Computer Programmer

amother

Papaya

Mon, Sep 25 2017, 1:56 pm

I currently work in an office job. I've been here 8 years and make 45k for 28 hours a week. There is no more room for me to grow at my current job. I am constantly seeing ads for these computer programming courses and they advertise as flexible jobs. I live in the tristate area. My question is how many people actually find jobs after taking a 6 month-1 yr course and what salary are they making?

amother

Smokey

Mon, Sep 25 2017, 2:32 pm

chayalle- you've also been working for awhile. The impression I get is that the jobs that people get right away don't pay so well, you need to have experience first. Don't know how many years..

Chayalle

Mon, Sep 25 2017, 3:22 pm

Yes I've been working for over 20 years. My starting salary over 20 years ago was 31K. I think nowadays a starting salary in computer programming would be somewhere in the 40K range. And I believe that's full time. But there's more room for advancement.

amother

Smokey

Mon, Sep 25 2017, 3:43 pm

chayelle- I 100% agree just don't want to give op unreasonable expectations for the beginning since she seemed to asking about finding a job after getting a certificate and the salary to expect. s

amother

Pumpkin

Wed, Oct 04 2017, 5:07 pm

It depends. My husband worked for about a decade as a backend web developer, and was making 60k for a job that wanted well over 60 hours a week from him. By that point, the language he had good professional experience in fell out of fashion, and when he lost his last job, he was unable to find another and ended up finally going back to complete his BA. It's possible that he would have found another job if we'd been more geographically flexible, but I suspect a switch from his speciality was ultimately inevitable.

If you are good with design, front end web development is easier pick up small contracts for, which lets you work from home with good hours. And the languages there don't come in and out of fashion so much. But then you've got to build up a strong portfolio and be good at obtaining and keeping clients.

I'm not sure exactly where a 6 month course gets you, nor do I know what area of computers it'll teach you. Some fields are more profitable than others, some are more flexible, and some are more stable. And your local job market will dictate what jobs are easy to find.