Alright some advice

neo9006

Good Afternoon,

I got one reply last week on my thread, which was cool better than nothing, I guess my next question is this, what certifications would be good if your going after web development? Are there any? I am in the process of learning some stuff thanks to a site and trying on my own, any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

NetworkVeteran

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I found the Dreamweaver certification helpful. Not because it was in-demand, but rather because it led me to a more efficient workflow and better understanding of what Dreamweaver could do.

I don't plan to ever do web development again. Pays too little.

(Design or back-end programming pays better! Managed templates keep getting cheaper and more professional. And, of course, there's always outsourcing to foreign countries where "less" is "more").

paul78

I would agree with NetworkVeteran on that...

But it does depend on what you mean by "web development" - if you are referring to actual web applications - some useful certifications which could round out your knowledge would be MCSD if you favour the Microsoft track or SCJP if you are on the Java side (I think Oracle calls it something else now).

I do not believe that anyone hires developers based on their certifications. But some of these certifications provide good learning maps and a way to test your knowledge.

NetworkVeteran

But it does depend on what you mean by "web development" - if you are referring to actual web applications

Certainly! Web application development (via Java or other languages) pays well.

neo9006

Well, I am starting to worry about my Bachelors since its in Web Media and Design, I know some Dreamweaver already, and studying on some other things when I get there. Yes I plan on taking a Java class next semester, I guess at this point I am lost on which direction to take with my degree. My current job all I do in data entry besides work outside the office which will not help me get ahead and pretty well I am looking for another job come next year anyway.Okay one last thing since I am I know a little and not a whole lot what is design or back end programming may I ask forgive me if I am a newbie.

holysheetman

I have a feeling that the ISC2 CSSLP certification will be highly desireable in 5-10 years as it is in its infant stage if you take into consideration the amount of time it takes a certification to really 'catch' on.

paul78

@holysheetman - good point on the CSSLP. That is one certification whose body of knowledge is quite practical and useful to most programmers.

@Neo9006 - it may be my own misconceptions. But I am unfamiliar with the course requirements of a Web Media and Design.

To answer your followup question about types of programming - I would say that the big difference is the what/how you are programming. What NetworkVeteran and I assumed you meant when you said "web development" is the creation of web sites based on turn-key web development tools like Dreamweaver. That type of work is highly commoditized so unless you have some specialized complementary skill - like creative design, it doesn't really have a high demand because there is high-supply of those types of people with today's tools.

It sounds like you want to be a software developer - I.e. write software. That's actually a huge area and certain roles require very in-depth technical skills. And the type of skills and technical knowledge plays a big part in the compensation and job availability.

In the world according to paul78, I characterize "programming" into categories. I use the term category because I don't want to imply that it's a career or skill progression path. Some of the less technical categories may still have high demand depending on other dimensions - for example - if the job requires in-depth business knowledge of a specific industry.

"Systems Programming" - software development usually using low-level languages like assembly and C. Typically development of operating systems, kernel drivers, and programming languages. The end-user of the systems programming product is usually another programmer or IT professional.

"Application Programming" - this is the development of a task specific software application. I.e. writing the forum software used for TechExams. Or writing some commercial-of-the-shelf software.

"Automation Programming" - typically I lump any type of scripting using perl, phyton, etc. into this category. For example, using perl to build a data transmission system or phython to perform security testing.

"Domain Programming" - developers usually use a 4GL to solve domain specific problems. A 4GL is a high level language that is usually intepreted that is geared at specific problem sets. For example, MATLAB or Mathematica for scientific computing, Coldfusion or Dreamweaver for web development, Microsoft Access for database apps. Another common type of tool would be report writers. This type of programming doesn't really need heavy computer science or software engineering but instead requires that a proficient individual be able to understand the business problem that they are trying to solve.

Hope that doesn't make it more confusing...

neo9006

Thanks for the reply, as for my classes, I am taking alot of computer science classes, I know SQL will be on class besides Java next semester. and I am currently working with MATLAB right now in one class, some basics.