Database Develop

[Q] Self taught or not?

Just wondering how all you experienced developers on here started out. I know you have probably been asked many times before but I am genuinely interested.
I am by no means any sort of developer. I first came to this site about two years ago when I first learned of rooting. Prior to that I had no knowledge whatsoever of developing or programming.
However I cant keep off here. Is it something that can be self taught. I would really love to delve into this so that I can start to have a little input into what goes on here and even if its just testing at least I could maybe be of help to someone. I have picked up little bits on how things work but my main question is where would be a good place to start self teaching??? It is becoming somewhat of an interest for me.
Any pointers would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks

If it's apps your interested in then AdamOutler has recently done a great video/article combo which would get you started. Check the portal / youtube channel....
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I suppose anything really just to get a basic understanding to start with. I would love eventually to be able to create/modify custom roms ect, but yeah thanks for the pointer.

hammoliam said:
I suppose anything really just to get a basic understanding to start with. I would love eventually to be able to create/modify custom roms ect, but yeah thanks for the pointer.
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Well for roms, check if your device is supported by Dsixdas kitchen, if so that's a great place to start tinkering...
If you want to really start making changes to things though your going to need to learn to code to some extent...
Read and search, read and search...
Good luck
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If you want a great beginning developer environment, wp7 is the easiest and most user friendly one to dive into.

I taught myself python with old boxed up books from the back rooms of my high school library. Didn't have a computer and did all my work on notebook paper. My first language. So, yeah, you can teach yourself anything.
I'm reading this right now.
http://www.amazon.com/Communications-Electronic-Warfare-Adrian-Graham/dp/0470688718
Has tons of practical applications.
Might get a kick out of what I'm reading right now:
Communications, Radar and Electronic Warfare
Frontiers in Antennas: Next Generation Design and Engineering
Advances in Cryptology 2011
Digital Forensics with Open Source Tools
Philosophy and Simulation: The Emergence of Synthetic Reason

boborone said:
I taught myself python with old boxed up books from the back rooms of my high school library. Didn't have a computer and did all my work on notebook paper. My first language. So, yeah, you can teach yourself anything.
I'm reading this right now.
http://www.amazon.com/Communications-Electronic-Warfare-Adrian-Graham/dp/0470688718
Has tons of practical applications.
Might get a kick out of what I'm reading right now:
Communications, Radar and Electronic Warfare
Frontiers in Antennas: Next Generation Design and Engineering
Advances in Cryptology 2011
Digital Forensics with Open Source Tools
Philosophy and Simulation: The Emergence of Synthetic Reason
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Click to collapse
Well i'm done with the list and ready to take over local frequencies with my own propaganda. read, play good music on pirated radio
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Nowhere near an experienced developer, but with a couple of apps and a ROM WIP, the only thing that taught me was xda-tv

Learning to me is just when somebody puts a puzzle in front of you with no clues or guidelines. But you are surrounded by 50k people that you may ask questions (xda).
I just keep trying to solve the puzzle and if I really don't get something I just ask xda.
That's just how I learn. Its how I've always learn. Just dive into it and rip it apart. Think as logically as possible and listen to some cool dub step while doing so for extra learning points.
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Going back to school

well im a full time welder and I've always liked my job But lately things have been going slow in my life and I feel like i'm just going nowhere in life.
I went to college coming out of high school and blew it off like an idiot. I've always been wanting to go back but I always feel like i'm setting myself up for failure and will just waste my time and money.
I'm 24 years old and now i'm at a point in my life where I have to start getting my **** together, but this welding job is just moving to slow for me.
for the past 3-4 years, I've been learning and working with computers. Im not a pro at it but I know more then the average person.
Well I've been doing a lot of thinking and its time I go back to school to improve my life. i want to get more into the computer world and chase a computer science degree. My question to you guys is, where should I start? I know I need to look into schools, classes etc. what I mean is what can I start studying in the mean time (before I actually start my schooling) so that I can have a head start.
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.
Thread moved. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
Failure to comply with forum rules will result in an infraction and/or ban depending on severity of rule break.

Sorry about that.
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What kind of thing do you want to do with computers? Hardware, software, app development, web development, game development, db admin, network admin? There's loads of routes to go down, all dependant on what you want to do.
And if anyone recommends a programming language to you before you answer that question then they don't know what they're talking about. Either that, or they're just saying "this is what I know - look at me - aren't I clever?".

Im leaning toward network admin. Im planning to aign up fall or winter classes but I wanna study a bit before starting. My company will pay for the schooling depending on the grades.
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Good for you man !!! Its never too late to do something.
Im also going back to college in september, Im 22 with a fiance and child, But that aint stopping me !!
Hopefully looking to do a course on Programming and Software Development

I'm trying to learn Python. I think I can get the hang of it before school starts again in September.
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I can't advise you on the network admin side of things, other than you'll need a good degree to get a decent job, or start really at the bottom and work your way up slowly. It's quite a well-educated field, for real pros. There's plenty of hack and slash network admins out there, but they're the type that bring networks down by saying "I wonder what that does!" (I've worked with some of them before )

azzledazzle said:
Good for you man !!! Its never too late to do something.
Im also going back to college in september, Im 22 with a fiance and child, But that aint stopping me !!
Hopefully looking to do a course on Programming and Software Development
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Respect man. I think it gets harder once you have a family. I got a nice girl now and been thinking about settling down but the thought of not being able to provide is the only thing stopping me.
Archer said:
I can't advise you on the network admin side of things, other than you'll need a good degree to get a decent job, or start really at the bottom and work your way up slowly. It's quite a well-educated field, for real pros. There's plenty of hack and slash network admins out there, but they're the type that bring networks down by saying "I wonder what that does!" (I've worked with some of them before )
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Well my plan is to use my company To pay for my school and at the.same time switch over to the I.T department (which will be no problem). That way I can be hands on while im learning. After im finished, I should have enough.experience to move up, weather its in this company or somewhere else.
Q
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Good luck
Its never to late to do something
W!LßSO @ XDA

Absolutely, good luck with it. I was 22 before I got a qualification in programming, despite developing software since the age of 8. No-one would give me a job without it, so I did a course, got the paper and got a job. Been doing it ever since.
It's good to do something new and start over, as long as it's something you have a passion for.

I'm in medical school now, three years to graduation(but, I'll study another six years after that...). I have this friend, he's, I think over 30 years, and he's at the same "grade" as I am. He also was like you, had a "low-education"(help me here ) job, and then he decided to go into Med. I'm kinda proud of him, he's a good inspiration for people like you. It's a long way to become a doc, but it's never too late. I strongly recommend you to go to school, it'll be worth it!
All respect and luck shall be with you!
(I just realized my grammar sucks )

Yea man 24 is not late at all! Im a emt and a emergency medical flight dispatcher and when my girl gets done with school in like 3 semesers i think ima go back and be a game warden for the state of louisiana. She is 28 and im 34 and we have a two year old good luck man its worth it.
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..if I were to go back to school I would like to take up Android Software Development & know all there is to know about Andy coz Andy is the Future
@Archer
my son will be graduating from HS, what's his best move to get into "Android Software Development"? you developed software at 8? how is that possible
tnx

Definitely check out the Community Colleges in your area, especially ones that have really good relationships with the better Engineering/Technical universities in your area. You will save yourself a ton doing your first two years there, and a lot of schools that will even let you get complete your four year degree through associated Community Colleges. You also get the benefit of smaller classes and professors that actually know your name.
I just finished my associates after going on and off forever so don't feel like you're outback because you've waited. Get it done man, you're still well ahead of the curve. If you want to start this fall though you need to go ahead and sign up.

deadlocked007 said:
Is it bad that I don't want to go to college? I'm a high honors student and everything but I don't know. My parents would hate me for this. After highschool I want to book a flight to some other part of the country. Maybe somewhere in California? Find an okay job and a little apartment. Buy myself a comfy couch and live alone and sit and soak in life. It's all I want I guess... But I get it you guys are motivated by things like your own family and stuff. I'd love to find someone but I know that probably won't happen because of the person I am. So I have no need to have a lot of money or be rich at all like most people. Just enough to get by and maybe occasionally buy a game or phone or something haha.
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Don't be a hermit.
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deadlocked007 said:
Not really a hermit haha. Just going on with life but alone mostly. I'd still have a job and stuff which would lead to talking to some extent. I'd be kinda talking to you guys through here because I would never leave you guys :3 even if I did go to college my life would be the same. I'd just be earning more money....
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With the high cost of living in California, you'll need more motivation than that.
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deadlocked007 said:
Fine then :I Texas?
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I never lived there, but if boborone finds this thread, he can clue you in on TX.
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And as could I, im located about 45 minutes from houston xD
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Most apartments and stuff in my particular area are about 300 to 400 a month which isn't too bad for a decent place. But im in a small town, now if I was to drive about 15 minutes to the next town they can be around 700 to 1200 a month
Im a special case however the place I got me and the roommate own the property and the house, so we only have to pay utilities and bills.
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College Major Help!

Hello fellow XDA'ers! I'm trying to choose a major for college, and I think I've limited it down to two: Computer Science or Computer Engineering (Some schools call it Electrical and Computer Engineering). I think I know the difference, but I can't determine which would be the best. I lean towards the engineering one because computer science seems like it's too much focused on the software aspect, while I am equally (if not more) fascinated by the hardware aspect and how things work and such (I pretty much take apart everything I own lol), which I figure is more on the computer engineering side. On the other hand, I have also heard that computer engineering will be much harder, and I'm not sure if that is a bad thing or not. I figured that some people on here have studied one of these majors, so I would love to hear some of your opinions/stories!

A programmer here. If you are more interested in the hardware then go with computer engineering. Most computer engineering degree programs have some programming courses so you will get your toes wet.
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Yep, Engineering will be a bit more intense in terms of design/circuitry classes and math requirements. If you really like the hardware side more go for it!

Do you like to argue? How about a computer engineering degree focused on security then 3 years of law school.
I thought about it 20 years ago and should have done it. Sorry I didn't.
Beaucoup money to be made!!

i think CompSci is software development
CompEngr'ng is more on robotics and hardware development

I would get the associates in computer science and then go for the bachelors in computer engineering. 99% of your credits on the associates will count towards your bachelors degree, so it will be very little if any extra work and it will make you more marketable to future employers.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It helps!

My college is roughly 65% engineers so I know more than a few people in the comp engineering program.
The way our program trains is 50% comp science 50% engineering so you really get the best of both worlds. If I had to guess, others would do the same.
Engineering would be my choice. The title gets you slightly more money than usual and the tech world is NOT slowing down any time soon which means you're more likely to find a job provided you go that route.
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thelowend said:
My college is roughly 65% engineers so I know more than a few people in the comp engineering program.
The way our program trains is 50% comp science 50% engineering so you really get the best of both worlds. If I had to guess, others would do the same.
Engineering would be my choice. The title gets you slightly more money than usual and the tech world is NOT slowing down any time soon which means you're more likely to find a job provided you go that route.
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The 50-50 thing sounds good to me, that's kinda why I want to go that route. It seems that you get the most out of it that way.

korockinout13 said:
The 50-50 thing sounds good to me, that's kinda why I want to go that route. It seems that you get the most out of it that way.
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Have an accidental thanks. But you deserved it with that sig, I love Rise Against

Free online computer science classes!

I came across this site while looking at MITs open courseware site to start learning programming so hopefully one day I can be like all the awesome devs we have here.
Anyways a few universities sponsor this site, MIT and Harvard are both having intro to computer science classes, not sure which will be better. MIT is all python while Harvard is a mix and also seems to cover more topics but probably to a lesser extent. So I'm guessing with MIT you'll learn python pretty well while in Harvard's you get the basics of more languages and more areas. At least from my impression. So I'll probably try both if it isn't too much.
Registration is fast and easy, you get a certificate if you do well enough which might be useful.
Edx.org
I don't really understand why the other classes seem so complex and require pre-reqs, hopefully they get some more courses because this is a great idea especially for those who don't have access to this kind of education.
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uisgdlyast said:
I came across this site while looking at MITs open courseware site to start learning programming so hopefully one day I can be like all the awesome devs we have here.
Anyways a few universities sponsor this site, MIT and Harvard are both having intro to computer science classes, not sure which will be better. MIT is all python while Harvard is a mix and also seems to cover more topics but probably to a lesser extent. So I'm guessing with MIT you'll learn python pretty well while in Harvard's you get the basics of more languages and more areas. At least from my impression. So I'll probably try both if it isn't too much.
Registration is fast and easy, you get a certificate if you do well enough which might be useful.
Edx.org
I don't really understand why the other classes seem so complex and require pre-reqs, hopefully they get some more courses because this is a great idea especially for those who don't have access to this kind of education.
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I just saw your post, checked out the site, and decided to join. This is really awesome. Thank you for finding out about it. So which classes do you plan on trying? I'm looking at possibly doing two, but with lack of time I might only do one. If you want we can take one together and help each other other, and I can teach you the basics of android development minus most f the coding.

evodev said:
I just saw your post, checked out the site, and decided to join. This is really awesome. Thank you for finding out about it. So which classes do you plan on trying? I'm looking at possibly doing two, but with lack of time I might only do one. If you want we can take one together and help each other other, and I can teach you the basics of android development minus most f the coding.
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Sweet, I'm very interested in android dev, not learning programing is a big regret, did take a c++ class in college though.
The best way to do free online courses is to have a study partner or group I think, otherwise I might get behind one or two weeks then just say eff it since it was free.
I was definitely going to do the MIT comp sci one since I watched a few of the 2011 lectures from the OCW site. They are pretty lenient from what I remember reading so it might be possible to take two courses, at least take one after the other, they're open for almost a whole year.
If I take a second one it will be Harvard's comp sci, which may sound redunant but the courses are designed differently. After learning some more math I'll take the circuits class and the AI because both would be sweet and the certificates would be a great start for masters in comp sci.
What class were you looking at? Some material is already up to look at.

This is pretty cool :thumbup:
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Short question.

My question. In the field of computer programming at this stage is it worth the 2 year investment of time and money to get a degree in computer programming? I'm 28 married with 4 kids. Is it a good possible career choice? I know its mostly dependent on whether you care enough to be good at it. Or is it a field that is flooded with new talent making it not so much worth it unless it been your passion since you were in your teens?
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phoenixfriend said:
My question. In the field of computer programming at this stage is it worth the 2 year investment of time and money to get a degree in computer programming? I'm 28 married with 4 kids. Is it a good possible career choice? I know its mostly dependent on whether you care enough to be good at it. Or is it a field that is flooded with new talent making it not so much worth it unless it been your passion since you were in your teens?
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No.

jaszek said:
No.
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You don't have to be so short!!

jaszek said:
No.
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Which question were you answering?
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Don't listen to Jaszek, he's amish.
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Josepho1997 said:
Which question were you answering?
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I think he was answering the short one.

Short answer for a short question. Lol.
But seriously. The job market is saturated with programmers and unless you have some programming experience it will be difficult. Also, if you still want to do it then pick up some text books and read it yourself. I can send you a C++ and a Java book in pdf. The ones I'm using this semester.
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jaszek said:
Short answer for a short question. Lol.
But seriously. The job market is saturated with programmers and unless you have some programming experience it will be difficult. Also, if you still want to do it then pick up some text books and read it yourself. I can send you a C++ and a Java book in pdf. The ones I'm using this semester.
Sent from my Gekko phone.
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The PDFs would be great. Pm me for email. Though I don't known if a saturated market now with as many people out of work as there are will necessarily be so saturated in 2 year. I personally don't think that the american economy is ready to quit nor is the american spirit of in general. Sorry I know I said short question and turned it into a much longer question. I do enjoy messing around with the smart phones. I'm learning quite a bit. I appreciate the responses. I do think I'm going to go for it in the winter quarter.
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If you're only in it for the money you won't go far. If computers/programming is something you're passionate about there's no limit to what you can do. People who love what they do are always successful compared to people only in it for the money because when they love what they do it becomes apparent in their work.

So would it be a bad idea for me to go into computer science when I go to college in 4 years?
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Josepho1997 said:
So would it be a bad idea for me to go into computer science when I go to college in 4 years?
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Like I said, it depends on why you're doing it. If it's for the money your time might be better spent on a different major, but if you genuinely are doing it out of a love for computers you won't regret it.

063_XOBX said:
Like I said, it depends on why you're doing it. If it's for the money your time might be better spent on a different major, but if you genuinely are doing it out of a love for computers you won't regret it.
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I have 4 years to think it through, so...
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I don't know that I can agree with that. While someone who has a true passion for something can be better than someone that doesn't would you really feel comfortable with a complete moron with a passion for cars to do your brakes? Its a simple enough system but should a step be missed the consequences could be deadly. Think about the mechanics from the Jim Carey movie the mask. for anyone to make a career of something over a hobby the major motivator is undoubtedly money. No matter the passion for you'll find very few people who would work on a strangers car for free. Me personally I am very passionate about cars. I enjoy restoring them, modifying them, adding that custom touch to make it stand out. Would i make a career of it? No I found after years in the industry I much prefer it as a hobby. Even though I have made insane money selling cars that I've restored or even my 10 second street legal camaro. I have a closet full of trophies from the 71 super Beatle restoration project I did in high school and spent a year and a half trailering to shows. I've also started at a restaurant as a bus boy and worked to general manager with no passion for the food service industry. Passion does not guarantee success. Unless that passion is placed in making g yourself the best you can possibly be at anything you do.
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phoenixfriend said:
I don't know that I can agree with that. While someone who has a true passion for something can be better than someone that doesn't would you really feel comfortable with a complete moron with a passion for cars to do your brakes? Its a simple enough system but should a step be missed the consequences could be deadly. Think about the mechanics from the Jim Carey movie the mask. for anyone to make a career of something over a hobby the major motivator is undoubtedly money. No matter the passion for you'll find very few people who would work on a strangers car for free. Me personally I am very passionate about cars. I enjoy restoring them, modifying them, adding that custom touch to make it stand out. Would i make a career of it? No I found after years in the industry I much prefer it as a hobby. Even though I have made insane money selling cars that I've restored or even my 10 second street legal camaro. I have a closet full of trophies from the 71 super Beatle restoration project I did in high school and spent a year and a half trailering to shows. I've also started at a restaurant as a bus boy and worked to general manager with no passion for the food service industry. Passion does not guarantee success. Unless that passion is placed in making g yourself the best you can possibly be at anything you do.
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Hm.
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soham_sss said:
Hm.
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This thread is called "short question", not "short answer".