Hawaiʻi's Technology Community

Career Help

I need help in figuring out the steps I should take in my career choice. I'm currently taking a web app course and studying ruby on rails right now. It's really challenging but fun to learn. First off, I already have a Bachelor's degree in Biology and enjoy programming. But programming is so broad that I'm confuse on what to focus on. I think dealing with web application is great but I don't know where I should start. I guess what I'm asking for is what kind opportunities are out there that deal with web app and what are the things I should learn and become and expert in to guarantee me a job once I'm done with school? I need advice and guidance. Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Murphy on February 24, 2011 at 8:51pm

I'm more of a front-end/UX guy but I think having a strong foundation in OOP and design patterns in a language like Java, C++ or C# is always marketable and a good start. These languages pay pretty well and span across different verticals and platforms. If you have a strong foundation, you can probably pick up any language or framework pretty quickly- which is important since things come and go all the time.

If you've already built some apps perhaps you can think about what kind of development you are interested in. Do you want build start up applications? Desktop applications? Cool mobile apps? Do you like database SQL or creating cool UIs? These choices probably dictate where you apply, your position and the tech stack that you may want to focus on.

If you like Rails, you might look into aloha.rb and see what kind of Rails opportunities there are on the island.

I also think mobile is pretty hot right now and is here to stay. Android, ios development is in demand.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Leuck on February 28, 2011 at 11:25am

You could combine your knowledge of biology with your new interest in programming. Does the idea of building applications for genetic and proteomic analysis interest you? The field of bioinformatics, the application of computer science to molecular biology, is exploding. People with a knowledge of biology and programming are very valuable, so you are in a good spot.

If you are interested, the amusingly titled Bioinformatics for Dummies is a good start. I found it very useful when I was working on a drug discovery related app.

Rails is a good choice for web app development. Strong rails developers can find work in Hawaii. .NET positions are frequently posted in the Jobs Forum. As Scott mentioned iOS and Android developers are also in demand.

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