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I’m a CE too and almost done with my PE. I want to stay engaged with learning after I’m done. And CS is definitely something I want to do afterwards but don’t r

I’m a CE too and almost done with my PE. I want to stay engaged with learning after I’m done. And CS is definitely something I want to do afterwards but don’t really want to pursue a Master’s or any schooling. Can you recommend any CS books you loved? Anything iOS related would be great but I’ll take any recommendations from a fellow CE.

prions 7y ago
One of my favorites when I was a CE and looking for interesting usecases for my job was Automate the Boring Stuff with Python. I was able to automate and speed up lot of slow, manual processes like signing and stamping shop drawings.
- iscrewyou 7y ago
  Ok thanks! I’ll get the book and go through it. Funnily enough, the only CS course I took in college was Python. I am familiar with the language but I’ve only made very simple scripts that are barely 20 lines of code. Looks like it’s a good road to go down to get better at things.
murphy214 7y ago
CE here with only FE (only 25) I taught myself programming in my free time as I work for a state DOT with a decent amount of free time. One of the cool things about CS (specifically data engineering/science) is it sort of is / will be permeating every technical field so you can sort of combine the two. If your asking about the order I learned things I got pretty good with python for 2 years, tinkered with web stuff intermittently, then started programming in go and that is easily my favorite. I always always focused on geospatial programming which is at least tangentially related to CE. The cool thing is you can start to see problems and build stuff to fix it in your free time, for example, this is something I built that gives mile points out in the field locally (no service needed), when normally a $800+ DMI is used to the same thing at a much hackier level. TL:DR; Depending on what your wanting, I don't think you need to go to school to get competent at CS (although I'm sure I lack some fundamentals), just sort of hack on problems that interest you. Also I have had job offers for software / data engineering positions so I am employable in the field as well I guess.
- iscrewyou 7y ago
  That’s the plan. I don’t plan to get a degree in CS. The most I’d be willing to do is attend a boot camp and that’s a big IF. Like I mentioned in the comment to the other commenter, the only CS course I took in college was Python. I’m very familiar with it but haven’t used it too much. I am not wanting to change careers because I also have a similar job like yours. I have plenty of time to learn and I just want to stay productive. Anyways, thanks for the info. Really. And good luck on your PE if and when you take it. It’s not hard. It’s just a lot.

prions 7y ago

One of my favorites when I was a CE and looking for interesting usecases for my job was Automate the Boring Stuff with Python. I was able to automate and speed up lot of slow, manual processes like signing and stamping shop drawings.

iscrewyou 7y ago
Ok thanks! I’ll get the book and go through it. Funnily enough, the only CS course I took in college was Python. I am familiar with the language but I’ve only made very simple scripts that are barely 20 lines of code. Looks like it’s a good road to go down to get better at things.

murphy214 7y ago

CE here with only FE (only 25) I taught myself programming in my free time as I work for a state DOT with a decent amount of free time. One of the cool things about CS (specifically data engineering/science) is it sort of is / will be permeating every technical field so you can sort of combine the two. If your asking about the order I learned things I got pretty good with python for 2 years, tinkered with web stuff intermittently, then started programming in go and that is easily my favorite. I always always focused on geospatial programming which is at least tangentially related to CE. The cool thing is you can start to see problems and build stuff to fix it in your free time, for example, this is something I built that gives mile points out in the field locally (no service needed), when normally a $800+ DMI is used to the same thing at a much hackier level. TL:DR; Depending on what your wanting, I don't think you need to go to school to get competent at CS (although I'm sure I lack some fundamentals), just sort of hack on problems that interest you. Also I have had job offers for software / data engineering positions so I am employable in the field as well I guess.

iscrewyou 7y ago
That’s the plan. I don’t plan to get a degree in CS. The most I’d be willing to do is attend a boot camp and that’s a big IF. Like I mentioned in the comment to the other commenter, the only CS course I took in college was Python. I’m very familiar with it but haven’t used it too much. I am not wanting to change careers because I also have a similar job like yours. I have plenty of time to learn and I just want to stay productive. Anyways, thanks for the info. Really. And good luck on your PE if and when you take it. It’s not hard. It’s just a lot.