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I know this isn't exactly what you are saying, but just because someone learned to program later in life doesn't mean that they are only in it for the money or

by fibbery 12y ago

I know this isn't exactly what you are saying, but just because someone learned to program later in life doesn't mean that they are only in it for the money or that they inherently aren't as competent. There seems to be this attitude in tech that if you weren't coding in kindergarten then you haven't met the prerequisite for being truly "one of us" in the tech elite, so why bother trying? But to address your main question, there are many roles that benefit from programming knowledge aside from the 'hard CS' ones you list. For example, in my previous job as a technical writer learning to program was helpful for a) documenting our APIs and writing sample code, b) creating web-based documentation and c) running scripts in Adobe InDesign to generate automated documentation.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
Grant all that. The question remains: what kind of skills can you get taking the 'soft' route? They won't be the same as a University degree, and not nearly the same as a lifetime of devotion to the art. Did we really address that yet? "Programming knowledge" is a deep, deep well. Its not going to be captured without real effort over a long time.
- RosieA 12y ago
  Of course 'programming knowledge' covers a spectrum. At CareerFoundry we have never claimed to be training people to become Senior Full Stack Web Developers - like with many careers there is progression within the job. You start off at one level, you learn more, you progress and hopefully get promoted. We teach Ruby on Rails, HTML5, CSS and Javascript. With these coding languages under your belt, and the sufficient experience, you could get a job as a Junior Developer. Of course, like you said - and like with so many careers - reaching that next level takes real effort and dedication over a long time. But there is absolutely no reason why people can't get started in their careers at the bottom rung of the web development ladder with these skills, and work their way up by learning on the job and alongside their colleagues and peers. Many thanks for your comment.

by fibbery 12y ago

JoeAltmaier 12y ago

Grant all that. The question remains: what kind of skills can you get taking the 'soft' route? They won't be the same as a University degree, and not nearly the same as a lifetime of devotion to the art. Did we really address that yet? "Programming knowledge" is a deep, deep well. Its not going to be captured without real effort over a long time.

RosieA 12y ago
Of course 'programming knowledge' covers a spectrum. At CareerFoundry we have never claimed to be training people to become Senior Full Stack Web Developers - like with many careers there is progression within the job. You start off at one level, you learn more, you progress and hopefully get promoted. We teach Ruby on Rails, HTML5, CSS and Javascript. With these coding languages under your belt, and the sufficient experience, you could get a job as a Junior Developer. Of course, like you said - and like with so many careers - reaching that next level takes real effort and dedication over a long time. But there is absolutely no reason why people can't get started in their careers at the bottom rung of the web development ladder with these skills, and work their way up by learning on the job and alongside their colleagues and peers. Many thanks for your comment.