During winter, last year I decided to head back to school, well online school and enrolled in a TAFE course called Certificate IV in Programming, the course covering quite a range of topics from JAVA, SQL, C# and ending with topics on copyright, user interface design and how to create technical documentation.
So why if I’ve been programming for 36 years would I want to do a TAFE course on programming? Well while I’ve coded tens of thousands of lines of code in many languages I’ve never actually received any certifications on the topic and thought it was about time I did.
It’s been a year I started the course and there are many things that I’ve learned during this time. Firstly, and most important was the rule of making sure that you read everything that is provided, don’t take anything for granted and even if you know a topic.
Firstly, and most important was the rule of making sure that you read everything that is provided, don’t take anything for granted and even if you know a topic quite well (such as SQL) don’t for a minute step through the learning material and jump straight into coding otherwise you’ll fail to deliver exactly what is being asked for.
Secondly, the whole topic of gathering requirements and producing technical documentation really showed me many areas in which I could get strong and that this would help me in my everyday work life.
Thirdly and probably the most important lesson I’ve learned is that while some of the materials have had mistakes, errors and some misleading information it is extremely important to open the lines of communication and seek clarity before continuing in the creation of code and documentation.
Now a few of my fellow students have not been happy with this but I have found that this tritely represents real life. Often clients aren’t always clear, often leave out critical information and unless you get good and reviewing what you have been supplied and learn how to ask questions you’ll always come off second best.
So, 12 months into the course I’m an approximately halfway through and still enjoying it, although finding the time and the necessary energy to sit down and study some evenings is sometimes difficult (especially after a long day in the office) but I’m persevering and before long I’ll have the Certificate IV.