1st Time In Nearly 20 Years!!

[sandmannd]

It's been almost 20 years since I stepped through school doors with the intent of going to class. Today I visited a college to do just that. I don't know the one I visited is going to be the one but I have meetings with three others in the next week to visit with three more of them.

I've been pondering for the last, I don't know, long time about what I wanted to be when I grow up. So at 39 I'm pretty set on finally going to school and getting a degree. I'm pretty set on going to school for Website Development. I've been in IT for 12 years now and I love the field. Computers come pretty easy to me and I enjoy working on them. That being said, I'm getting tired of the hardware aspect of things and I do mostly data entry keeping track of inventory at my current job. I've been working on a couple of Fishing Guide sites for a couple of years now. It is something I really enjoy doing but I don't know as much as I would like. I had thought about just taking a couple of classes to learn more but as I talked to my Wife, family and friends they convinced me that going and getting a degree is the way to go. You never know what job security is anymore with the economy and word of layoffs hit us again for the fourth year in a row. There's only so long you can escape those things. Looking to the future, if I need to go out looking for a new job and don't have that shiny piece of paper that says Associate or Bachelor on it, I'm not worth a hill of beans.

The colleges I'm looking at a mostly online based but have campus' here. I'm not really interested in going and sitting in class rooms as I've never been good at that. I have the attention span of a gnat so being able to put my time in at home and work at a pace that works for me is great. I've also had to do a lot of research online on how to do different things with sites and wright code and such. I've spent hours at a time figuring something out or solving a problem. Time has flew and I felt rewarded. This tells me I'm looking at the right field as I enjoy it. That's a big part to me, I have to be interested in something and not just technical mumble jumble. This is why I never got my certifications in hardware. I know what makes things tick and how to fix them, but to sit and ready a dang book on windows and then test on it is not going to happen with me. You tell me a problem and I'll figure it out or research it. Just how I tick. Or if I have to build something on the web same thing.

So anyway, I hope I'm doing the right thing and it all pans out. I'm an old fart to be thinking about going to school at this age, but others have done it so what the heck!!

[deadeye]

Best of luck on your adventure.  Nothing like learning something new to keep the juces flowing.

[sandmannd]

So there's only a couple of weeks left in my first semester. I just did a formal film analogy in my film class on Monday and knocked it out of the park! We were told in class that if we have an A we don't have to take the final. Well, I have a solid A I believe so no final for me!!

My computer classes are coming to an end as well. For two of them I have to build a website (one for each class). For my web class I did one on the effect lake owners have on our waters. Here's the website for it, click here . I'd love to hear opinions on it. Now this is the first site I've built strictly from the ground up. This site and others sites I've built I used a template and followed it and just made changes as I went. This site I just created was all me doing the coding and everything for it. I had a lot of fun.

Gotta do one more site by the end of next week and one paper by Sunday and I should have this semester in the books. I'll have a couple of weeks off and then have four more classes for the summer semester.

[dakids]

Looks great!!!!  Way to go big guy

[kenhuntin]

Be careful Sandmannd them coleges turn folks into protestin librals in a hurry. It sownds like it has alreddy started with you and that there anal filmology. Pleeze be karful.

[sandmannd]

Not gonna happen Ken. I hated the film class. Knocked it out of the park, but hated it.

[glenn57]

yea next thing ya know sandmannd will be protesting obama or something foolish like that!!!

[sandmannd]

I got my grades a couple of weeks ago. My Web 101 class I got a C in. I thought "What the heck, my grades were good. What the heck happened". So I emailed my professor and asked. He got back to me the next day and told me there was a glitch, I had an A. So I received all A's for the four classes of my first semester.

This week starts my summer semester. I, once again, took four classes. Thing is the semester is only half as long as a normal one so its only 8 weeks. Everything is packed into this shorter window. I've had the work piled on since yesterday. It's going to be tough and for sure will cut into the fishing time.

Here's the thing, I want this degree and I'm not here to mess around. Once I'm done with summer and pass the courses, no more generals for me. From then on it's all computer classes. I don't know if I can keep up the 4.0 but I'm gonna try for sure. I still can't believe I got all A's as I'm just not that smart.

[deadeye]

Maybe you think you are not "smart", but you obviously have a knack for giving the professors what they want.   

[JohnWester]

what are you getting your degree in? computer science?  while I congratulate you on your efforts, and believe me, I am not trying to knock you... I have been in computer programming for 15+ years and I believe you can learn more in a two week boot camp to learn a programming  language and be productive right away in a job, then what I see these young guys coming out fresh with their CS degree.
When I hire here, I look for a candidate that knows something and can contribute right away.  My experience has been that while nice to have, a BS degree in Comp Sci doesn't mean you know how to actually do anything.  they are too vague about everything.
and the boot camps are cheaper too...  

I know this sounds a little like a slam, but not meant to be... just stating what I know from interviewing prospects.
Of course, this is coming from me, a guy with engineering degree, no computers/programming. I took a two week bootcamp on cobol way back when, got a job doing that, then took a two week java bootcamp, did that for years, then another two week bootcamp on .net coding and have been doing that for the past 6 or so years.

if you are wanted to do website development, i'd look at some .net classes.  you can learn asp.net for straight up web development, but look into silverlight with WCF services.  That will at least apply to building pc based apps too, as they both use xaml and if you know silverlight, you'll be able to write wpf (windows based) desktop apps.  makes you more marketable.  Of course, there is always the java guy saying what about java... well, what about java? been there... unfortunately, Microsoft rules the world.

[sandmannd]

I don't take that as a dig at all John. I've actually been in IT for thirteen years now. I got into building websites as a hobby a couple of years ago and really liked it. When Children's Hospitals were talking layoffs again last summer I decided I was tired of hearing these talks every six months and looked to get a degree. Something I've never had. Well, lucky me as laid off in October after 10 years of service. They said they were going to automate my job. From all my friends that work there still, I hear that's not working out too well for them.

I've looked into the boot camps but the problem is that a lot of employers want that piece of paper. I know my experience will run circles around at least half or more of the young guns with these papers but a lot of folks don't care. I would say you are not the norm if you look for experience when hiring.

My degree is at Saint Paul College and is an AAS degree in computer programming with an emphasis on web development. Was gonna go for design but was told the market is too saturated. I still might take a couple of boot camps just to add to what I'm getting though.

By the way, you hiring???? :-)

deadeye, you are right. It's not that you have to be highly intelligent but you have to do what they ask you to do and get your work done. It's not that hard, just time consuming.

[JohnWester]

we were... just hired a guy for .net development last week.  I think we are good for now. But I know of an opening for a asp.net developer, good place.
Ya, if you can swing it, take a asp.net class... or do a bunch of online tutorials.  you can download a free light copy of visual studio, or if you want a regular version of it, let me know.  I think if you have some web (guessing html/javascript experience) getting some asp.net and or silverlight would help you out.  there are a metric F#CK TON of jobs right now in the cities for .net developers.