Member Avatar for jay_el_em

I am an aspiring programmer/developer, and I was wondering which direction would lead to more job opportunities(Not just more money, although in this recession we could all use some extra cash) I am learning C# and have mostly done Winforms desktop applications, should I be looking more towads ASP.Net??

Am planning on doing some Microsoft Certifications soon, and some good advice would be nice.

thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Rashakil Fol

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Context: started with C# and WinForms and asked whether to push toward ASP.NET. The thread contains useful viewpoints from , , , and . Because the discussion is from 2011, note a crucial update: the modern Microsoft stack centers on .NET (cross-platform) and ASP.NET Core. For job hunting today, combine platform knowledge with web, cloud, and deployment skills rather than treating “desktop vs web” as a strict choice.

Practical skill set to acquire now:

  • Platform internals: CLR concepts, NuGet, dependency injection, async/await, memory basics.
  • Web fundamentals: HTTP, REST, status codes, headers, security basics (CORS, auth flows).
  • ASP.NET Core: MVC/Web API, middleware, Razor/Blazor, SignalR for realtime.
  • Data layer: relational design, EF Core (migrations, transactions), performance basics (indexes, parameterized queries).
  • Front end: HTML/CSS/vanilla JS and at least one SPA framework (React/Angular/Vue) or Blazor.
  • DevOps/cloud: Git, CI/CD (GitHub Actions/Azure DevOps), Docker, deploy to Azure/AWS.
  • Testing and maintenance: unit/integration tests, logging, basic observability.

Actionable next steps: pick 2–3 small, deployable projects that show end-to-end skills (for example: a CRUD app using EF Core + ASP.NET Core Web API + React or Blazor, plus one realtime demo with SignalR). Migrate or wrap WinForms business logic into a Web API to demonstrate reuse. Publish code and live demos on GitHub and a simple hosted URL so recruiters can see working results.

A note on certifications: ’s caution is valid—certs alone rarely replace practical work. They can help for cloud roles or HR filters, but pair any certification with real projects and code you can discuss. For current platform reference see ASP.NET Core docs and the .NET overview.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for Member #905211

Considering the line between desktop development and web development are becoming more and more blurred, I would say take a look at doing some ASP.Net development, but keep up with desktop as well. Making sure you know both is important. Also learn SQL, this is just as important as the main language you are using.

Member Avatar for Tellalca

Learning C# is not just learning the syntax. After you get the basics learn more about .NET platform. If you know .NET and C# there is no such distinct thing as Asp.NET at all, it is just server side C# code .)

Member Avatar for a.oprea

I think the best choice is to begin learing a lower level language like C++ or java, after you master those, you can easily go up to more higher languages. The other way around is not that easy

Member Avatar for pseudorandom21

I think the best choice is to begin learing a lower level language like C++ or java, after you master those, you can easily go up to more higher languages. The other way around is not that easy

Lol, I love C++ (it was my first language), but I have a hard time telling anyone to learn C++ before anything else, because that takes f***ing forever. "Learning curve" really means "more time spent doing nothing." It may take him the next 3 years to learn C++ as his first language, so you can understand my concern about someone on a programming forum dictating 3 years of time.

My best advice if you decide to take that route is to learn other programming languages as well. I would actually recommend the book "Learning Visual C++ 2010" by Ivor Horton, it teaches C++, C++/CLI, and using Visual Studio. C++/CLI is a managed language that uses the .NET framework, and as such makes your transition to learning to use any of the .NET languages much easiesr.

Java and other languages are still big contenders these days too, but here's a big tip:
"Don't invest too much time in a language that won't be used 3 years from now."

Edited by pseudorandom21 because: n/a
Member Avatar for Rashakil Fol

I am an aspiring programmer/developer, and I was wondering which direction would lead to more job opportunities(Not just more money, although in this recession we could all use some extra cash) I am learning C# and have mostly done Winforms desktop applications, should I be looking more towads ASP.Net??

There are tons of job opportunities for programmers in every language and every field. There's no reason not to go for what you enjoy most (assuming you are actually capable of programming).

Am planning on doing some Microsoft Certifications soon, and some good advice would be nice.

Don't get a certification. They are a black mark on the resume.

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