Quick question about getting a Java Qualification….

I’ve an opportunity to get trained up in Java; no more details yet (hence question here) but I’ll be well supported and doesn’t impact my position/stability or anything negative like that. It’s part of a new move by my employer to move towards internal capability, rather than getting in external folk (how successful this is remains to be seen!)

I love the idea; child of the 80’s that loved writing basic programs etc.

Thing is, I’m 36 and I suspect it won’t be of much use on a CV until I’ve got a few years experience behind me and the idea of an inexperienced 40 year old Java programmer seems weird where all our outsourced equiv’s are 20! Is this the right way of thinking?

Relevant info is I’m public sector BA in a ‘happy’ grade, quite a few years behind me and in the right place to step up to the next, when opportunity presents itself (it would be PM responsibilities in all likelihood, so Java would be pointless)

Don’t want to waste my time just getting another qualification, or depriving someone else more appropriate of an opportunity, but would this realistically better me/interest me, or not?

Just thoughts/experience really would be appreciated.

Ta.

Hard to say. I think your reasoning is pretty accurate, but if they’re aren’t any negative consequences of doing it, take a punt.
I’m guessing your employer wouldn’t be suggesting it unless they thought you were suited.

Take any and all training opportunities because in my personal experience not enough employers off any.

You should definitly do it, you learn that and you can make your own “experience” also what you learn in java can easily be transfered to any object oriented language anyway

Do you like coding? In my opinion it is a certain type of mindset that enjoys and makes a good programmer. Plenty of clever people can be okay at it by working hard, plenty never get it and are useless, and there are the few that are naturals.

I used to be a coder, moved into management as that was the way you got promoted a decade ago. I’m half debating going back to coding as the role is now being seen in a better light and the trend appears to be insourcing and trainee or interim ships and paying better wages. It all goes in cycles though. Within another decade people will decide coding is monkey work and shipping it to the other side of the world again

Personally I would be looking to get into mobile.

My training in Java transferred very nicely to C# (obviously, really, given the nature of C#), so it’s a versatile qualification.

That’s all really useful thank you; mobile apps will be part of it I believe.

It would interest you, and might help get another job but not as a coder. To do that you’ve got to demonstrate aptitude and experience.

You may have aptitude, in which case you might get an entry level job if you have a sympathetic prospective employer and you can REALLY demonstrate how good you are. You’d have to have written something you can show, or maybe worked on some open source project. OR you could get in based on whatever your other skills are. So for example you are a BA and someone needs a combined BA/small scale systems analyst or something.

If you decide to give it a shot, probably the best thing to practice on is a mobile app. Lots of reasons:-

* Android apps are developed primarily in Java. Windows Phone apps are written in C#, which as I alluded to above, uses almost identical syntax.

* You’re forced to consider the app’s entire lifecycle – not like the console programs many programming courses have you practice with.

* Sloppy coding generally isn’t accepted, because the app store submission process rejects apps that murder battery life (the Windows one does, the Android store didn’t but might now).

* There’s a solid and well-documented API for both Windows Phone and Android, with plenty of tutorials and guides.

* You learn the most up-to-date approach to coding. MVVM, for example, is wildly different to what I learned at uni.

* You get to experience everything related to the development process – from the beginning, to the release and marketing, to support and updates afterwards.

* You might make some money from it.

* It’s very easy to show someone your stuff when you can pull out a phone with it on. I got a job offer when I mentioned a free app I wrote and the interviewer said, “What, this one?” and showed me my app on his phone.

Probably many other benefits that I haven’t thought of.

Edit: iPhone apps are written in Objective C. It gives me a headache and I don’t pretend to understand it.

I’m a freelance developer, mainly Java stuff and have ‘been around’ a bit (lot). The sad truth is that there’s no shortage of talent or experience out there, and if you just want cheap then there are lots of off-shore folks who’ll write rubbish for a pittance. Most recruiters will be looking for someone who’s got years and years of experience or is fresh out of University and full of piss & vinegar. This doesn’t leave much room for someone in your position.

If your employer has a specific and significant project they want you to work on and you’re up for it, then this is probably the only way to go from “training” to being employable as a developer. You might get some opportunities doing private projects in your spare time, but do you really want to leave the bike in the garage and sit in front of a PC?

If you’re happy to take the training for what it is (it might be that they want someone to understand what the dev team is up to a little better, fix a few bugs, micro manage the dev process, etc) then go for it. If you want to be a professional developer at the end of the training course you might struggle