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June 9, 2024
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Top Tips for Choosing a Computer Programming Career: Essential Advice Before You Start

By | Career Advice, Featured

It is important to know what to expect from a career as a computer programmer. There are many paths in computer programming that you may choose. But even before exploring any of these options. It is necessary to look at it from a realistic stand point. This article focuses on the most basic questions to ask yourself before you even begin. There are many opportunity and jobs growth in this profession. If any the information in this article sounds like a red flag to you, it is likely that this may not be for you.

It is cool nowadays to become a computer programmer. There is high demand for computer programmers and many jobs pay lucrative salaries. Here are some pros and cons about becoming a computer programmer:

Pros of a Career in Computer Programming

High Demand and Job Growth: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 25.7% increase in employment for computer programmers. This translates to 410,400 new jobs between 2022 and 2032. This growth is much higher than the average for all occupations​.​1

Lucrative Salaries: The median annual wage is $132,270 as of 2023​ as per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics​.​1 This is above the national median for all other occupations. This makes computer programming a rewarding career.

Diverse Opportunities: Computer programmers have the option to work in various industries. There are jobs in technology, finance, healthcare and entertainment.

Remote Work and Flexibility: Many programming jobs offer remote and hybrid work options. Many jobs offer relocation packages, office allowances, generous benefits. This flexibility allows computer programmers to live the digital nomad lifestyle.

Cons of a Career in Computer Programming

Continuous Learning and Adaptation: This technology field is always evolving. This requires computer programmers to keep up to date. This can be both time-consuming, expensive and demanding. Computer programming may not be for you if are hoping for static work environment.

Work Stress and Deadlines: Computer programming often involves strict deadlines and high-pressure environments. It is a competitive field that sometimes may lead to a hostile work environment. Time management is essential to avoid unnecessary stress and burnout.

Screen Time and Sedentary Lifestyle: Computer programming involves working long hours. Sitting down in front of a computer can lead to health issues such as eye strain, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Isolation: Computer programming can be isolating. There is not a lot of human interaction. Programmers working from home may miss the social aspect of office jobs. It may be difficult for the social butterfly.

Job Outlook and Statistics

The BLS data highlights the robust growth in software development roles. This is due to the increasing reliance on technology across all sectors. It is a good time to be in a computer related career. The BLS projects that information security analysts and data scientists will grow between 31.5% and 35.2% over the next decade.​1

Skills and Education Requirements

Aspiring computer programmers need to develop problem-solving and attention to detail skills. These two skills sit at the very root of the knowledge that a computer programmer needs to master. The rest of the education track depends on the type of computer programming you want to pursue. The traditional path involves getting a degree in computer science. This is not a bad option if the time and funds are available. This may also be the go-to option for those looking to earn a traditional degree. If getting a bachelor or masters degree is not an option. Programming bootcamps are a great alternative for learning computer programming. Bootcamps offer a learn-by-doing approach which helps you get to a job much faster. Some bootcamps may also cost way less than a traditional degree. And some even offer help with job placement.

Computer programming offers many benefits, including high demand, attractive salaries, and diverse opportunities. It may offer lots of perks and even the possibility to live a digital nomad lifestyle. It is also not for everybody. It requires solving problems, continuous learning, good time management and potential work stress. It is crucial to weight these different factors to make a well-rounded decision. You want to know if computer programming is right for you well before you write your first line of code.

References

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections. Fastest Growing Occupations. April 17, 2024. Available at https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/fastest-growing-occupations.htm. Accessed June 9, 2024.

Photo by Thea on Unsplash

November 24, 2022
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Four Reasons Why PHP Is Good For Business

By | Featured, Food for Thought

PHP is a powerful server-side programming language with many uses in the real world. PHP still powers about 78.8% of the web and many of the world’s most powerful applications have their roots in PHP1. One of its superpowers is its ability to run large-scale applications. Facebook, Wikipedia, MailChimp, Magento, Tumblr, Drupal, Moodle, and WordPress to name a few.

  1. It powers 78.8% of the web
  2. It is free software
  3. Extendable using C or C++
  4. Great online support and documentation

PHP is free software released under the PHP License. This means you can use it for commercial purposes and profit from it. It uses an interpreter powered by the Zend Engine.

PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. It meant Personal Home Page when it was first created. PHP is a general-purpose scripting language. Rasmus Lerdorf created PHP in 1993 but published its first release in 1995. He wrote it as a series of C programs also known as Common Gateway Interface (CGI). He wanted to create a set of tools to maintain his personal homepage. He never intended it to become a programming language. It evolved in an organic way to where it is today.2

PHP’s main use is as a server-side programming language. Developers use it to create dynamic websites and web applications. It also has many uses beyond creating applications for the web. PHP enables the creation of standalone graphical applications and robotic drone control. It can also run straight from the command line independent of a web server. One can extend it using C or C++ extensions to create functionality that is project specific. Or that it improves software runtimes.

I started using PHP back in 2007 for my first client project. I used Microsoft ASP Technologies, Java Servet Pages (JSP), and Perl. I was starting my first company in the US at the time. I did not have the resources to buy Enterprise Software licenses. I also had not had good experience programming closed-source applications. The support was not very reliable and when a critical error happened, there was no easy way to fix it. Applications would experience outages for hours and sometimes days.

I needed a reliable programming language that had great online support. PHP was free software with great online support. There were lots of documentation available. A growing community of programmers that were sharing information online. Most websites used it and it was stable. I have since used it to develop real-time web-based applications. Rich Internet Applications (RIA). I have used it to power multi-player video games created in Flash and ActionScript. I have developed interfaces, APIs, and all sorts of maintenance scripts. This is why I still use it today and will continue using it for foreseeable future for the right projects.

PHP is a powerful and reliable programming language that is great for business. If you write well-coded applications with good security standards. You will have peace of mind. Your application will perform well in a production environment.

References
  1. “Usage statistics of PHP for websites”. W3Techs - World Wide Web Technology Surveys. W3Techs. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 2022–11–20.
  2. “PHP”. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP. Retrieved 2022–11–20.
September 24, 2019
0

(SRS) Software Requirements and Specification Planning Session

By | Featured, SDLC | No Comments

We had a superb SRS planning session with the Offervana team to help them design the next generation of their real estate software product. I’m very excited and deeply grateful for this opportunity. Here is our chance to bring our A-game to a group of top-notch entrepreneurs who we deeply respect and admire.

We will now start the analysis phase of this process and build out the full SRS. This is the blueprint of how the software will be built by the development team. This is our way to prepare our clients to have a successful build and leave no stone unturned. This is the most important step in a software build because it saves clients time and money. It allows them to dive deep into their vision and turn that into an organized plan to bring it to life. It leaves discrepancies and assumptions out of people’s heads and brings them all on paper with dates and signatures. By the end of the analysis phase, our client will have a full understanding of how long the project will take, a full Gantt chart broken down by milestones, how much it will cost, technical and environment constraints, dependencies, software, hardware, and communications APIs, versioning, contingency protocols, maintenance, and support plans.

This project implements agile methodology throughout the entire software development lifecycle process. We are passionate about what we do for clients because most software projects that fail, do as a result of lack of planning. We cannot wait to see their unique software product come to life!!

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