Reskilling for Technology - A true labour of love!

If machines can learn, then maybe we should never stop!!...

Can we harness our passion for a new start in our working lives?  I think so! Einstein theorised that we become more dogmatic and settled from our 30’s onwards, so how does this transform us into relics of the past?? In software, younger minds are preferred as they learn quicker, are more dynamic and less dogmatic! I submit that it’s actually a matter of attitude, if we commit to the pursuit of knowledge and engage in continuous learning at any age, then we will succeed like we are 18 years old again!

The good news is that its never too late to switch careers, the bad news is that it takes passion, commitment, aptitude and belief in the ability to do so! If you are passionate about Technology, then my advice is to go for it, do so with a committed heart and welcome everything the industry brings!

So, if you want to learn software to any level, then my starting advice is the following:

Map out your goals – Know why you are making the effort, as the commitment required will challenge your belief in your ability to succeed! If you know what you want from it, it will keep you focused when times get tough especially in the early part of the learning curve!

Plan your learning experience – Research what you want to be, map out what you need to learn and plan the strategy to complete your learning curve in the timetable of your life. A cautionary note, don’t overstretch, try to keep your goals at entry level.  Learning a single OOP language for the first time is a high intensity endeavour and stressful! Work through it in depth and at a slower pace then you would with subsequent languages. It will determine how good you are on following languages you learn. Why not learn computer science 101 first, then a single OOP language where you can branch out like I’m doing currently. I learned C# at college, now I’m learning Java, Python and SQL to take me to the next level.

Computer Science First – You are free do go onto Code Academy and start on Java, etc but getting to know the fundamentals of computer science first is a great idea! It makes learning the languages that are based on it much easier. Knowing about Object Orientated Programming, Scripts, Striping, RAID, Storage, Stack & Heap plus others gives you a solid grounding before your learning experience in coding. Also, learning how to use the version control tool Github is a great idea! Code Academy has a recommended course on Github, which I was made aware of by an acquaintance. It’s not easy to pick up Github on the fly so learning it in a structured manner makes good sense.

Try to Code Daily – Coding skills are a practiced skill; do drill daily in them. Code for as long as you want in 35-minute increments. A 2-minute break will give the mind a rest and allow you to operate at a higher intellectual level when coding. Also, the mind needs time to orientate itself to a ‘coders mind set’ so ensure frequent coding takes place. It’s a difficult ask from experience but worth it in building coding skills iteratively, which is the most effective approach.

Learn to research problems and learn to love it! – There is nothing more frustrating then hitting a brick wall. When you see a brick wall as a juicy challenge, then you have a good approach. Google is your friend and the best hits for coding problems often leads you to stackoverflow.com. Open an account there for free, I guarantee it will often come in handy!

Map your progress – Learning plans are great for ensuring you are progressing as you designed. If you can map your progress, you can make plans to start developing your own portfolio when your skills reach a marketable level.

 

College Courses Rock – If you are lucky enough like myself to land yourself a college course, then groovy is an understatement! Use all material given and shoot for best possible outcomes through reiterating over it. I was also lucky enough at Dublin Business School (DBS) to be on a specialist software course, where the lecturer was very experienced in the practice and the theory of software. The insights and practical advice will stand by me for the rest of my days in the industry! When you love the material and have a passion for it, you retain knowledge much quicker so apply yourself accordingly.

Twin Track Approach is King! – When looking for a job with no professional coding experience, having industry certifications from the likes of Microsoft (MTA) and Oracle (OCA) is a must! Plan your academics and/or industry certifications so you have coverage of software development (computer science/coding/development) and databases in particular.

When in training, start networking! – I have learnt over the years that those who don’t actively network do not get on in life! People are more comfortable really knowing you, which will give you an edge at an interview. Network on meetup.com, go-to the meets and learn about the coding languages and new technologies out there. Make contacts and professional friends in those you meet with and stay in touch over social media. Also, circulate blogs and videos out over social media keeping your network informed of what you are doing and show off your latest coding project that is non propriety over Github. A portfolio site like mine at http://jmulhall.azurewebsites.net is also a great idea as it allows you to showcase your projects and details in one place. It also makes those future employers more comfortable in their effort to get to know you! 

In order to be sustainable in software, we need to take some life lessons to heart on never stop learning, never stop loving what you do and never give up! We decide our own futures and despite the young feel to the Software Industry, it welcomes all those who belong there regardless of age, so grasp your future today! Maybe we will share a story or two at the next industry Software meet, it would be my great pleasure to watch you succeed from a decision you make in your life today!

Sources/Credits:

Pics;

www.netcomlearning.com

www.careerShifters.org

www.iveyexec.com

www.tonzala.com

www.codecondo.com

www.gocollege.com

www.unsplash.com

Credits;

Nicolai Berntsen contributed the feature photo of Union Station via www.unsplash.com

Career paths... what happens when a crises hits yours?

From Redundancy to Rehire? Make your choice your own!

When I was a twenty something, I scoffed at the idea that when you reach your thirties, you could get kicked to the curb for being too expensive to retain as an employee! Little did I know that it is a fact of business life! Many businesses actively seek to employ a cost centric approach to talent retention thus seeking to shed expensive employees they do not consider “critical” to their business and those unlucky enough to be considered expendable are let go normally through the redundancy process.

So, what to do? How do we navigate career breaks especially when spurned by either redundancy or indeed a ‘mid life crises’ where one becomes unbearably unhappy in their career?

Acceptance is key. Without a clear understanding of yourself, your work life satisfaction and your current position of being made redundant or needing a new career to save your sanity, you will not be successful in any change effort.

Passion lost is passion waiting to be found. Steve Job’s once said “don’t settle, follow your heart” and when you are at a mid career cross roads; you need to think about what makes you happy. Find that occupation, which stirs your passion for work and you will find your direction in life.

Planning is essential. Don’t assume you will get a job in a month, curtail all unnecessary expenditure immediately and make your personal budgetary plans viable but ridged as to support your plans for the future in a realistic manner.

Research the market to understand how it works, what is effective and what tools are effective such as social media for job searching and show casing skills and expertise through blogging and social media engagement.

Research your career of choice; do not assume any 3^rd party will do it for you. It’s your life and your success depends on you more then you think. Bad circumstances only get good through persistence, intelligent thought leadership and planned actions. Be sure those efforts are driving you on the road you want to be on, rather then the road you find yourself on.

Don’t assume, verify. It’s nothing short of a tragedy when a seasoned professional assumes its too costly or risky to become X when you were Y for so long. Change your outlook to “how can I make this happen”? This will allow thinking outside of the box, maybe downsizing personal expenses and taking a lower level role in Y, which can free you up to study and enact a transition plan to X? It will not be possible if you assume it cannot be done!

Beware of a stale mind! For those unhappy in their careers, plan your career change in your job and don’t throw in your resignation until you have a transition plan that is financially and operationally viable. For those unluckily made redundant, you are at risk over time of slowing up mentally, so why not temporarily replace your work routines/actions with new actions to create a daily and weekly mental routine.  We ignore our minds at our peril so when risk is elevated in unemployment, why not try to pear the mental pencil by doing mental exercises (IQ workout tests) which are available on Mensa’s official website at http://www.mensa.org/workout.php and on an independent website at http://www.mensa-test.com. This along with keeping fit, relaxation exercises like yoga and/or meditation will complete a mental sharpness package that should address the issue of stale mind keeping you ready to ‘hit the ground running’ in a new job.

Plan in stages. The only easy day in a career change is yesterday, so plan your educational and work strategies in a manner flexible enough to cover what’s needed in skills, employability and certification, yet be responsive to opportunities that you uncover in your search for a new career and job. Good planning will always see a critical path logically assembled in stages giving you the ability to complete tasks necessary for the completion of follow on tasks to advance your overall career change strategy. In tandem to these critical path tasks, have contingency plans ready should a job arise in your experienced field rather then your desired “new field” of work. Are your educational plans flexible enough to accommodate such an opportunity?

With the right plan and commitment, all career changes are possible; from a current job to the long-term unemployment register, you can bring happiness back into real time focus. Where there is life, there is hope… never give up on your dream, which is ultimately to be happy!

Source/Credits:

Pics:

www.blog.resumebear.com

www.ventures-africa.com

www.artbistro.monster.com