Ask Trish

O'Reilly School of Technology Guidance Counselor Trish Gray answers your questions about your I.T. Career goals and how to reach them.

About the Author
In addition to helping students and I.T. professionals for 13 years, Tricia Mills Gray has been the Senior Development Manager of OST since it's inception as UserActive in 1997. She was the 2002 SBA Midwest Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and is currently writing the OST PHP/SQL Series. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois College of Engineering.

Today's Column

A Programmer Feels Overwhelmed With New Technologies

Dear Trish:
I am a Java Programmer who just started my career. I am working in a small company, but my dreams are big. I have knowledge of Javascript, CSS, HTML, JSP, Servlets and worked on Tomcat server(Intermediate level not expert). I am interested in the field of java web applications development. I have talent in both designing and server-side programming.

The problem is, my academic record is poor. It seems as if I have an ocean of things to learn, and I don't know where to start. I understand core java, but J2ee is my dream, which in itself is vast field. I'm also excited about the Ajax Technology, and I have heard that learning Linux is essential, but I haven't worked on these. In my career, I am not satisfied by my rate of advancement, and I am confused as to what direction to go in this chaotic situation.

Should I take some courses, for brushing up my skills and covering up the drawback of poor academic record, or is it best to learn on my own? Also, should I take both my talents seriously and get into depth of both, or should I choose one of them (although its tough task, as I like both) and get into depth of one?

Thanks Trish.
Sumit from Delhi (India)

Dear Sumit:
Thanks for contacting me. I would have to say that it would be best to take both fields seriously, but not so seriously that you paralyze yourself with the weight of your task. Let me explain:

The I.T. field appears to be trending towards the "versatilist" in several technologies and talents, rather than the "expert" in one or two technologies. Here's an article that was just sent to me today:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleTOC&specialReportId=9000100&articleId=112360

Having interests in multiple technologies is a very, very good thing, because you will diversify your career portfolio this way. And although it seems like an ocean of learning, really all you need is that first push in each of them. Yes, they are vast fields; however, a majority of IT professionals do NOT know everything there is to know about them -- just enough to get things done.

So rather than worrying about learning every single detail about J2EE or Ajax, just dip your toe in them enough to, say, produce a cool interactive web page. Once you have that sense of accomplishment, you'll be surprised at how less chaotic everything will seem. Then you can try your hand at some Linux, to see what you think of that. Our courses are good for guiding you through this; or you could try a Head First book or an O'Reilly Hacks book to get you started.

If you look at the big picture of Information Technology, it's overwhelming how many technologies there are to learn. But the truth is, everyone who succeeds in IT has a niche of several technologies in which they have an interest -- my own is web programming in PHP, mySQL, HTML, JavaScript, and Ajax on Linux, and maybe a little Java/C++. Our sysadmin Trent, who has the same CS degree as myself, prefers Sed, Awk and Perl in Linux Redhat.

Yours might be Java J2EE, Ajax, and a couple others. You already have Java experience, and J2EE is simply a group of Java-based technologies that can be learned one by one or altogether, much like .NET or LAMP. And Ajax? If you know a little HTML, CSS, and JavaScript -- all beginner languages -- you'll be shocked at how little extra you need to know to make a really cool Ajax application. Linux, too, is very similar to Sun Solaris, if that's what you've used for your Java applications.

I would recommend, if you utilized our courses, to start with either "HTML and CSS" or "Linux/Unix 1" -- depending on which you'd like to try first. My guess is that you'd breeze through these courses without any trouble, since you're already a programmer. Then you could take either "JavaScript" or "Linux/Unix 2", both a bit more challenging, but still something you could certainly handle. Then comes the "Ajax" course that will be completed soon, or you could take Linux/Unix 3 and 4 if you find that you really enjoy Linux. (Unfortunately, we don't have a J2EE course series yet, as it is slated for release next year).

Learning on your own is fine as well; just be sure to create projects that can be viewed by an employer. One way to do this is to join open source projects and other IT organizations (like sourceforge.net) which allow you to showcase your accomplishments.

Big dreams are the best start; you're already halfway to your goal simply with your excellent attitude. I'm not sure how things work in India, but for IT jobs in America, academic record is generally not so important as experience and accomplishments that can be proven on a resume. For instance, an American employer would probably not look at your school transcript, but she would certainly look at the URL of a website that you built and listed on your resume, and this would factor heavily into her decision to hire you as a web developer.

In any direction you choose, I must stress again that it's not necessary to obtain a PhD in every single technology. Just be sure to have fun and try new things, and you'll find that once you see what you're capable of, your career will follow naturally.

Thanks,
Trish

More columns :

• Landing a Web 2.0 Job
• So Many Perl Choices, So Little Time
• Our University Connection, and International Students
• Going from Big Corporation to Small Innovation
• A Novice Wants to Break Into the I.T. Field
• Is Going Back to College the Answer?
• A Dedicated Mom Returns to the I.T. Workforce