[LA.pm] Next step for a newbie

[Jeremiah M. Jordan]

Hey Ron,

   Congrats on the move to Perl programmer!  I personally have never
regretted it, well maybe once in an all-night debugging session...
   But I digress.  My first recommendation is that you make sure you
have the fundamentals of Perl down.  Make sure you know at least the
Llama book (ISBN:0-596-10105-8
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learnperl4/) backwards and forwards.  Get
the Camel book (ISBN:0-596-00027-8) once you feel that you've outgrown
the Llama.
   For a web programmer, a working knowledge of HTML, CSS and Javascript
are a must.  It wouldn't hurt to understand SQL and database design as
well.  I was about to suggest PHP, but then I remembered that I've never
actually had to code PHP, since Perl can do everything it can and fix
the kitchen sink too.  Plus if you know the other things I've mentioned,
grokking PHP enough to fix it will be easy.
   For general programming, you can't go wrong with "Code
Complete" (ISBN:0-7356-1967-0), which should keep you pretty busy for a
while.  A good understanding of Object Oriented Programming/Design would
also be useful, man perlboot & man perltoot to start, then get Damian
Conway's "Object Oriented Perl" (ISBN:1-8847-7779-1) and then maybe grab
"Design Patterns Explained" (ISBN:0-321-24714-0), although you might
have to just browse around the web or talk to other gurus first.
   I mention mod_perl last, because honestly you don't need to be a
mod_perl guru to get a job.  If you at least know the basics of coding
CGIs under the Apache::Registry, you'll do fine.

   In order to increase your skills, I would highly recommend that you
create some kind of personal project that you develop on in whatever
spare time you can devote to it.  Something that interests you and that
has parts that you can accomplish.  This will not only give you valuable
experience, but also give you *code that you can bring to an interview*.
I have edged out other candidates for jobs because I had source code
and/or a demo-able site that I could point to.  A savvy tech manager
will appreciate being able to actually look at your code to see what
level you are at.

   To me, the most important thing for an entry-level programmer to have
is the right attitude.  She/he should be excited to learn new
technologies, be willing to adopt different ways of thinking, and always
be willing to ask questions.

Hope that helps,
--Jeremiah

On Fri, 2006-05-05 at 13:43 -0700, Ron Smith wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I need advice on my next move. I'm relatively new to
> Perl and programming in  general but have written a
> few useful programs, over the past year or so, that
> actually have been used on the job.
> 
> I'd like to make a career change to full-time
> programming but need advice on what areas I need to
> focus on in order to land an entry-level position.
> Mainly, I'd like to know what skill-level I should be
> at and what's usually expected by an employer. Working
> with web pages seems to be the most fun to me but I'll
> take on any project offered.
> 
> Right now I'm in formal classes for Perl, Java, C/C++
> and the rest. Also, I was wondering how critical a
> degree is for programming or is it possible to get
> started while you're working toward an AS/BS ...etc?
> 
> Any and all input would be appreciated.
> 
> 
> Ron Smith
> geeksatlarge at yahoo.com
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