I've recently gotten into learning java, and it's like.. all I think about and learn/practice now. I literally write up programs in my head like every night while falling asleep and think up a complex tasks and try to solve it in my head. Why aren't more people into this? I feel like it's such a fun game, it's like playing video games or strategic board games for a living. I basically learned every fundamental concept and logic in 24 hours last week to the language after I picked up a book and didn't put it down for 2 days straight. I wanted to go to college for structural engineering, but it's starting to look like I can make a career out of this in less than a month and have a blast doing it. I don't think I will ever get bored with this (I usually never finish hobby's and interests I start up). Any programmers on here that made a career out of it and feel the same way I do about this? I feel like there's a lot of money in this, but at the same time it feels too good to be true that I can sit here at my computer all day building cool shit and profiting from it.
I feel you, alot of people don't like it though because they see it as too complicated or just plain don't care to make programs. There are alot of careers programming related, even more if you spread out into web development, system admin, and security related fields.
I wrote my own game mod for Warcraft 3. Coding is fun, but for a living? I know the types that do and they are all great guys, but physically unhealthy and on the computer for most of the day. You can create your own business and work from home then. Pros and cons, but from personal experience sitting at the computer all day is draining. (Don't get me wrong I do it often.) Now make that your life everyday... and eh, its your choice to consider.
I've had jobs as a system admin and backend developer and I'm in great physical shape, back then I was actually in better shape than I am now, unfortunately. So that comes down to the person more
Don't count on it. Theres a LLLOOOTTTT more to it than simple java console apps. I am not trying to rain on your parade, but to be a software developer these days you have to know a lot more than how to reverse a string in Java. I am in my second month of being a Software developer. I learned mostly in java but I am using C# now. I really like my job, but again, there's a LOT more to it than writing simple apps.
Did you learn anything object oriented programming? can you make your own classes? Did you look up ADT's (abstract data types) like graph theory or trees? ...two very important ADT's to understand. you might want to learn unix if youre serious about making this your career as well. Im in my second year of software engineering, and realistically if you dont know as much as me then you still have a while to go until you could really make a career out of it. Even now, i know i could make an app or two or learn to make a websight, but im far from where i need to be to enter the field (thus why i have 2 more years of school). Especially considering these 2 years have been quite light on the programming and heaving on the math and electrical side of things. Regardless of any of this, i'd definitely suggest continuing down this road. Considering the lack of employment these days being in anything computational is beneficial. Best of luck, and if you need to put together a stoner team of programmers, give me a shout
I was a digital media major, but dropped it altogether because the programming aspects were mind numbing. I couldn't really follow any of it, guess I don't have the head for it. Plus, it's nearly impossible to get into the digital media field here. But glad to hear there are people who enjoy it. Everything needs a computer these days, and all of it needs to be written. Several people I went to school with were doing freelance work and doing ok. Have fun.
I've been a software engineer for more years than I'm willing to admit here. I spent many years with java... Currently I'm working with C# and Silverlight. It's great that you have an interest in programming and if you think you will have that interest for a long time I suggest you get some training. Like others have said there is much to learn other than the basic fundamentals of a language. Depending on what you consider fundamentals I seriously doubt you have even learned/absorbed/understand them all after 48 hours. In general unless you are looking for some pretty low level contract work I think you would have trouble getting a paying gig without more experience/education. Heck where I work we don't even take interns until they have had a few years of college. All that being said... If you know your shit, constantly keep your skills fresh (remember fundamental java is well over 10 years old now and probably has the most competition when looking for a job), and can deal with outsourcing programming can be a great job and you can earn really good money. If you think you are ready for a java position ask yourself.... "Do I know java well enough that I can go to a 2-3 hour interview and stand in front of a white board with a dry erase marker while three seasoned engineers ask me technical questions that I must solve in front of them on the spot (without auto complete of the dev environment.)
If you find what you love to do- DO IT! If you love your work, the pay doesn't really matter! I love my job, and even though the pay sucks, I smile at work and enjoy each day! Granny
PS.... Here is an example of what I would consider a pretty low level contract... I need a web site built. This web site must have a secure logon and all data transmitted and received needs to be encrypted. Once logged in the user will see the status of their account. This status information is stored in a database on a machine other than the web server. The only user option at that point will be to log out. Before I give you the contact I need to know that you know what your are talking about. Please let me know what you would do to make the logon and all data sent and received secure? What technology are you going to use to talk to the back end database? What technology are you going to use to actually get the data from the back end to display on the user status page? Can you give me a general class diagram showing how you envision the data for this app.
I would learn to love how to do this stuff, but it seems like it would be so difficult and that you would need a very good memory.....I started trying to teach myself C++ when I was like 15 or 16 but didnt get too far....I guess I will just stick to Graphic Arts..
pays good but don't expect to land your dream job regarding programming. i got a few friends who went right into programming for college, especially with interest in java. he currently works forced overtime coding interactive Barbie games. freelance coding is where it's at, but pay isn't as good and it's not always stable