HOW TO BECOME A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER » Personal Development http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com THE COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS BOOK - THE STREET SMART GUIDE TO HIGH PAYING COMPUTER PROGRAMMER CAREERS Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:32:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Business Analyst Interview Questions http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/business-analyst-interview-questions/ http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/business-analyst-interview-questions/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:25:11 +0000 How To Become A Computer Programmer http://leadership.findingsdirect.com/2007/10/23/business-analyst-interview-questions/ The Business Analyst Career Training Book is now available. It covers

  1. business analyst interview questions
  2. business analyst job descriptions
  3. how to write a business analyst resume
  4. business analyst salary ranges
  5. business analyst training requirements
  6. business analysis certifications
  7. business analysis skills
  8. software used in business analysis careers
  9. tools used in business analysis jobs
  10. how to get business analysis training
  11. business analyst careers
  12. business analyst certification
  13. business analyst classes
  14. how to become a business analyst consultant 
  15. how to take business analyst courses
  16. how to prepare a business analyst cover letter
  17. how to prepare a business analyst cv
  18. business analyst job definitions
  19. business analyst job description
  20. business analyst duties       
  21. business analyst education
  22. business analyst employment opportunities
  23. business analyst interview questions
  24. Where to find business analyst positions 

If you want more information go to the Business Analyst Website  

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]]> http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/business-analyst-interview-questions/feed/ 0 Programming Interviews Book http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/programming-interviews-book/ http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/programming-interviews-book/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:02:32 +0000 How To Become A Computer Programmer http://leadership.findingsdirect.com/2007/10/23/programming-interviews-book/ The Programming Interviews book that covers:

  1. how to write resumes for programming job interviews
  2. how to ace technical job interviews
  3. how to get computer programming jobs easily
  4. how to negotiate software development or full-time software developer job offers with recruiters or hiring managers
  5. how to find software development jobs fast
  6. how to market your computer programming skills

If you want to get a programming job or prepare for computer programming job interviews get the programming job interviews book.

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]]> http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/programming-interviews-book/feed/ 0 HOW TO START A NEW CAREER AS A DATABASE DEVELOPER http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-start-a-new-career-as-a-database-developer/ http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-start-a-new-career-as-a-database-developer/#comments Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:53:39 +0000 How To Become A Computer Programmer http://leadership.findingsdirect.com/2007/07/28/how-to-start-a-new-career-as-a-database-developer/ HOW TO START A NEW CAREER AS A DATABASE DEVELOPER

Database developers or administrators are IT people who create or otherwise use software that are meant to sort out, store and manage information in such a way that these information can be easily retrieved and hard to lose, thereby adding to the productivity and efficiency measures of the company for which the database developer works for. The database that database developers form is supposed to work like a paperless filing system. The database developer is responsible for keeping this filing system accessible whenever it is needed and at the same time secure against unwanted access. The database developer is also tasked to update, back up and fine-tune the database on a regular basis. While most database developers work alone, in some companies, the database developer is made to work with a team of programmers in order to come up with a database system that is suited to the needs of the company he or she is working for.

Typical Activities of the Database Developer

The activities of the database developer often encompass the following:

1. Writing code for the database

2. Coming up with the necessary specifications for developing the code

3. Drafting the design of the database systems

4. Making sure that the database is reliable and running smoothly at all times

5. Performing administrative functions from time to time

6. Ascertaining that the integrity of the database is secure and cannot be breached

Industry Prospects for the Database Developer

Because many companies are now putting emphasis on databases rather than on paper-based filing systems, it is not unusual to find a database developer working in various field, be it in retail, in government, in schools, in financial institutions, in manufacturing – in virtually any place where the maintenance of a paperless database is seen as necessary. The work of a database developer is not very demanding, and while this work requires the database developer to sit at his or her desk for most of the week, many database developers are required to travel on the job every once in a while.

In 2006, the average salary for the database developer was pegged at $79,098 annually, with bonuses amounting to around $2,466.

The Necessary Skills

A database developer needs to know the following skills:

1. Mastery of a computer language

2. SQL programming

3. Oracle DBMS

4. Data modeling and warehousing

5. Database design and administration

6. Database performance tuning

7. Database security

A critical and analytical mind is a requirement for all database developers for them to be able to come up with an accurate and efficient database system. While database developers often work alone, it is not unusual for them to be placed within teams. Thus, the ability to work and coordinate within a team, as well as the capability of communicating easily both verbally and through written documentation is a must.

Finding the Job

Database developers are entry level positions. Many colleges and universities offer internship programs in database development that gravitate naturally to being hired by the company where the internship was spent. Many job placements for database developers are also found in headhunter websites and job fairs.

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]]> http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-start-a-new-career-as-a-database-developer/feed/ 0 How to create a computer programming resume http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-create-a-computer-programming-resume/ http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-create-a-computer-programming-resume/#comments Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:22:03 +0000 How To Become A Computer Programmer http://leadership.findingsdirect.com/2007/07/12/how-to-create-a-computer-programming-resume/ When you are actively searching for a job as a computer programmer, one of the things you should be taking care of is your resume. Your resume is the document you hand out to your prospective employers. It serves as the tool by which you sell yourself to your prospects and convince them that you are at least worthy of being interviewed for the computer programmer position that you want.Because your resume is your selling tool, it is very, very important that you put some considerable effort on writing your resume. Your resume should do four things for you, and these four things are:

1. Make a good first impression to your prospective employers on your behalf.2. Relay to your prospective employers the reasons why they should hire you as their newest computer programmer.

3. Let your prospective employers know what skills that you have, what courses you have taken and what projects you have completed that make you qualified for the job.

4. List down whatever special accomplishments you may have that will impress your prospective employers.

Your resume is a reflection of yourself, so you should take care to make it neat and orderly. It should be typed out perfectly, without any typographical errors. The top of your resume should contain your name, address, contact numbers and email address.

Divide the body of your resume into four main sections – objective, education, work experience, and accomplishments – with headings set in boldface or centered. Do not use italics or all caps because this typeset is hard to read. Use only one font, preferably Times New Roman or Arial, and set it to size 10 or 12. Also, set a margin of one inch. Use short phrases to describe entries in your resume and use sentences in the active voice to encourage further reading of your resume.What skills should you put on your resume? It depends exactly on what kind of computer programming job you are in the hunt for, but generally, you list the skills that are most relevant to the job description of the position that you want. You can enumerate the number of programming languages that you are familiar with, which programming language you specialize in, what operating systems you are able to work with, what kind of machines you can handle.

If you already have gained some experience from a previous job or from a project you have handled, list them down and describe them using short phrases in active voice, as stated above. State what each job or project was all about and include in the description what your role there was. Also include the outcome of the job or project as well as the results.

You should make note whenever you upload your resume to a headhunter website or email it to your prospective employer, it is likely to end up in a searchable database. So, in order for your resume to gain a bit of an edge over those of your competitors, insert relevant keywords that you think possible employers are likely to use when searching their database or the headhunter websites they subscribe to whenever they are hiring.

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]]> http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-create-a-computer-programming-resume/feed/ 0 How to get an entry level computer programming job http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-get-an-entry-level-computer-programming-job/ http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-get-an-entry-level-computer-programming-job/#comments Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:15:49 +0000 How To Become A Computer Programmer http://leadership.findingsdirect.com/2007/07/11/how-to-get-an-entry-level-computer-programming-job/ Getting an entry level job as a computer programmer is not really as hard as it may seem. If you are on the lookout for a good entry level job in computer programming, what you need to do to land one only takes a little homework and preparation on your end.

Here are the things you need to do to get yourself a good entry level job as a computer programmer.

1. Get the necessary skills and experience.

A good computer programmer is versatile and has a good working knowledge of various computer programming languages such as Java, C++, Perl and Microsoft C#. A thorough understanding of the platforms and operating systems available out there will also be very helpful. You may want to specialize in a specific programming language if you wish. You may study on your own or you may enroll in schools offering courses on these computer programming skills. A certification or a degree in computer science is looked upon more favorably by many headhunters.

2. Prepare a good resume.

Your resume is your tool to selling yourself, your tool to telling your prospective employers who you are and to convincing them why they should hire you. When you write your resume, it is very important that you generate a very positive first impression. A neat resume that is easy to read and to the point will earn you a lot of brownie points with your prospective employer. Do not fail to include in your resume your list of skills relevant to the position, as well a list of any special accomplishments that you may have.

3. Search for possible employers.

Searching for possible employers may take a bit of work for you. If you served an internship period with a specific company, you could ask them later if they have openings for which you can apply. You could also go to job fairs. A popular way of searching for jobs nowadays is browsing headhunter websites and posting a resume therein. Do not forget to leave your contact numbers whenever you get in touch with possible employer so they would not have a hard time finding you if they decide that they like what you put in your resume.

4. Ace your job interview.

Your job interview is your chance to make a follow-through with what you put in your resume. When you finally get an interview set up for you, take care that you present yourself well with your prospective employer. Dress neatly and sharply and do not be late. No matter how nervous or scared you may feel, project yourself as a calm and confident person.

Job interviewers have many techniques under their sleeves which are designed to get as much information from their interviewees as possible. Whatever formats your interview takes and whatever questions your interviewers throw at you, go straight to the point when you answer them. Remember to make eye contact. After the job interview is done and you felt that it went well, do not forget to send your interviewer a neat and well-written thank-you letter.

5. Never stop selling yourself.

The act of selling yourself and your capabilities as a good computer programmer never stops at the moment you get hired. It is a continuous process, and it is your task to assure the company that employed you that they made a good choice in adding you to their ranks. Be diligent and enthusiastic with your work and always be a team player.

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]]> http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/how-to-get-an-entry-level-computer-programming-job/feed/ 0 Best Jobs For High School Graduates http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/best-jobs-for-high-school-graduates/ http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/best-jobs-for-high-school-graduates/#comments Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:12:34 +0000 How To Become A Computer Programmer http://leadership.findingsdirect.com/2007/03/24/best-jobs-for-high-school-graduates/ Which careers and jobs offer high school graduates without a college degree or job experience the best opportunities for professional advancement? And where can high school graduates with little or no job experience and college education earn significantly higher income?

The one thing that high paying careers have in common is skills that fetch top dollars in the marketplace. Simply stated, how much you earn as a high school graduate without a college degree is determined by the market value of your skills.

What do I know about low paying jobs you ask? I will tell you what I do know. Before I became a contract programmer in Oklahoma, I was working an $8/hr. sales job which I hated ever minute of. I had to clock-in to start my shift and then clock-out at the end. I even had to clock-in and clock-out to use the restroom. I was on the phone fielding calls every minute of the day. Repeating the same scripted conversation to every single caller in an attempt to make a buck! I couldn’t even play my iPod at work and there was literally no break in between phone calls. You can’t believe how agonizing my day was! Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and I quit. 6 months later, I was making $76,000/yr. as a contract programmer in the same city. So, don’t ask me what I know about low paying jobs. I have been there, done that and bagged a t-shirt okay!

As you can see from my story, all I had to do to earn a significantly higher income was to change from a career in inbound sales to a contract computer programmer career.  

You are not really a stranger to this fact of life are you? That your ability to comfortably pay your bills, take vacations, pay your home mortgage, buy new cars, provide medical benefits and take care of your family is pre-determined by the career you choose! Well, another fact of life is that high school graduates without a college degree do not have access to some high paying careers in the legal, medical, engineering and financial industry. In other words, a high school graduate may not be a medical doctor, lawyer, or engineer without a college degree.Many of the entry level jobs available to high school graduates do not command a high pay in the job market. For example, compare the average entry level starting salary for chemical engineers with a college degree ($54,813) to the average salary for high school graduate working as:

  • an in-bound sales representative in Saint Louis ($10/hr.)
  • a telemarketer in Tulsa ($8.50/hr.)
  • a gas station cashier in Madison, Wisconsin ($8.00)
  • a grocery store clerk in Chicago ($8.00/hr.- PayScale)

What does this tell you? That it is illogical, unreasonable and statistically weird to expect a high income from a career that typically pays low wages. It is like expecting apples to grow on orange trees. It rarely happens because if you really want to eat apples, you have to look on apple trees and if you want oranges you have to pick orange trees.

So to earn a better salary, escape the minimum wage trap or make more money, you need to be in a career that offers a higher income.

WHY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES DO NOT BEGIN HIGH PAYING CAREERS.

  • Most high paying careers have stringent, required educational exams. There are requirements for examinations, certifications, and years of schooling in medicine and law
  • Preparing for high paying careers requires many years of college education. Years that may not be spent earning significant income)
  • Going to college to learn a high paying career can be expensive. Tuition costs can run into six figures and may require taking on hard to pay back school loans)
  • Not all high school graduates who can afford the high tuition costs for high paying careers will be offered an admission. Because of the pre-defined, limited number of credentialed and certified academic institutions, competition is usually very high among and only a minority of applicants will be accepted)
  • If you were not near or at the top of your class in high school, your chances of being accepted into college is limited by stiff competition from other high school students with better academic scores )

Enter computer programmer careers. The one hidden high paying career that still provides a steady dependable source of job wealth, high income and top pay for high school graduates. A hidden career thanks to the common myths lies and mis-conceptions spread about the computer programmer career)

WHY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES BEGIN HIGH PAYING COMPUTER PROGRAMMER CAREERS

  • There are no stringent, required or mandatory exams that must be passed to practice computer programming. You don’t need to be registered, certified or degreed to begin programming
  • You don’t need a college degree for beginning programming. You don’t have to spend years learning programming in college without earning an income and you can start learning programming today and begin earning an income in as little as 3 to 8 months depends on how hard you work
  • You don’t have to pay for any expensive sort of education before beginning programming. Of course you have to invest in resources for learning programming, but at a small fraction of what you will have to spend to go to college and learn other high paying careers
  • You are not disqualified from becoming a computer programmer because of your past or present academic performance, and I mean absolutely not. Even if you only have a high school diploma or little or no college education you can become a programmer if you want to
  • And you can learn programming from any location, at your own pace and convenient time. There are no rules for learning, no set exams to take and additional classroom education is completely optional. You can begin your computer programmer career at home, in your spare time by just studying 1 to 2 hours a day or a few hours per week

Now, you understand that as a high school graduate, without a college degree, your choice of career locks-in how much you earn. And you understand that most high paying careers have difficult or hard entry requirements, certifications and courses except computer programming. Finally, you realize that there are no rules on how you can become a programmer because beginning programming is simply about beginning to write good quality software code.

Dear friend, away with the lies, mis-conceptions and myths that’ve stopped you from beginning a lucrative computer programmer career. A decade ago, I changed careers to computer programming and today I am hear to help you do the same. So, don’t hesitate, just act now. Take me up on the offer to begin a high paying computer programmer career today.

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]]> http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/best-jobs-for-high-school-graduates/feed/ 0 Toughest Challenge Of Your Programming Career http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/toughest-challenge-of-your-programming-career/ http://www.becomeacomputerprogrammer.com/toughest-challenge-of-your-programming-career/#comments Wed, 21 Feb 2007 10:27:14 +0000 How To Become A Computer Programmer http://leadership.findingsdirect.com/2007/02/21/toughest-challenge-of-your-programming-career/ What is the toughest challenge facing your computer programming career?

For me it is finding enough work to keep me busy and occupied on my programming jobs. I find that I regularly have to apply pressure on my clients to find interesting, motivating, challenging software development projects.

What about you? Are you challenged by the location of your job, technical interviews, finding an entry level programming job, beginning programming with a high school diploma, getting a raise on the job, getting along with co-workers, keeping up with the fast paced programming industry, creating a winning resume, etc?

What is your toughest challenge of your programming career and how are you solving or planning to solve it?

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