Over the last few weeks I seem to have concentrated on online programs in technical subjects - not surprising really, as my personal background is in business systems and computing, and I've spent some time teaching in university and also growing small technical companies. Technical and business programs are what I know best.
So over the next few weeks I'm going to take a more structured approach and do a series of entries on technical programs, starting from the hardware aspects of computing and the semiconductor industry, and going through to business analysis and business management. I'll be looking at the levels of online programs that are available, what content is likely to be, and who should consider studying these courses.
Of course, if events happen such as queries or other relevant topics occur, I'll deal with these as well. If you have particular topics you would like me to address, let me know and I'll make sure these are included.
Last week I got an email from someone who read one of my articles on different kinds of trainng that you can do. He has a master's degree in computer science, and at present is working as a DB2 database performance engineer. He wants to pursue a career in Linux systems programming, but says that all the employers he approached were looking for at least 5 years experience, and he couldn't find a course in Linux systems programming.
Well, this is a fairly specialised kind of query, and although I was able to guide him to online courses in Linux (apart from any other, there are online courses for Novell certification in Linux), the experience issue is a problem. In fact there are employers who will take you on as a systems programmer, but you have to look quite carefully. Employers are obviously interested in ready trained programmers, who have made almost all their mistakes.
My suggestion was to take an online course in systems administration, and get a job in this area, making sure that your employer understood that you have training in Linux. You can then start to take some of the systems programming duties over, and gain experience this way.
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