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Brandon Hill

12/5/2017

Business 1010

Career Path Study

The job that I have chosen to do my study on is a Programing degree. The job is very

simple they take concepts and ideas from engineers and developers and turn it into a usable

instructions for the computer to use. They use multiple computer languages such as C++ and

Java. Programmers work to expand and update existing programs. They are responsible for a

more support oriented role as well as creating. Programmers are responsible to test and fix faulty

lines of computer code so that the application or program runs smooth. Programmers create and

test code in software known as integrated development environment or IDE (IDE 2017, para 4-

5). Programmers make their job a little easier by using what is called code libraries which is

basically a collection of the code that has been written to make jobs go easier (U.S. Bureau of

Labor Statistics 2017, what they do).

To get into the field you need to have to have the skills that are needed to code and work

on your own. Programmers generally work on their own and in some cases off site but they still

need to have the interpersonal skills to work with a team which may include Software developers

and software engineers. You need to be able to interview and show your skills as a coder. One

way that a lot of people have been able to get into many wonderful companies is through what is

called a coding boot camp. In these boot camps they gear it toward more of a mentorship while

still having the classroom experience. Some of these boot camps can take 13 weeks going full
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time to 26 weeks part time (DevMountain, 2017). Education is a big thing for entry-level

positions.

Programmers generally have a bachelors degree in computer science or a related subject.

Some employers hire programmers with an associates degree. Most programmers have

experiences in college actually writing coder and troubleshooting bugs and fixing them. With

how rapid technology is changing most programmers will attend seminars and or will continue

their education to stay up to date on the newest languages that are available. Programmers can

become certified in specific programming languages or vendor specific programming products.

Lots of programmers will look for internships for gaining work place experience (Computer

Programmers 2017, para 5-9).

Most programmers start out at about forty five thousand a year, for the most experienced

programmers are about one hundred and thirty thousand a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics 2017, pay). The pay definitely will be affected by your experience but it also does

depend on your company, like Adobe can afford to pay a little bit more than maybe just a local

company because of the brand that they have.

The outlook for my career choice looks to be on a decline (U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics 2017, job outlook). With the prediction of an eight percent decline in the next ten

years. This gives me the hope that I can do some research and be able to create a new idea so I

can start my own business, and be able to utilize these programmers that dont have a very good

outlook on their current position to create a stable condition for several of them. As I work to

find that idea and to start creating that Brand for myself, I will have to look at what I can do

for myself at the same time. One of the biggest ideas that I have is in being able to reface

cabinets with a CNC router. Which will take some programming to change the way you can use
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one now. Woodworking has been a passion of mine from junior high, and now I am looking to

turn that into a business idea.

I was able to talk to my brother in law about his experience with programming and

coding in October of 2017 and that is what started me out on this path. He has a bachelors in

Economics and also has gone through the DevMountain course and it has been a huge relief to

him going to this career of programming. He has a family of five boys and is very busy so the

flexibility that the Programmer has been very nice for all the extracurricular things he has going

on. He works for a company called Simplifile. Which is basically a digital file system that can be

searched and pulled up they help a lot of government organizations and banks to stay connected

and reduce the time it takes to get things done so they can do more with their time. My brother in

law has given me so much great information and I love talking with him. Some of the things he

told me were he did it a different route than everyone else so he feels he give that awesome

outside look compared to everyone else because he did not get a degree that was associated with

computer science. He feels he doesnt have the blindfold that some do from school saying well

that isnt how its done. He told me that its not super important about what you know but it is

more important on what you actually can do with that knowledge (Done, 2017). He gave me

some ideas to work on with my schooling and pointed me in the direction that would be best with

what he uses every day. He even was telling me he was interested in taking some classes with me

so that he could continue his education with working with computer. I have been striving to

follow what he was counseling me to do but also do what I want to do.

Another person that I looked up to while I was growing up was Bill Gates because of the

things he did. One thing that I admired about him was he was not going to let people get in the

way of his future. He dropped out of college to pursue his business Microsoft (Bill Gates, 2017).
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That is one of my ultimate dreams is to build my own business so that I can continue to explore

new ideas and designs for my own business idea, not necessarily drop out of college. Even with

competition like Apple in the mix and with threats of being sued Bill Gates still pushed forward

with his ideas.

Some of the advantages of the job is the job is very flexible because programing can be

done just about anywhere you can be available to your family almost anytime. The job is very

independent of a team so you can work on things and arent dependent on others for you to fulfill

your job. The salary that comes with the job also would be a pro because you will always be able

to provide for your needs. Sometimes you will have to get special certifications that can help you

find a better job within a company. The career is one of my passions and will always be one, I

play with single board computers right now.

Some of the Disadvantages are it is an oversaturated market right now, sometimes there

will be multiple due dates at the same time and may cause long hours of work. Programming is

technology driven you have to have a drive for technology otherwise you could become bored

and complacent (Pros and Cons, n.d.). Programming is fast paced as well you might be working

with one language one day and then the next day you will be using a completely different

language. It can start to cause health problem because you will be sitting at a computer all day it

will strain your back, eyes and wrists (Pros and Cons, n.d.).

I would be an awesome fit for a Programming job because I have a passion for it and I

enjoy learning more and more about computers. I am currently working on a Computer Science

degree. I constantly play around with computers in my free time. My favorite right now to mess

with is single board computers, the most popular being a raspberrypi. I have turned a couple into

old fashioned gaming systems and manipulated the boards to do different things. I have several
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years of experience with building and maintaining computers. I have noticed even in my job now

as a CNC operator, I have been able to come up with solutions faster than some of the engineers

and technicians who are trained to do so.

My wife and family have made mention of multiple instances that I have a knack for

computer. They tell me that my brain is almost like a computer. I have had multiple people who

have relied on me to fix, build, or repair their computers. I have been especially excited to teach

my son this passion that I have because he has shown interest in it from the age of one and a half.

I had started out working towards a degree in Engineering but through my struggles with

classes and motivation looked at a new area of study. Which brought me to computer science and

information systems, which has been a long time passion. I am very self-motivated to figure out

problems and bugs to make everything run smooth again. This career I feel will suit me well

because of the personal interest I have in it and the ability I have to adapt to different situations

with the problem solving skills I have developed.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2017, October 24). Retrieved December 05, 2017, from

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-programmers.htm

IDE. (2017). Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://techterms.com/definition/ide

Computer Programmers. (2017). Retrieved December 06, 2017, from

https://collegegrad.com/careers/computer-programmers

DevMountain. (2017). Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://devmountain.com/web-

Bill Gates. (2017, November 13). Retrieved December 05, 2017, from

https://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520

Pros and Cons. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05, 2017, from

https://compgrammer.weebly.com/pros--cons.html