Well this was sorta successful last time, so I thought I'd do it again. Go ahead and ask a professional programmer anything really.
For reference I've worked for the past 8ish years. I've worked on a lot of stuff, but highlights are operating systems, computer networking, custom hardware designs, supercomputers (HPC), reverse engineering among other things... I can say that your internet packets get to your pc by some code I wrote as well so that's something I'm proud of
Let me hear it friends, I will listen.
>>27212440
do i need a cs degree if i wanna work in your field, anon?
>>27212459
I have a CS degree, but I just hired a guy without one. I think it's easier to get by w/o a degree in some subfields (like web or phone app dev), but its definitely not as easy in the domain I'm in. That being said never say never, I mean I did just hire that guy
>>27212488
Thanks dude, I appreciate it.
The guy you hired, how did he convince you to do so? Did he just say "I code as a hobby" or "I've read <Insert Coding Book Here>"?
>>27212755
Not OP, but he probably had an extensive portfolio or some previous coding experience.
How were you introduced to programming? How do I get started?
I need to learn Python and C++ to pass the 2 intro comp sci courses for my major. How do I git gud?
>tfw no qt programmer trap bf
Is a good job in programming a meme?? If I start my degree yesterday, is it going to be hard to get a job when I get out of college, due to outsourcing? Plz respond
>>27212755
This >>27212802 is pretty much it. He had worked on similar things for a long time, and in the interview obviously knew how to do things.
But, there is a 'backdoor' if you want to get into low level/systems/whatever domain you want, and that is web programming. This is sorta the general outline:
-Learn how to code in general (try codeacademy.org)
-Learn how to make websites or phone apps
-Volunteer to make some websites or apps for your local businesses. There are literally thousands of these that you can do (churches, restaurants, non profits, seriously the sky is the limit) and then go ahead and do a bang up fantastic job
-Use this as 'experience' (which it is) and use it to apply for jobs where you get paid. Secure a job where you make money
-Hang out with programmers. Almost every workplace has at least one guy who is an annoying shit head 'real' programmer (ie talks about technical esoterica, looks down on 9-5ers, other douchebag things), but become friends with this guy. He likely has at least one friend that does work in w/e domain you like
-Ask if you can meet the friend in the domain you wanna join.
-If you're lucky they might forward your resume. Study your butt off for the interview and go ahead and kill it
Congratulations, that's how you can go from 'unemployed no degree' to 'senior machine learning specialist' in 5ish years if you work at it. Best of luck!
>>27212936
Will this get me to Google deepmind
>>27212853
I just started in college more or less. The only reason I signed up was because I wanted to make video games and emulators. I have made emulators but I never did make video games :(. Try codeacademy.com, its a pretty good structured way to learn the basics of programming.
>>27212886
You just program a lot. I wouldn't call myself 'good' but I can get things done if I put my head to it. Another thing to do is read good code architectures, this is one of my favorite sites about that stuff:
http://fabiensanglard.net/
>>27212926
Depends on what you mean by 'good'. Today I came in at 3PM to work, and I left at 5PM deciding I wasn't going to work anymore. I often work completely from home if I don't feel like going to the office. I've worked on a lot of interesting technical things and I get paid relatively well.
On the flip side I can tell that this sort of lifestyle can't continue as I get older. I'm basically only left to my own devices because I am perceived as that 'sharp unstoppable young programmer' type. The more you're pushed into management/leadership the more bullshit you deal with. But you do get paid more, though I doubt it's worth it. The only good option for smart old programmers is to start their own businesses, which not everyone is cut out for...
>>27212987
>I just started in college more or less. The only reason I signed up was because I wanted to make video games and emulators. I have made emulators but I never did make video games :(. Try codeacademy.com, its a pretty good structured way to learn the basics of programming.
Will going through this list of books give the same result as codeacademy?
https://sites.google.com/site/scienceandmathguide/subjects/computer-science#TOC-Books
>>27213034
If you get through everything on that list and actually learn and understand everything you would walk out as outrageously competent. Most developers only know a small fraction of the stuff that's on that page, myself included. For example, I know very little about computer vision or NLP, just a tiny bit about the basics and what the general idea is.
90% of programming follows a dumb pattern which looks like:
-read something from somewhere (a file or network connection, or something else)
-do something to that data you just read (ie sum it all up)
-write it back to somewhere (ie another file, or database, or something)
So codeacademy.com teaches you how to do things like that, so you can get to making things. The list you provided is great, but you could spend over 4 years of dedicated study and not get through all of it
>>27212440
What is your favorite meme and why?
>>27213088
Thank you for the insight.
>>27213088
How would going for the low hanging fruit give me a competitive edge over the unwashed hordes of Pajeets applying for the same job?
>>27213124
I'm an equal opportunity memer
>>27213192
Sad to believe, but the pajeets don't even know 1% of that page. I've worked with a lot of them and usually they are graduates from other disciplines (ie mechanical, civil) that are programming just to make money. The average CS degree earned in the US will put you ahead of almost all of them.
Besides that, 90% of jobs won't care if you can implement a space efficient huffman encoder. Technical skills are always secondary to if you can get the job done. And it's easier for someone who speaks english and can communicate to get things done compared to the Pajeets out there
