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I need to learn a programming language, which one is easiest out of this list ?

Asked by T3X4S,

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Grand Master

T3X4S

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I have a really important job interview coming up in 10 days.
This company contacted me about a year ago, but I had just accepted an offer for a 1 year contract and couldn't back out.
So, I contacted them back, and they are interested still woohoo !

Only problem is, the position they want me for requires some coding - I dont know any.

Which would be easiest for me to submerge in a crash course for the next 10 days?  ( I once heard python is pretty easy)

Java
.NET
Node.js
PHP
Python
Ruby

And I need familiarity in 1 of these:

Git, Perforce, SVN, TFVC

Obviously this job is out of my comfort zone, and I am taking a slight risk, but I am wanting a change - :/

Thanks Everyone

88 answers to this question

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Grand Master

DevTech

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  On 29/10/2015 at 06:01, T3X4S said:

Im not required per se to write any of it - just know enough so it isnt complete gibberish if I have to debug it.



The company is Amazon :)

Just in case you missed this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=0

Doubt you did but just in case. A lot of the stories turn out to be true and the resulting discussion centered around whether that kind of trial by fire environment has any justification or not...

It was funny to hear Microsoft condemn the practice when they themselves just recently terminated (a few years ago) a long running experiment with the same type of brutal environment.

 

 

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Experienced

Kelxin

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If he's really serious about learning a programming language, this site has much better tutorials and burn through systems that will get him programming much faster than codeacademy.com  >> http://www.lynda.com/ 

 

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Grand Master

T3X4S

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  On 29/10/2015 at 06:19, DevTech said:

Just in case you missed this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=0

Doubt you did but just in case. A lot of the stories turn out to be true and the resulting discussion centered around whether that kind of trial by fire environment has any justification or not...

It was funny to hear Microsoft condemn the practice when they themselves just recently terminated (a few years ago) a long running experiment with the same type of brutal environment.

 

 



Oh definitely.  Whenever I have decided to test the job market - I love going to www.glassdoor.com  -  I will mention it in the interview too.  One company, a large luxury home builder in Dallas, had a horrible rating - all about the megalomaniacal CEO who demanded everyone called him Mr Brooks.  The interviewers said, "thats completely untrue.  You should have known that people are only going to go on that sight if they have a axe to grind.."  I replied, "well thats not true, because there are ratings across the boards for companies, its not just negative, leading one to believe they are spot on."   Well, I took the job, and 1 month later - I was out of there - that CEO was a freaking nightmare.

I have read the reviews about Amazon working people  like crazy, and peope getting burnt out.  I havent seen any of those comments from the dept. I would be in - so I am naively holding on to the notion that Cloud Support Engineer is all warm and fuzzy :D

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Grand Master

DevTech

Posted
Posted
  On 29/10/2015 at 07:23, T3X4S said:


Oh definitely.  Whenever I have decided to test the job market - I love going to www.glassdoor.com  -  I will mention it in the interview too.  One company, a large luxury home builder in Dallas, had a horrible rating - all about the megalomaniacal CEO who demanded everyone called him Mr Brooks.  The interviewers said, "thats completely untrue.  You should have known that people are only going to go on that sight if they have a axe to grind.."  I replied, "well thats not true, because there are ratings across the boards for companies, its not just negative, leading one to believe they are spot on."   Well, I took the job, and 1 month later - I was out of there - that CEO was a freaking nightmare.

I have read the reviews about Amazon working people  like crazy, and peope getting burnt out.  I havent seen any of those comments from the dept. I would be in - so I am naively holding on to the notion that Cloud Support Engineer is all warm and fuzzy :D

Well I have had a few horrible experiences I would never want to repeat, yet at the same time even as an "Anti-Pattern" they were instructional.. so nothing is ever lost. Maybe a "Conservation of Experience Law" to mimic the Conservation of Energy Law in Physics...

If you have a chance, it would be fun to know what you learned 10 days from now!

Trendy cloud stuff is Big Data, Machine Learning and Containers. First two are impossible in 10 days, but if you haven't looked into it yet, reading some overviews on Docker and CoreOS (Docker clone) will probably help. Plus Git. Plus programming. Sleep is optional!

 

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Grand Master

adrynalyne

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Posted
  On 29/10/2015 at 05:50, Seabizkit said:

 

well then its a no brainier, if Python is on the job spec then learn that.

If they listed all of those you mentioned in the original post, then i would skip this company.

jack of all, master of none. For me just leads to $hitty programming... or you were only required to write 10 lines which i that case it wouldn't matter.

Best of luck.

You do know some companies use multiple languages, right?Being language limited makes you and the company a one trick pony...

  • 0
Grand Master

adrynalyne

Posted
Posted
  On 29/10/2015 at 07:40, DevTech said:

 

Well I have had a few horrible experiences I would never want to repeat, yet at the same time even as an "Anti-Pattern" they were instructional.. so nothing is ever lost. Maybe a "Conservation of Experience Law" to mimic the Conservation of Energy Law in Physics...

If you have a chance, it would be fun to know what you learned 10 days from now!

Trendy cloud stuff is Big Data, Machine Learning and Containers. First two are impossible in 10 days, but if you haven't looked into it yet, reading some overviews on Docker and CoreOS (Docker clone) will probably help. Plus Git. Plus programming. Sleep is optional!

 

For a 10 day crash course.... No, sleep is not an option LOL.

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Grand Master

T3X4S

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Posted (edited)

Well so far its been going pretty smooth - Python is pretty easy to pick up the basics.

I think I just wanted to know a little, so, if asked, I could say "Yes I know a little Python - I'd like to be more fluent in Python and other programming languages."  or something diplomatic like that.

I read where one applicant @ Amazon was asked, "In what areas are you lacking ?  Can you give an example where your skillset was lacking and how you handled the situation?"

The applicant said he froze up and couldn't think of anything - they passed on hiring him because, "Nobody knows everything - everyone has a weak spot or area where the could learn more"


And my 10 day crash course - just got shortened - alot.   My interview is now on Monday @ 10:30  :|  no pressure

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Grand Master

DevTech

Posted
Posted
  On 30/10/2015 at 05:24, T3X4S said:

Well so far its been going pretty smooth - Python is pretty easy to pick up the basics.

I think I just wanted to know a little, so, if asked, I could say "Yes I know a little Python - I'd like to be more fluent in Python and other programming languages."  or something diplomatic like that.

I read where one applicant @ Amazon was asked, "In what areas are you lacking ?  Can you give an example where your skillset was lacking and how you handled the situation?"

The applicant said he froze up and couldn't think of anything - they passed on hiring him because, "Nobody knows everything - everyone has a weak spot or area where the could learn more"


And my 10 day crash course - just got shortened - alot.   My interview is now on Monday @ 10:30  :|  no pressure

Thanks for the update. Good luck.

 

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Grand Master

binaryzero

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yeahhhh, not sure how this going to pan out for you mate. Interested to hear how you go..

So what are you going to do if you're hired, and they blomp some work in front of you, and you have no idea what to do? They didn't hire, or pay you to learn, they do it so you produce work so the company can profit. 

My suggestion would be to apply for jobs that you have the skills for already. Usually employers can see through people who do crash courses. Plus remember, usually you're on a 6 month probation when you start. If you don't meet the KPIs, you could get the can. 

Good luck! :) :) 

Edited by Jared-
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Grand Master

+FloatingFatMan Subscriber¹

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  On 29/10/2015 at 04:31, adrynalyne said:

Those are the most fun though! :p

10,000 years of torture in hell aren't even close to enough to repay Eich for Javascript!

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Grand Master

adrynalyne

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  On 30/10/2015 at 14:45, FloatingFatMan said:

 

10,000 years of torture in hell aren't even close to enough to repay Eich for Javascript!

I have a soft place in my heart for JavaScript. Mind you, its only viewable with a microscope :D

It is nice when it occasionally works the first time you write it. :p

 

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+FloatingFatMan Subscriber¹

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  On 29/10/2015 at 05:50, Seabizkit said:

 

well then its a no brainier, if Python is on the job spec then learn that.

If they listed all of those you mentioned in the original post, then i would skip this company.

jack of all, master of none. For me just leads to $hitty programming... or you were only required to write 10 lines which i that case it wouldn't matter.

Best of luck.

Any half decent programmer will be able to work his magic in multiple languages, so the "jack of all, master of none" saying doesn't really apply here. What's important are the logic and problem solving skills, not what syntax you're working in.  That's the easy part and can be picked up in just a couple of days by anyone experienced.

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  On 30/10/2015 at 05:24, T3X4S said:

And my 10 day crash course - just got shortened - alot.   My interview is now on Monday @ 10:30  :|  no pressure

Best of luck, Tex! One thing though.. If you get the job, and you're in Cloud Support... Well, we might just be crossing paths, professionally, at some point. ;)

 

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Grand Master

Active.

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 29/10/2015 at 04:53, T3X4S said:

 My role would be to know enough of the language to be able to look at a part of the code, and possibly find the error as a root cause.

My position is a Cloud Support Engineer [at Amazon], so I would be working with Engineers of other large companies when there are problems - identifying problems, and solving them.  Part of a team [...] My role would be to know enough of the language to be able to look at a part of the code, and possibly find the error as a root cause.

  On 29/10/2015 at 04:16, T3X4S said:

the position they want me for requires some coding - I dont know any.  [...] out of my comfort zone, and I am taking a slight risk

Assuming you're serious, the good news is: It sounds like what you lack in coding skills you're able to make up for in self-confidence.

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Grand Master

T3X4S

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  On 30/10/2015 at 14:44, Jared- said:

Yeahhhh, not sure how this going to pan out for you mate. Interested to hear how you go..

So what are you going to do if you're hired, and they blomp some work in front of you, and you have no idea what to do? They didn't hire, or pay you to learn, they do it so you produce work so the company can profit. 

My suggestion would be to apply for jobs that you have the skills for already. Usually employers can see through people who do crash courses. Plus remember, usually you're on a 6 month probation when you start. If you don't meet the KPIs, you could get the can. 

Good luck! :) :) 


Well, I dont want to bore everyone to death and go into great details about the job descrip.  But the reading a little code is 1 small aspect of a large role.
Well, for some reason they want me for this role.. doesnt make a lot of sense to me either - but maybe this one aspect is not a big deal - possible can be trained/learned on the fly.

Thanks
 

  On 30/10/2015 at 15:11, Active. said:

Assuming you're serious, the good news is: It sounds like what you lack in coding skills you're able to make up for in self-confidence.


I am serious.  As I mentioned above, it doesnt require me to be an expert coder.  It is one little part of a large array of things I will be responsible for.

We'll see :/


 

  On 30/10/2015 at 14:57, FloatingFatMan said:

 

Best of luck, Tex! One thing though.. If you get the job, and you're in Cloud Support... Well, we might just be crossing paths, professionally, at some point. ;)

 


Thanks FFM.. wouldn't that be something ?  hehe

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Grand Master

+FloatingFatMan Subscriber¹

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  On 30/10/2015 at 15:43, T3X4S said:

Thanks FFM.. wouldn't that be something ?  hehe

I certainly wouldn't mind getting sent to Texas once in a while... It'd make a nice change from soggy Ireland (where head office is).

 

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Active.

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Posted
  On 30/10/2015 at 15:43, T3X4S said:

I am serious.  As I mentioned above, it doesnt require me to be an expert coder.  It is one little part of a large array of things I will be responsible for.

We'll see :/

Good luck! I guess you can only win, whatever may come of it. :)

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