Hello

I am a 2nd year Computer Science University student & I would like to get Part-time work (or an Intership) in the Computer Programming industry(Junior C++ programmer in applications development preferably, but as I dont have my degree yet I will take whatever I can get).

Could you give me any advice on what would make myself the most employable, for example, "A Junior C++ programmer should definitely know/learn 'X' if they want to get into the industry", where X may be Boost, XML parsing, how to write their own binary search, Linux Command line etc.


One thing I always ask myself is... for example... should I be learning how to implement my own Auto Pointer in C++ so I understand the theory & HOW IT WORKS or should I just go straight on to using Boosts' Auto Pointer so that I can say that I know how code FAST & with TESTED & SAFE libraries/Data Structure/etc?

And I find myself always asking myself this kind of question, "Should I learn Win32 to understand how a window repaints or make a higher level application with WxWidgets so I can say to an employer I know how to code fast & safely(Its harder to get GDI memory leaks in WxWidgets than in Win32). Or should I make my own XML parser that uses some cool efficient algorithms (which I think is more fun :P) or should I go straight on to learning a 3rd party library so I can say to an employer "I can quickly & safely(my own library may not work on all cases/be buggy) code something to parse XML for an application".

I know that to be a good programmer it is better to make something myself rather than rely on 3rd party libraries but I am trying to understand how I can be more employable.


So will an employer be more interested if:
- I can make an application quickly using 3rd party libraries(where I may not fully understand the mechanics of what I am doing)
OR
- that, if need be, I could implement my own XML parser, custom win32 window, read the environmental variables at the lowest level possible(win32 or lower) without the help(speed in coding/development) of a 3rd party library?

Have you had a job before? Any kind of job.

Do whatever one interests you. If you like low level stuff, learn it. If you would rather not get into the details, use existing technologies.An employer will be interested to see that you are learning and that you have finished projects to back up what you've learned. You won't finish projects if you aren't enjoying what you're doing.

What kind of software industry would you like to get into? Games? Enterprise software development? Web development? Mainframe development? Embedded systems? Or are you just looking for anything under the sun? C++ applications development is a bit vague, and I think that would limit you a bit. Why not apply for Java or .NET (C#) positions as well? The majority of internships I see (at least on my local craigslist) all revolve around web development and enterprise software development.

Tailor your resume to who you're applying for. There aren't one set of technologies that everyone is looking for.

If you're applying for a web development position, odds are they'll be looking for experience with ASP.NET, PHP, or Ruby on Rails. They'll be looking for someone who has &#106avascript experience, experience with XHTML/CSS, and most likely experience with SQL as well.

XML is a pretty universally used markup language in all fields of the software industry so it never hurts to be up to speed in it. Same thing goes for SQL. Wouldn't hurt to be familiar with either of those.

And in regards to your last question:

It depends on the employer, their priorities, and what your position will be. But really now, why not be adept at both? Learning how to use third party libraries is incredibly important. Re-inventing the wheel is a brilliant way to waste time. It's important to know how to do the low level stuff yourself, but most of the time it is WAY more cost efficient just to use a third party solution.

Quote:

Original post by Antheus Have you had a job before? Any kind of job.

Thanks for the replies :)

Yes I have had jobs :P, but not related to computer programming in any way(Australia Post - postal company - & pizza hut :P) so I think in the eyes of an employer I will be seen as having no career experience.

Quote:

Original post by gretty Quote: Original post by Antheus Have you had a job before? Any kind of job. Thanks for the replies :) Yes I have had jobs :P, but not related to computer programming in any way(Australia Post - postal company - & pizza hut :P) so I think in the eyes of an employer I will be seen as having no career experience.

Yes, but no career experience isn't as bad as no work experience, especially as far as internships are concerned.

An internship won't expect you to have past jobs that are relevant to the internship, but having (unrelated) past jobs shows that you know how to do a job and have at least some minimum level of responsibility.

Employers care about more than your technical knowledge; they also care about your personal and communication skills and ability to work as part of a team. Past jobs can help show that.

Quote:

Original post by gretty Quote: Original post by Antheus Have you had a job before? Any kind of job. Thanks for the replies :) Yes I have had jobs :P, but not related to computer programming in any way(Australia Post - postal company - & pizza hut :P) so I think in the eyes of an employer I will be seen as having no career experience.

Having had any job is better than not having had a job, If your former boss has a good opinion about you it can help alot even when applying to a job in a completly different field. (Even if he can't give an opinion on your programming skills he can say alot about your work ethics and how you are to work with)