1) What did you do to become a Software Developer? (University, job process(Like from a Programmer then got experience then became a Software Developer, etc.?)
2) What advice could you give me specifically? (Perhaps attend a two year associates or diploma and then transfer to a Bachelors etc.)
Moving on, what advice could you give me now, I will list my university and a layout of my bachelors (Or example of one until I get further notice from my Academic advisor of other classes I can take). Are these classes good for my potential career? Is my bachelors the correct process for my career path? What is a decent starting occupation (Because I will have no experience, to get experience for this career)? Or what have you done? Okay, I will list them now.
1) University, is it a good university for this degree? Would you hire someone who studied here? What else would you want from a graduate for this career with this degree?
2) Bachelors degree and what it consists of.
3) Are the classes good for my career choice?
4) Is this bachelors the correct degree for my potential career?
5) Once I have finished, or at least acquired enough skills from the bachelors degree, what occupation should I get experience in before going for positions in Software development? Or can I just simply get my bachelors degree and immediately begin working in this field?
6) For an employer, what would they want for a Software developer? Just the degree or would I need experience first in another starter occupation?
7) Would you hire someone who has graduated from Dakota State University with a Bachelors of science in computer science in this field (Or any fields related (Web design, systems analyst etc.)
Finally, I am simply gathering information to be sure I am taking the correct path for becoming a software developer. I may prefer to do this profession, but if you are of another profession related to computer science feel free to comment and share what you would suggest for me. Thanks!
Note: Some classes are missing, electives, CIS/CSC electives etc. I have not yet gotten the information from my advisor to fill in those blanks, if you have any suggestions on what I should fill them with; feel free! I believe I need these (again still waiting on my advisor) 4 electives, 2 math electives, and 3 CSC/CIS electives. If you have any class you would recommend, please share.
I will be trying to get a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Dakota State University.
First Semester
Composition I (ENGL 101)
Introduction to Computers (CSC 105)
Computer Science I (CSC 150)
World Literature I (ENGL 211)
College Algebra (Math 102)
Second Semester
Fundamentals of Speech (SPCM 101)
Information Security Fundamentals (CIS 245)
World History (HIST 256)
Computer Science II (CSC 250)
Introduction to Discrete Math (Math 201)
Third Semester
Composition II (ENGL 102)
Western Civilization I (HIST 121)
Object oriented Design (CSC 260)
Parallel Computing CSC 410)
Biology survey I (BIOL 101)
Fourth Semester
American Government (POLS 100)
Biology Survey II (BIOL 103)
Data Structures (CSC 300)
Database Management (CIS 484)
Fifth Semester
Networking I (CIS 383)
Structured Systems Analysis and Design (CIS 332)
Algorithms and Optimization (CSC 482)
Assembly Language (CSC 314)
Discrete Math (Math 316)
Sixth Semester
Wellness for Life/Lab (Well 100 & Well 100L)
Calculus I (Math 123)
Seventh Semester
Programming Languages (CSC 461)
Software Engineering (CSC 470)
Introduction to Statistics (Math 281)
Eighth Semester
Operating Systems (CSC 456)
Language Processing (CSC 466)
Another link to a sample schedule is here: http://dsu.edu/assets/uploads/resources/ComputerScience-MAP.pdf
I understand this is a lot of information, but I simply want to be sure I am on the right path and seek as much advice as I can. Also if you would hire someone out of a coding bootcamp please explain and if so which coding bootcamp would you prefer? (Figure maybe this is a good alternative to the degree or maybe to get quick job experience before I do my bachelors) Thanks a lot in advance!
Answers
John,
Yikes, that is a lot of digest, I am NOT a software developer, but deal with them on a daily basis. I am a Business Analyst and do not do the coding but provide the requirements for said coding so that the clients/business is happy with the new program/solution we provide together. On that note, I would like to suggest or point out that the growing trend these days and for the foreseeable future is learning to develop Apps for iPhones and Androids. If you are young and love creating something fun using these languages, you can go a long way, I would think, but again, NOT a software developer, but something to think about.
Good luck in any case, and please keep us up to date on your decisions and hopefully a career in the near future.
Hello John.
I think you are on the right path. You might want to ask yourself if you want to develop software for sale - creating apps for a software company or gaming software - or if you want to write software for business. If you are interested in business, you might want to add some business courses to your curriculum. Other than that, I think Seth answered you quite eloquently.
Software development is a great field - but is ever changing. You need to enjoy working with logic and problem solving and be adaptable to the changing environment of the technology.
Best of luck!
Patti Sherwood
John,
Yes, it is a lot of information, but I can tell you are excited about learning more about computer science and software development. That focused energy will get you to your goals.
Ask 10 developers how they got involved and what they think is important, they will give you 10 answers and then probably change that answer 10 times. My personal enjoyment in being part of software development finding a problem and figuring out how to solve it. I wasn't a comp sci major, I was a finance major.
I will say though, if you have never coded before, take some time with a free online language tutorial like http://c.learncodethehardway.org/ and see if your brain operates in a way that will allow you to be a good coder. If you are a natural, great. If you struggle, there are still a lot of development jobs that don't require you just to code.
Coding academies and boot camps are going to teach you basics of HTML, Java, Ruby etc. and give some basic system and network architecture overviews. If you want to get a job spitting out code as quickly as you can, any academy that will job place you will get you what you want. Your first job will likely focus on generating the most lines of code with the smallest amount of syntax errors. While they are great at teaching programming basics, you will still have to learn system architecture, design, etc to get good at understanding the whole SDLC to really advance.
Any public university with a computer science is going to have a good curriculum and be considered a respectible degree. There are going to be some differences in curriculum and focus based on the experience and background of the professors, but they are going to be fairly subtle. It looks like your curriculum gives a pretty good overview. My personall opinion is to see if you can add some statistics and advanced prob/stat cources in as part of your math requirement. A lot of machine learning follows prob/stat principles, and that will help give you a basis of those principles.
I can't think of a single software development professional I have ever talked to that regretted getting a 4 year degree. You will not only learn the basic technical skills but will also learn critical thinking skills and get a broader knowledge of the world in general. Learn a language early in your curriculum and you can start developing software in your spare time or even take some freelance work writing code for money.
Thanks everyone for replying, you all helped me a lot!
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