Pathway to Success - Entry Level Programmer/Software Developer

I am currently enrolled for a B.S. in Computer Science and possess a entry level knowledge in the IT field. I have plans to complete a Masters in Software Engineering, immediately upon graduation of the B.S. in C.S.

What exams and certificates do you recommend? I want to study and obtain a few certs on the side, while I am enrolled in computer science classes.

I looking for the best entry level cert to build upon, and add future advanced certs later next year.

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JDMurray

Programming certs are a great syllabus for self-study learning of the details of specific programming languages and development environments. However, programming certs have never really caught on in the software development world as a necessary thing for programmers to have. Search the major jobs boards, like monster.com and dice.com, for jobs asking for programming certs and you will usually find very few asked for, even in the "nice to have" category.

That being said, find the types of software engineering jobs you are interested in working and check what programming cert(s) apply to those jobs. You basically have a choice of Microsoft .NET/database or Java. A lot of really interesting languages, like Ruby, Python, Perl, etc., don't have an associated certification. The best thing you can do in these cases is to write useful, working programs in the languages you are learning, post them to sourceforge.net, and reference them on your CV.

Firecell

JDMurray wrote: »

A lot of really interesting languages, like Ruby, Python, Perl, etc., don't have an associated certification.

If you had to pick one programming language, which one would it be? I want to concentrate my off-hours on one specific language, but want to strategize the decision.

JDMurray

Firecell wrote: »

If you had to pick one programming language, which one would it be? I want to concentrate my off-hours on one specific language, but want to strategize the decision.

Ha! That's like saying, 'If you could pick one human language to learn, which would it be?" The array of choices are quire mind-boggling.

You pick human or computer programming language to learn based on the type of work you want to get done in a particular environment(s). In your case, you should pick a language that enables you to write software that interests you. You won't learn much if you don't have fun learning it.

So what kind of software interests you? Web apps on Windows? Admin programs on Linux? Apps on Android? Graphics programs on the Mac or iPhone? Software that runs on (most) everything?

Firecell

JDMurray wrote: »

So what kind of software interests you? Web apps on Windows? Admin programs on Linux? Apps on Android? Graphics programs on the Mac or iPhone?

Since my knowledge is at the entry level, I cannot truly answer the question. I am currently just starting my programming career and researching the different facets of software. I would probably guess Web apps on Windows, but really trying to base off an expected desire from employers.

I am trying to put my interest to the side and pick what employers want in the job market.

JDMurray

Firecell wrote: »

I am trying to put my interest to the side and pick what employers want in the job market.

Writing Java apps for the Android OS is very hot right now, especially for DoD projects. All of the development tools are free as well.