Teaching myself programming

[Jonnyredcorn]

So this Fall and Winter college semesters I decided to take off in order to work full time and save up some money for future semesters and a new car since I totaled my old one. I've changed majors twice from Mechanical Engineering to Computer Information Systems to Nursing and now I'm changing it back to Computer Information Systems.

**(skip if you don't want to be a little nosy and see reasons behind changes in majors)
***Skip to the very bottom to get right to my question

Real quick I took every class in my high school's drafting program and I really enjoyed it, so I decided to go to one of Michigan's, if not Michigan's best & most expensive Engineering Technical school, Lawrence Tech. University. This was back in 2005 freshly graduated from high school and I wasn't really ready to commit to college. I was still partying and basically wasting money going to college because I wasn't applying myself. So because of my poor grades, expensive tuition, and my eventual realization that Mechanical Engineering wasn't for me, I decided to switch to community college to save money and switch majors to Computer Information Systems seeing as computers are my cup of tea. After a year of majoring in Computer Science basically still just taking general ed classes besides for my one programming class which taught Visual Basic, I decided to switch majors to Nursing.
I switched to Nursing because taking that programming class I realized that I didn't get the enjoyment I usually get from using a computer when I'm being forced to do work on it, and the reason for picking Nursing is because my Father has late stage Multiple Sclerosis(secondary progressive for anyone that knows about the types) and my mother and I are his primary care takers i.e. helping him in and out of bed/bathroom, picking him up when he falls when he tries to walk etc...and it made me feel good to help him and I imagine I would feel good helping others. However because I'm a recovering drug addict(opiates, 2 years clean) I decided being in that environment where those pills would be available would not be good for me. So I'm going back to where my passion is and what all my friends and family say I should go into.

**(End of back story lol)

So as far as my experience with computers, I'm 23 now and have been using them it seems like forever. I'm basically my family and friend's IT guy which I'm sure a lot of you are similarly for your friends and family. I built my own computer when I was 12 and have built over 10 computers over the years for others. I messed with some HTML and built a very basic Dragonball, Dragonball Z, and Dragonball GT fansite. However the most complex thing on the website were the frames I was using and the tables I made for whatever reason, so it wasn't anything crazy just a 13 year old trying to teach himself how to make websites. After that I didn't really mess around anymore...I started playing counter-strike and using IRC where I also messed around with some scripting for IRC bots and such.

***Here is my question

Since I lost my job 2 days before Christmas it seems unlikely I'm going to be able to attend school this Spring or Summer, so I'm looking at Fall 2011 to go back, but until then since I have a lot of free time I would like to teach myself something worth while on the computer. I currently don't know any programming language at all but would like to start teaching myself. I'm just not sure what program I should start with. Also whatever you guys recommend I start with maybe suggest a good book that would help and whatever program is it make sure it's something that would be worthwhile to learn for this schools Computer Science program(https://my.hfcc.edu/site_manager/cat...howprinticon=y)

[BrodieBruce]

k

[Dad]

No.

Just no.

I have pals who can code, and have 10 years industry experience who are currently looking for work. If your programming experience consists of "dragonball Z </br> lol" and wallhacking counterstrike there is no reasonable way you're going to get a job writing programs, regardless of how many books you read.

Do you know AD? LDAP? WMI? Powershell? Are you more interested in scripting, or actual code? I'm not sure what your goal is, but I'd encourage you if you're looking for a new hobby. If you think you're going to read a book and then someone is going to pay you to do this sort of thing...you would need to be very, very bright and talented for it to work.

[somsjeans]

No.

Just no.

I have pals who can code, and have 10 years industry experience who are currently looking for work. If your programming experience consists of "dragonball Z </br> lol" and wallhacking counterstrike there is no reasonable way you're going to get a job writing programs, regardless of how many books you read.

Do you know AD? LDAP? WMI? Powershell? Are you more interested in scripting, or actual code? I'm not sure what your goal is, but I'd encourage you if you're looking for a new hobby. If you think you're going to read a book and then someone is going to pay you to do this sort of thing...you would need to be very, very bright and talented for it to work.

Pretty much. It's a bad time right now for entry-level people in the IT field.

[Brianna Haskins]

Sounds great. Good luck.

[Jonnyredcorn]

No.

Just no.

I have pals who can code, and have 10 years industry experience who are currently looking for work. If your programming experience consists of "dragonball Z </br> lol" and wallhacking counterstrike there is no reasonable way you're going to get a job writing programs, regardless of how many books you read.

Do you know AD? LDAP? WMI? Powershell? Are you more interested in scripting, or actual code? I'm not sure what your goal is, but I'd encourage you if you're looking for a new hobby. If you think you're going to read a book and then someone is going to pay you to do this sort of thing...you would need to be very, very bright and talented for it to work.

Well I do have a career option when it comes to this. My mother works for IRS in Human Resources and has been there for 20 something years. This is her suggestion to me, I would have at the very least a Associates in Applied Science. What type of computer related field do you then suggest Dad?

BTW You seem to think I plan on teaching myself programming and then expecting a job, lol. That is not the case, I'm simply saying I'd like to maybe get familiar with it as much as I can prior to going back to school to make it less overwhelming. I know you work in the IT field with Microsoft, what do you recommend I go into when my interest is with computers?

[The Plan]

Holy shit you're fickle. I don't think recommending you anything will help because of your past history. It seems like you'll get "bored" and change your mind.

[MrE]

Study independently so you have background knowledge when you do go to school. Theres nothing wrong with reading books, especially when you may have to refer to that information later.

[Jonnyredcorn]

Basically if I'm looking for a career in computer-science and that is what I'm going to be going to school for next fall, what are some of the programs I can start to teach myself now while I work & save up money for school next year?

It isn't that I'm that fickle, it's just that Mechanical Engineering didn't work out for me in college and I didn't care for being forced to do something I enjoy as work. Nursing which I took several classes for I did very well in and enjoyed the classes, just because of my past I don't think that's the best work environment for me.

[horns]

We have similar school majors. I did my undergrad and my Masters in the computer field. I honestly didn't learn all that much in school. I did all the typical languages (C, C++, SQL, Basic, Java, Visual Basic & a few more) through my courses, but until I worked on my free time or my job required me to use programming it never stuck. I had a small site I operated for family that helped teach me a lot and my job has me doing a lot or programming, so I've learned a lot more. You'll learn a lot more on your own if you find something that motivates you to program in your free time. The schooling will help land you a job.