padzochambers

Really enjoyed reading this. Thank you - very inspiring.

haha also couldn't understand how the Irish IRA was in anyway relevant. Makes a lot more sense now.

Fantastic advice, all taken on board and I appreciate the generosity offered. I think it's time to get the feet wet and stuck in.

I may come back here and let you know how I get on once projects are started. Thank you man.

Leetcode is something I've only discovered recently on my search for advice on getting back into programming. Seems like a plausible addition

I turn 29 tomorrow, the worlds my oyster ;) although it's nice hearing that 30s is a suitable age for jobs. Teaching students, I am often reminded that anything above 20 is very old.

I think focusing on python + flask will be my first aim and start a few projects, go from there.

Any experience?

Thank you for your advice and I agree experience is superior to just knowing everything in a textbook. But out of interest, if the person with the diploma had a great portfolio and had amazing skillset, would you have possibly considered a little more then?

I'll be happy to get a junior level entry job to build that experience first. Right now I will focus on expanding my 'freelance' work.

I teach Computer Science at GCSE/A-Level so if that's what you mean by teaching tech I guess so!

Top advice though thank you.

Yeah fair play I don't think that's a bad idea.

This might sound stupid, when building the project, focus it on something interesting to me or should I aim to make it more accessible to show off skills if that makes sense?

Yeah that's a solid point you've broken it down well. I think it just seems overwhelming on where to even start with those different roles. Suppose research is my best friend and should see what I should be focusing on first.

I'm definitely one that enjoys the creative/technical mix of coding and design. I assume that I should be learning new tools too as in 5 years, a lot can change in the programming world.

I know I'll have to enter at entry/junior level too which is fine as long as there was growth potential.

I've thought about the research side of things but definitely want to be more hands on.

After my degree I didn't want to pursue it as I fell out of love with it, possibly due to stress and letting Uni life get the better of me. It became stressful environment but through recent experiences and talking with close friends who are in the field of CS, overtime I've realised and processed that I still have a massive interest and constant want to learn more within it or somewhat be involved in it. The years of teaching it has definitely played a part in showing students my passion for the subject, reminding myself how much I love it too.

I've started picking up on python again and taking online courses to refresh myself but I want to make myself employable after these years. I have previous experience in java, php and C+ also. I've never worked in a professional coding environment either, hence why I am coming on here to seek advice on what would be best.

Appreciate the response.

Good shout man. I’ll keep an eye out for them.

I’ve also noticed YouTubes lack of attention to finding me new videos that aren’t maybe in a category I’ve watched before. I find my homepage filled with videos I’ve seen before or just the same categories churning similar videos. Similar to Spotify, the app struggles to push new music and instead just regurgitates old music I’ve previously listened. I don’t get the same refreshing/random feeling YouTube created before.