How to transition from school teacher to programmer?

[astroman707]

I’ve been a school teacher for 6 years, and I want to get into coding. I’ve been told by a CS professor I know that my background is very sought after in the tech industry, and I would be very competitive if I got into coding. Is this true? What’s the best route, bootcamp, nanodegree, etc.? What would my background be most valuable in, software development, web development, ios, etc.?
I know extremely little about the tech industry, so I’m trying to research, but there’s a lot of information to sift through. So thanks for any advice or tips!
Here’s my background:
—education—
BA-psychology
MA- education(specifically, curriculum development and instruction)
—Professional—
Taught primary school for various grades for 6 years.

 

[Locrian]

Dunno man. I can get anywhere from one to an army of experienced offshore programmers with reasonable technical skills for $30-$60/hour (sometimes less!) anytime I want. I don't have to pay them any benefits and can turn them loose in a heartbeat.

That's what you're up against. Ask yourself what you need to be competitive with that.

 

[symbolipoint]

I’ve been a school teacher for 6 years, and I want to get into coding. I’ve been told by a CS professor I know that my background is very sought after in the tech industry, and I would be very competitive if I got into coding. Is this true? What’s the best route, bootcamp, nanodegree, etc.? What would my background be most valuable in, software development, web development, ios, etc.?
I know extremely little about the tech industry, so I’m trying to research, but there’s a lot of information to sift through. So thanks for any advice or tips!
Here’s my background:
—education—
BA-psychology
MA- education(specifically, curriculum development and instruction)
—Professional—
Taught primary school for various grades for 6 years.

Really, the more qualified and experienced people should give you responses, but my opinion is that you should enroll in computer beginning programming courses, and practice needs to include ideas which you find interesting and helpful based on your particular curiosities and experiences.

I graduated so many years ago in one of the physical sciences but I avoided any computer courses as much as possible (which was probably a very bad thing). So many years later,... I learned a form of BASIC, and I wrote a statistical letter-grade-curving program, which could be useful for finding course scores for making letter grade scales. I never actually used the program, and neither did anyone else; probably some such programs do exist and are used by teachers; but there was one example of something that is possible. Your interests may be different and you might look for other programs to create.

Again just my opinion, start by going to school and enroll in beginner programming courses.

 

[phinds]

@astroman707, while I don't doubt what locrian says (I've done the same thing) it is STILL true that in Silicone Valley there are, and will continue to be, tons of high paid programmers. Learning programming is much like learning to ride a bicycle. True, you do need some book learning but you really learn programming by DOING it. My suggesting would be download the free Visual Studio and get a book on C programming (I'd normally suggest the "white book" but that's a bit dense for a total newcomer to coding) and just start DOING it. Learning the IDE (Integrated Development Environment, i.e. Visual Studio) will be at least as hard as learning the language, but it has to be done.

It will take a LOT of "doing it" to get to the point where you can compete with the CS majors that are getting the jobs in Silicone Valley (and elsewhere in the US)

 

[verty]

Ask yourself if you are the type of person who is okay with being behind a computer all day, where the boss doesn't want you to fraternize, etc. This is a world away from a teacher situation where you can bounce ideas off each other and no two days are the same.

All I'm saying is, don't give up on teaching just yet, keep it in your back pocket.

 

[symbolipoint]

—education—
BA-psychology
MA- education(specifically, curriculum development and instruction)
—Professional—
Taught primary school for various grades for 6 years.

That is why verty said, "keep it (the teacher qualification) in your back pocket". Your background is a very different kind of view than what the engineer/science/mathematics/computer people have. Some very basic qualification differences exist also.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Dunno man. I can get anywhere from one to an army of experienced offshore programmers with reasonable technical skills for $30-$60/hour (sometimes less!) anytime I want. I don't have to pay them any benefits and can turn them loose in a heartbeat.

That's what you're up against. Ask yourself what you need to be competitive with that.

@Locrian, more broadly, what are the prospects for computer science students in the US? Presumably, if you (and others like you) can get an army of experienced offshore programmers with reasonable technical skills for the price range you stated, then what changes do American computer science students have in getting internship experience? Also, what are the prospects of American CS graduates?

 

[Dr. Courtney]

One good thing about teaching is you have summers off to dip your toe into the programming pool.

But all markets are local, and you've told us more about your non-programming qualifications.

In the absence of a related degree, potential employers will want proof you can program. What will you offer them?

By the time I was applying for jobs, I had released code for several big, data intensive and number crunching projects into the public sphere, so interested parties could download it and see what I had done first hand. With a physics degree, I was swamped with job offers that were 30-100% programming.

 

[Locrian]

Dunno man. I can get anywhere from one to an army of experienced offshore programmers with reasonable technical skills for $30-$60/hour (sometimes less!) anytime I want. I don't have to pay them any benefits and can turn them loose in a heartbeat.

That's what you're up against. Ask yourself what you need to be competitive with that.

The thing this post is missing is just how awful that engagement can be. Dealing with contractors on the other side of the world who do exactly what you say with no context and often very little thought can be a supremely frustrating experience. They’re sharp people, but the cultural differences combined with a seemingly low motivation to produce high quality work can leave one wondering what you’re gaining in the process. The money lost due to catastrophic failure of software projects due to inadequate requirements and poor management of offshore resources could fund a lot of on-site developers, at least for a time.

This is one reason why, despite the increasing number of offshore resources, there are still programming jobs onshore. You can’t offshore everything, at least not yet.

 

[Locrian]

The thing this post is missing is just how awful that engagement can be. Dealing with contractors on the other side of the world who do exactly what you say with no context and often very little thought can be a supremely frustrating experience. They’re sharp people, but the cultural differences combined with a seemingly low motivation to produce high quality work can leave one wondering what you’re gaining in the process. The money lost due to catastrophic failure of software projects due to inadequate requirements and poor management of offshore resources could fund a lot of on-site developers, at least for a time.

This is one reason why, despite the increasing number of offshore resources, there are still programming jobs onshore. You can’t offshore everything, at least not yet.

Maybe, but I think you're dwelling on problems that have at least partially been addressed. Those offshore engagements have gotten tighter. Waterfall, when it’s necessary, has gotten more robust, and you see a bit more agile development as well. In short, counting on offshore resourcing to fail is not a good bet.

I guess the point here is, what does the OP have to offer that someone on the other side of the Earth can’t offer for much less? I would say there’s still some substantial demand for local programmers with highly sought after specialized skills (advanced ML/AI or full stack web dev may be examples), but it’s going to be awfully tough to catch up to that level of expertise. That’s not just a couple of coursera modules.

A harder position to get to, but a more viable one once they’re there, would be a business person with strong technical skills. Think a BA, a software product manager, or maybe an actuary. Those jobs are very difficult to offshore due to their close connection to the specific business, and they often rely on soft skills the OP might be familiar with, or transfer from teaching. I knew quite a few ex-teachers who became actuaries and they were excellent.

 

[verty]

I suppose the real test of a computer programmer is whether you can deliver a complete software package. Can you spec it, build it, test it, change it? And that is very hard to do. And someone who knows how to do that will not want to share the knowledge because a big threat is having an underling know too much, which can result in one losing one's job. Once you know how, you have to guard it while staying up to date. It's a very competitive role, I think, notwithstanding the number of jobs there seem to be. I personally wonder how many of those jobs are available because an expert was fired in the belief that cheaper underlings could do it. There is not enough respect for skill in software development, IMHO. Those who can should be trusted to do it and if @astroman707 truly believes he can be that person, then by all means, have a go at it. I just think it's a huge leap to make. This is my honest opinion.

 

[Locrian]

And someone who knows how to do that will not want to share the knowledge because a big threat is having an underling know too much, which can result in one losing one's job. Once you know how, you have to guard it while staying up to date.

Nah, they're on stack exchange giving it away.

 

[symbolipoint]

Consider too, is there some job you could do, which is not specifically "computer programmer" ,but for which you could use your learned and practiced computer programming skill to create a useful piece of software or program for a company which you might work for?

 

[CrysPhys]

I’ve been a school teacher for 6 years, and I want to get into coding. I’ve been told by a CS professor I know that my background is very sought after in the tech industry, and I would be very competitive if I got into coding. Is this true? What’s the best route, bootcamp, nanodegree, etc.? What would my background be most valuable in, software development, web development, ios, etc.?
I know extremely little about the tech industry, so I’m trying to research, but there’s a lot of information to sift through. So thanks for any advice or tips!
Here’s my background:
—education—
BA-psychology
MA- education(specifically, curriculum development and instruction)
—Professional—
Taught primary school for various grades for 6 years.

When considering a career transition, you should look at new careers in which you can leverage your existing education and work experience. You don't want to start at square one, competing for positions that can be filled by low-cost offshore programmers or newbie CS grads. Rather than concentrating on commodity coding, you should look at applications design. Computer-based education, training, and testing is a growing field. There is standard coursework and tutoring. Beyond that, for example, HR depts give computer-based behavioral assessments for candidates and computer-based training for leadership and diversity programs (cost-cutting has eliminated a lot of instructor-led programs). These are examples of fields in which you can leverage your education and psych degrees and work experience.

 

[phinds]

The thing this post is missing is just how awful that engagement can be. Dealing with contractors on the other side of the world who do exactly what you say with no context and often very little thought can be a supremely frustrating experience. They’re sharp people, but the cultural differences combined with a seemingly low motivation to produce high quality work can leave one wondering what you’re gaining in the process. The money lost due to catastrophic failure of software projects due to inadequate requirements and poor management of offshore resources could fund a lot of on-site developers, at least for a time.

That was certainly my experience when I was involved in such things about 10 years ago. One of my contractors used programmers from India and delivered a great product and the other used programmers also from India but delivered absolute crap when they delivered anything at all. The good contractor sent people to India work work with and monitor the India staff and the other tried to do it all remotely.

 

[Locrian]

It's a huge challenge. I really do believe offshoring some functionalities can, in some instances, be effective. . . but holy cow, the amount of money companies waste saving money can be really frustrating.