to support this I will be in a better position to focus on where I want to go with it.

Thanks for your help

by **Marvell** » Mar 15th, '07, 17:53

You don't need a certificate to get a job in IT, you need to be able to demostrate skill and worth.

That course sounds like a lot of money indeed.

If someone comes to me with a RedHat or MicroShaft qualification, all I know id that they've been on a self styled course and passed an exam. So what?

I've trained people to programme HTML, PHP and MySQL (say) for a lot less than that.

If you want to learn to program, pick a project, pick a language, buy a book and write it. You'll soon realise where you need the help. You'll do side projects to help you along the way and maybe even change your mind completely.

Spending 4-5k on a course that is not industry recognised is a waste of money.

by **Tomo** » Mar 15th, '07, 17:57

Marvell wrote:If someone comes to me with a RedHat or MicroShaft qualification, all I know id that they've been on a self styled course and passed an exam. So what?

Aye, 'appen. I did the MCSE Networking Fundamentals exam once and passed. 2 days of cramming, an hour clicking, and I couldn't remember a thing about it a week later.

by **I.D** » Mar 15th, '07, 18:13

So if I want to learn vb or c#.. just buy a book on that..??

Do I not need to do any basic programming to build up to that.

I dont agree with the fees at all which is why I have pretty much told the guy to sling his hook.. however, this is the area I want to go down if Im going to leave the hell hole that is sales. Nothing else appeals to me except programming and web design.

Im pretty much OCD about any project that I take on so... Smarvellous.. where do I go and what do you recommend?? It wont take me long to pick up as I pick up things very quickly as you know

by **Marvell** » Mar 15th, '07, 18:42

I.D wrote:So if I want to learn vb or c#.. just buy a book on that..??

Do I not need to do any basic programming to build up to that.

Why not learn program basically in your target language? Just buy a beginner book. I like O'Reilly books, but then I review for then

I.D wrote:Nothing else appeals to me except programming and web design.

Why VB and C# then? Why not learn the web languages?
HTML
CSS
PHP
JavaScript
MySQL
Perl
Java
XML

I.D wrote:Im pretty much OCD about any project that I take on so... Smarvellous.. where do I go and what do you recommend?? It wont take me long to pick up as I pick up things very quickly as you know

I recommend you just pick one for yourself or I'll give you tasks if you want

by **I.D** » Mar 15th, '07, 19:42

I hear c#.net programmers are in demand.. and sofware programmers and developers get paid more.

I think I would enjoy vb and c# and the like more than I would web languages.

I want to study something which has real prospects which I can get a career in.

But yes Marvell... any suggestions would be welcomed and you know I like tasks in which I can just GO so yeh, that would be good.

Ive been meaning to take programming back up for years. I should have really gone to Uni and took up programming there.

I want MCAD by the end of it all. Thats my goal.

So my choice is c#

by **Marvell** » Mar 16th, '07, 00:02

.net died ages ago, it's practically cave man stuff.

There are plenty of websites that give you stats on demand and rates, Google for them. Make sure you look in the area you want to live.

Note, this is going to sound arrogant, so prepare yourself.

New programmers need to do simple things, and web things are simple things. New programmers do not do credit card fraud detection and statistical genetics.

Something that is important to know is that programming is only 10% the language, the rest is problem solving. So if you start with one language, moving to another is not hard.

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