CareersNG

hi guys i just thought i would share the way am feeling right now... well so far so goof we have stumbled upon great technologies,ideas and improved developement concepts.. yet as a young developer in 9ja .. this posses a tough challenge.. first man u need light, now without light u are given the alternative to fetch urself a laptop.. ok so this is the problem getting a laptop as a young hard working nigerian really involves placing ur priorities right.. now a laptop is good but with few cash in pocket.. u are definitely living in fantasy land.. but somehow u overcome this ... now the next big question is adopting a technology.. first my track looks like this.... msdos,basic,pascal,fortran,c/c++, java, javascript, now php... well i just stopped my java to look into php.. wellits an easy language but now the problem is getting use to working with variables without declaring types... though i have been able to do some of my java stuff in php alot easily.. i still feel empty without Java.. now in the course of doing php i have been able to learn some graphics editing toos like fireworks and now dreamweaver(i use to be a code it urself guy now that is changing thanks to the tools).. And a lot of simple web guys are able to do some really cool stuff with php in a short time.. so sometimes i feel jealous.. but yet i still have to bath in the warm glow of java... now i am about to withdraw a bit from php and start my java all over again from scratch... this will give me a balanaced mind( did i tell u i learnt php just so i sould train some dudes in database programming and web design. so u see where am coming from.. ).. but folks i just need to ask u this one question HOW DO WE MAINTAIN OUR FOCUS WITHOUT LOOSING SIGHT OF THE FUTURE AND OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD?

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Deja vu . . . seems to me like.

What is the problem? You think PHP is simpler than J or that you will be more productive in PHP or what? And going back to start java from scratch - well i've seen it happen to a lot of folks and many give up after the second, third or countless attempts. I hope you wont be another statistic. That would be a shame. C'mon man, if the Indians can do it, you can. YES YOU CAN!

To maintain focus, never bite more than you can chew - take things one step at a time, set realistic targets. Once you reach your goal, up the bar - the morale will get you going. Never try to be jack of all trade (huh, I cant believe I said that), build your own competence in your niche area. After you are comfortable, you can expand your tentacles further.

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More twisted than dreadlocks

Re-learning Java isnt a bad thing, but it can quickly become futile. Unlike other languages (PHP, VB, C etc) where partial understanding gets you going, in java, you need a very strong grasp of a large part of the Platform libraries. Worse still, to be productive, you need a full understanding of OO concepts. If you see 20 people who know java, 19 of them dont know OO concept and they therefore will never get near average productivity.


Just by the way, you also mentioned Dreamweaver/Fireworks. Ha, I will never have a computer without these two pearls - they are simply marvelous - (I still use version 5 i.e the 2002 MX edition, from macromedia, long before Adobe acquired 'em even tough I have the latest CS3 release). I have done so much magic with these two, I cant imagine life without them. I dont even want to try the latest CS3 edition - the older the wine, the better it tastes.

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More twisted than dreadlocks

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Fowe.
Choices make or mar Chances ... add extra care to your choices today.

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Fowe.
Choices make or mar Chances ... add extra care to your choices today.

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Fowe.
Choices make or mar Chances ... add extra care to your choices today.

Still talking about choice of technologies in the world or programming/IT.
Overall...i think the following should strongly affect your choice at every stage of self development in IT.

i) The YOU factor...how much of your innate abilities match with that professional line ..some people get answers to this only after playing around with many technologies just like ndy40.

ii)The future need/market share...you need to know your programming language would not be out of market in few years time. Its not genius enough to know what is complex...but to know what people need and would continue to need!

iii)Global competition...compare your ability to the amount of people who are already into that field globally..can you compete with them for example...when i wanted to pick a scripting language Perl vs PHP(coming from a C++ background)..., i went for Perl..because i think it would take me 5-10yrs to meet up with those guys who are already PHP gurus..they are just too many!
Another example is Linux vs Windows(in Nigeria), windows is simple..so everybody knows it..everybody has MCSE...knowing Linux would give you an edge!

iv)Scalability.....this is also very important. You want to learn something that is close enough to other useful technologies, that you can easily scale/grow your knowledge into...e.g some professionals are called LAMP(Linux Apache MySQL PHP/Perl), while some are called LNA (Linux Network Administrator)...the two are different just because of the Network part...obviously if you learn Linux, you can scale into any of the two --> if you go LNA you can scale into --> CCNA-->CCSP..etc
if you go LAMP.. you can scale into --> Oracle --> Java --> C++
if your LAMP is PHP --> you can scale into --> fireworks --> flash --> HTML.
You seeeee
its like viewing this technologies like a social network...they all ve neighbors, and friends...
when i wanted to start programming...Java was the in-thing..but i went for C++ because i was interested in Embedded Systems and Robotics...and i knew i can easily scale into Java if need be!...it happened 5yrs later..and it took me just 1month! to scale into Java (at least for a novice level ).
Some anti-friendship technologies are:
Fortran >--< Flash/Fireworks
CCNA >--< Oracle (...u need a programming language to bridge that gap!)
Fiber Optic Network >---< PHP

I hope you guys get my gist

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Fowe.
Choices make or mar Chances ... add extra care to your choices today.

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Fowe.
Choices make or mar Chances ... add extra care to your choices today.

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More twisted than dreadlocks

well i appreciate what u guys have all said. really encouraging.. but i really was not giving up on java.. i mean java brought me out of the dull ages of fortran , basic and co.. i have done some c++ but i really went wide when i wrote my first hello world in java using the JOptionPane class.. i think the reason is that i have been looking at others alot.. i got friends and i have met a few people , i have also introduced a few into programming and they just sort of flirt with php since the feel alot frustrated by some technicallities of java and c++.. so i feel atimes a bit jealous when the get arround with some simple jobs u know .. better still the perform them faster in less time than i would using java... so i came to a conclusion am not really an interface designer.. i think my problem is trying to be as good as others are in aspects am not really keen on... well like u said the U factor.. i love java and i know i can be the best in what i do.. but looking at my immediate environment u need to have the skills needed by some of ur potential customers.. now also depending on the nature of the job u u get they are alot that can be done in java but ur client may be a bit dump to that so why make something fantastic with java when u can accomplish same in a language like php .. java atimes looks like and over kill solution to some problems... really atimes ur java effort are not appreciated.. i happen to meet a guy designing some hotel software and in php.. i mean check out how much time he used.. though i know nothing is as important has a well designed and functional software.. so i am just taking the challenge of matching their interface skill in my java apps tooo..

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well i dont have a laptop yet but concrete plans have been made to that 4 this year.. well am sure ogf one thats to say. when i get one then i will no longer be hindered by power outtage anymore.. but for the mean time i have decided to use what i have to get what i want.. so i cant get laptop aye! so who says i cant get a i better pass my neighbour to power my laptop for my nightly builds.... well that is my plan by next week am getting one little gen for my desktop,reading lamp and fan.. from then on more from me will be seen on this great forum.. but i must say i have learnt a great deal from playing with php.. atleast my graphic or interface has really improved.. before all i ever knew was to present my database results in tables and that was that.... but now am working with templates,, intending to know a little css.. my javascript is wack no doubt but really all i need javascript for is in my form authentication.. the other aspects of java scripts like animations, u know i can get done now with fireworks, DMW and better still the internet provides a lot of copy paste free JS codes.. really alot of libraries.. this my fellow friends is my most exciting period in my programming careers...

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Fowe.
Choices make or mar Chances ... add extra care to your choices today.

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@ndy - you've got a PM. No disrespect, just try to act on it. Cheers.




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More twisted than dreadlocks

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More twisted than dreadlocks

From my little experience, trying to joggle all these roles leaves you as a mediocre in just about all of them.

As they say, just my 2 pennies.

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More twisted than dreadlocks

well i am an a software developer but business opprtunities really is coming from the web interface part so i would say am just looking for everyday cash to support my other aspects....

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Fowe.
Choices make or mar Chances ... add extra care to your choices today.