Thread: I got my first programming job!

Okay, not that exciting for the rest of you, but I'm pretty excited.

I've been hired by a local business to write an invoicing application. It's nothing too heavy; the main goal is to make it as simple to use as possible.

I'm not really sure how much I'll get paid for this yet though. Basically, I write the program, take it to the boss, he decides if it's what he wants, then we decide how much it's worth.

It's pretty awesome though; I never had to apply for the job or anything. A friend of mine who works there recommended me, and then I was hired.

Anyway, I guess this is where my programming "career" starts. Actually, this is where my working experience in general starts. Seriously, I've never had a job before (unless you count fixing computers of friends and family).

Congratulations, now you have something to start a resume with.

Nice man, very nice. I'm very happy to hear that, and very excited for you!

Tell us how it goes. You've got an interesting story, haven't heard of any people that start their working career as a programmer!

If you'd like, you should follow up with more information, e.g. what language, what the work is like, what your favorite/least favorite aspects of the work are, how much you make (well, up to you on that one).

G'luck.

Congratz, dude!

BTW, a question if you may. Is this job you're talking about in C++? Because here in my country C++ is simply non existant. Most of the companies used C# or Java. And for minor applications they always use VB (can you believe that? ). C++ is mostly for a telco / hardware based application.

Well done, let us know how it goes.

Thanks guys! I'll definatly follow up on this when I get into it a little more.

Originally Posted by g4j31a5

BTW, a question if you may. Is this job you're talking about in C++?

I can pretty much write it however I want. I wasn't given any instruction on how this should be done, just on what the program should do. So I could write it in C++ if I wanted to, but given the nature of the program, it's easier for me to write it in C# (it's not like it has to go exceptionally fast or anything ;p).

Originally Posted by g4j31a5

Congratz, dude!

BTW, a question if you may. Is this job you're talking about in C++? Because here in my country C++ is simply non existant. Most of the companies used C# or Java. And for minor applications they always use VB (can you believe that? ). C++ is mostly for a telco / hardware based application.

I just can't resist:

Originally Posted by douglas_stein

Who loves J2EE?
Four groups love J2EE - if you're one of them you'll love it too. Otherwise, it stinks!

1) IBM - a services firm masquerading as a product company. WebSphere is the loss-leader for IBM Global Services.

2) Enterprise consulting firms that bid T&M contracts - train once (Java) and no matter what J2EE your client demands you can say "sure, we have J2EE developers". Hey, complex configuration means lots of billable hours.

3) Sun - without Java they'd have disappeared long ago since all they had was a POSIX-(mostly)compliant Unix running on overpriced hardware. Java gave them the time to dump SPARC, lower their hardware costs, and embrace Linux. J2EE was their bid to remain relevant.

4) Any ISV or enterprise IT department that likes big labor-intensive projects.

In short, if you make money by doing IT makework, you'll love J2EE. If, on the other hand, you make money by providing services and products to folks who don't care how it's implemented but need it to just work, you should pick something else.

The above quote is from a discussion about the huge complex issues in java servers, and how frustrating it is to work with them.

In all seriousness, I would stick to ansi / posix c or c++, far easier to code, far more portable, and far faster in performance.

Originally Posted by Jaqui

In all seriousness, I would stick to ansi / posix c or c++, far easier to code, far more portable, and far faster in performance.

So would I, normally. But in this case portability and speed aren't my concerns, building a nice GUI is. I know I can do that with C++ too, but I know Windows Forms better than any other GUI system.

Originally Posted by twomers

do we get a cut of the pay?

Don't count on it .

Congrats ! Let us know how it goes ..

Nice going! I started the same. A friend of a friend referred to me. It was back then for a company that developed in Clipper. And it was also for an invoice software. On my case as part of a team.

The only advice I can give is don't make the same mistake I did. Don't stick to business software for long. It's a bottomless pit you have trouble crawling out. Before I knew I was missing on all the new technologies, always programming in old or languages for the masses facing always similar problems. There's also very little in terms of career development or mental challenge. It is still though a well payed area, all things considered.

>>congratulations on popping the cherry!

Don't get me started there!

>>I can pretty much write it however I want. I wasn't given any instruction on how this should be done, just on what the program should do. So I could write it in C++ if I wanted to, but given the nature of the program, it's easier for me to write it in C# (it's not like it has to go exceptionally fast or anything ;p).

OIC. A bit of advice, don't go using the layman's programming language like VB too much. If you stuck using too much VB, you'll forgot how to actually write a code (rather than drag/droping forms).

Originally Posted by Mario F.

The only advice I can give is don't make the same mistake I did. Don't stick to business software for long. It's a bottomless pit you have trouble crawling out. Before I knew I was missing on all the new technologies, always programming in old or languages for the masses facing always similar problems. There's also very little in terms of career development or mental challenge. It is still though a well payed area, all things considered.

So, what's after business software? I work in a bank currently and I just know this is not the place I want to be a year from now.