Job Title:
Analyst Programmer
Number Of Years Dedicated To This Field Of Work or Lifestyle:
6 Years
Category Of Work:
Employment – Paid Work
Country / Area of Work:
United Kingdom
Industry:
Technology
Type:
Employment
Key Skills For The Job:
To be an effective programmer you need technical/ practical skills & personal skills.
Practical skills:
– Understanding of a broad range of technologies and how they can be combined to produce software and hardware solutions
– Understanding of Object Oriented Programming (OOP)
– Understanding of other core languages/technologies used in the development of software i.e JavaScript, XML, HTML, CSS, HTTP, client technologies, server technologies
– Familiar with an Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
– Ability to read & interpret a Java Exception Stack Trace
– Understanding of version control, ability to deal with conflicts
– Practice with a professional development methodology i.e Agile, Waterfall, etc
Personal Skills:
– Ability to break down a problem to best utilise all resources at your disposal
– Confidence in your approach and work
– Strong problem solving skills & patience
– Ability to communicate with customers & colleagues – adapting your language to be less technical or more depending on to whom you are talking to
Vital Key Skill:
To become more marketable is a tough thing to do.
There are usually high application rates for each job vacancy, resulting in the chances of getting the job being slim.
Despite this I do think there are ways you can stand out from other applicants. One way would be to let your own passion for the work show.
Your Personal Experience Of Entering This Role:
Other I have a BSc (Hons) Business Management degree (2.1). I also have over 9 years experience working in different roles in the fields of customer service, catering, administration, recruitment and event coordination.
All my experiences with work has helped develop my skills and abilities that led me to ‘take the plunge’ in 2011 to study full time to become a Java programmer.
I taught myself using every resource I could get my hands on, books, online resources, programming software, talking to programmers I knew, etc. I built up a portfolio of work to demonstrate my skills.
Tips For Undertaking This Work:
If you are looking to get into programming ask yourself what kind of software you would like to develop.
There are many different programming languages to learn but make sure you get reliable information as to the best language you should learn based on the direction you want to progress in as a software developer.
Talk to people who do the job you would like to do. See what their skills set is. What programming languages and technologies do they use? Once identified, get practical and theoretical training in these programming languages and technologies.
Future Progression Or Developments:
In one of the companies I have worked for the career progression started at junior programmer and progressed to analyst programmer, lead analyst programmer, development supervisor, development manager.
Typically in programming, in general the progression route is (highest position to lower):
Senior Management
Developer Manager
Lead Developer
Senior Developer
Junior Developer
:
Although it is a big leap to change career at a later age, all the skills gained in prior work will only add more to the quality of your work as
a programmer. You are starting out on the basis of programming skills both learnt & demonstrated.
Its going to continue to be an awesome journey.
What Are The ‘tools of the trade’ Used Daily:
Oracle Database, Apache HTTP Server, Toad For Oracle, Eclipse
IDE, Desktop PC, Java API, web mail Outlook.
A Typical Day’s Duties:
Working to produce code that completes a given task. Logging code changes in line with version control procedures, liasing with customers, colleagues and management as part of general duties (i.e. keeping people informed of what work is being undertaken, update on any changes in priority of workload, obtain data/requirements from customers, etc).
Is Travelling A Regularly Part Of This Work:
No
Weekly Working Hours:
Full Time
Type Of Hours Arrangement:
Fixed Working Week
The Best Thing About The Work You Do:
There is never a quiet period. The speed at which technology
changes means you can always learn something new in this field of work.
Your Least Favorite Thing About The Work You Do:
Waiting for code to compile.
Any Duties You Hadn’t Anticipated Prior To Undertaking The Work:
None. I did thorough research into the role and gained lots of practical experience before undertaking this work as paid employment.
The Top Perks Of The Work:
How much you can put your own ‘stamp’ on the work you do, I find a unique perk of the job.
Other Work In The Same Sector: (Left Blank If Not Applicable)
Testing/ QA, database administrator, technical architect, business analyst, graphic designers, maintenance engineers, product consultants.
What Professional Organisations Are Associated With Your Work:
Oracle (University i.e. Java SE and EE training)
IOS International Organization for Standardization i.e 9001)
Java Users Groups (JUG) Community
Additional Info You Wish To Share:
A big part of the job when working for a software development company is being able to mix product knowledge with technical knowledge to find an optimal solution for a given piece of work.
Pick any business process and I am sure you will be able to have an endless conversation with a group of programmers as to the best technologies to adopt to implement a solution. Due to business practices, budget, security needs, customer preferences, etc in your daily work you are more limited as to how you can approach the task in hand.
Its very rewarding to utilise product knowledge to rule out areas to invest time on or to help narrow down areas to work on for the best results given the task at hand.
My name is June Ogterop. I changed career later in life after discovering programming kind of by accident.
With the support of my husband I quit my day job and used every resource at my disposal to build up my skills and understanding of programming. I developed a number of applications creating a portfolio of work. These included android apps, a desktop game and web allocations.
Where People Can Visit For More Details On Your Work:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jogterop
