Software development - Qualifications

PaulStat

PaulStat

PaulStat

Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2003
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Location
Cotham, Bristol
I see all these certifications for IT guys, how about developers what are the main qualifications apart from a degree which are well recognised?
 
Obivously a degree in Software Developement / Engineering will certainly start you off. I've noticed people having these Java Engineer Certificates which am not sure are any good. A good degree + experience should be more than enough.
 
i agree with the above poster experiance is a biggy, it's also a good idea to build up a portfolio of your previous work and send in copies of that when applying this can reputedly make a fairly big difference when applying
 
I would have thought there are courses for specific technologies like .net, DirectX, etc. I don't know if you would get a meaningful qualification from them though.
 
Which area? Most the people I know only have a degree + lots of experience. Like writing code since they were about 10. Its all about experience once you got a degree really.
 
Software development isn't really about training or qualifications, you've either got the mindset and the right thought processes to be able to do it or you haven't. Only thing you need beyond that is experience in specific languages.

Qualifications wise I have a degree in Automotive engineering which isn't exactly relevant. I now write/support apps in VB, Excel/VBA, ASP/MSSQL plus I dabble in php occasionally at home. I consider myself able to turn my hand to programming in any language or environment given a bit of time to get into it.
 
As far as qualifications go, get your self a degree, but primarily experience is a lot more valuable in the software industry and is what most employees will be looking for which is unfortunate because in reality a degree will not give you real world job experance unless you go on placement (highly recommend doing this).

But do not be put of though, get your self together a good portfolio showing off all your talents in coding, does not have to be large applications, keep it small and manageable, but make sure they work and they are complete and easy to use, and if you keep at it and do not give up with a little luck should land that job you want.

As for other qualifactions I would have thought the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer would be the best choice although I have no idea what these involve.
 
MikeTimbers said:
(People still develop using Windows?)
Click to expand...
Of course they do. Why would they use something else to develop windows applications? Also Windows is almost exclusively used for games development and not just for PC games.
 
Nobody cares about Sun\MS qualifications. A degree from a good university is the best starting point, then back it up with development experience I.e., design patterns, enterprise architectures and whatever else suites the field you want to enter. Domain experience is always useful but is optional in lieu of demonstrated aptitude.
 
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