Career Options

[Darshan5]

Hi!!!!
I'm currently doing BCS. I'm in last year...
I dont know what to do after my graduation.
I have so much interest in programming..
But I want to practice more programs before i go to find a job.
I was thinkin of takin a break for a year.
Mybe i can gor for some certifications in that year.
I want to learn more n more about programming before i start my career. Can anyone help me..
i just want to know what to after my graduation.

[rubberman]

Good employers don't place too much emphasis on "certifications", but on what you know and what you have done. If you are going to take a year to refine your skills, then sign up and start contributing to a serious open source project. In our organization, that would count for major points in the interview process, especially if you contributed some serious updates, bug fixes, enhancements, etc (stuff that can easily be verified). In my interview, I had to write on the whiteboard the C (or Java) code to compute a factorial. That was to prove that I knew how to write basic code, and had an understanding of recursion. I got the job, and am now senior systems engineer for a $40B company, working on bleeding-edge technology. I have no meaningful certificates, and indeed no actual degree. As the old saying goes, never let school get in the way of your education! :-) However, I do have a non-trivial software patent for adaptive systems software, am a published author in technical journals and a graduate-level IT text book, and have been an invited presenter at major IEEE and ACM conferences - all stuff that can be verified on the internet or with the organizations/publishers in question.

The only software-related certificate that I would consider getting these days is the IEEE CSDP - Certified Software Development Professional. That is the first step in becomming a certified PE (professional engineer) in software engineering. A PE is a government reecognized status which is required for sign-off on safety-critical and other systems to meet government regulatory requirements. This PE for software engineering is just now starting to be recognized by several states in the US, but will be across the entire US in a few years. Currently PE's are recognized for electrical engineers, civil engineers, etc. Those of us in the IEEE who are software engineers have been working a long time for software engineering to be recognized as a true engineering discipline. This is when it happens!

[geresespina]

Wow. Just wow. Rubberman has inspired me so much to pursue my dream of becoming a really good software engineer. I was 18 when I went to college for a Computer Programmer/Analyst program but I later stopped due to the fact that I had to work to make a living. I am now 23 and working as a Mortgage Officer at a very large and reputable bank. I like my current job but my goal here is to become a Program Lead or part of some kind of project. I want to achieve my goals and any advice would be very welcome!

By the way, this is my first post here in DaniWeb :)

Cheers.

[Taywin]

Just remember, programming & managing are two different skill sets. One is to be able to follow requirements and do it right, and the other is to control and make it work. Some may have only one of the skill sets, and some may be capable of acquiring both skills. You are still young and may not really know your capability yet. Just try it out and see how it works.

[geresespina]

Thanks so much for the advice. Sorry for taking over your thread, OP. But to me, I think we can both learn from the things that people have gone through in their respective careers. I love to program and I would love to be a programmer/developer for a living but most of the projects here in Canada, especially in my company, are being outsourced to offshore sites like, India, for example.

What would anyone here suggest that I take as a stepping stone into the IT field?

Thanks,