An honest introduction to the field
Design and programming and “tech” and all of these buzz-words and trends and YIKES! they can get confusing. Before you jump down the rabbit hole, here’s a quick overview of the industry to get you started on the right foot.
Welcome to “tech” or the world of “coding” or whatever you think this is currently. Maybe you’re just out of high school, or already in the industry and want to pivot, or maybe you just heard that there were a lot of opportunities here – and you’re looking for a new career and a better life for your family.
Let’s sort you out and give you a clear introduction to what all this stuff really is.
This page is a living document
We’ll be updating it whenever we can be more helpful. If you have any questions – clarifications – or additions, let us know! : ) info@perpetual.education
Design? Programming? Coding? Cybersecurity? Data Science? Web development?
It’s really important to slow down – and think about the purpose of all of this ‘code.’ What are the various roles and jobs? How are computers used? What are the languages? What do YOU want to do? What tools should you use?
There are also a LOT of roles that aren’t just programming things all day / but still need a solid foundation – like sales and managing projects. You can’t be a great project manager if you don’t understand the medium.
It's exciting! But - don't just jump down the rabbit hole right away...
Stay away from full-blown tutorials. Skip the phone apps that promise to teach you ‘coding.’ Anything that feels ‘gamified’ is that way for a reason (not to help you). If you’re typing into a proprietary code editor: stop.
Find the RIGHT resources to get a high-level view of the area you are most interested in. Maybe it’s a book or a mentor. Find some people who you can talk to. Career programmers will tell you to “just start” – because that’s what they did 20 years ago. That doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you – right now. Your time is precious. Make sure you are on target.
For example:
For example, these books don’t have any code in them… but it’s where you should start if you want to be a web developer. Whatever role you are looking into – there are some resources to help you learn more about it BEFORE you dive in. It’s just smart to research things.
Decide what you want - and go for it.
There are thousands of colleges! and it doesn’t do any good to try and pick “the best” one. At some point – you just need to choose one and go for it.
Once you have a clear path – you can decide what will get you what you need to accomplish your transition.
It's (probably) going to cost a fair amount of money
That’s OK! It makes sense. Quality things cost money to create. You can do it.
Start organizing funds now. You might not get accepted to your first choice. Plan ahead. Here’s how to get people on your side. You’ll need some champions.
Did you know that we’re a programming + design school?
You might have followed this link from somewhere… and this page is really meant to generally help people find the right school for them (no matter what school that is), but for some of you: we are the right school.
If you’re looking for a holistic program that teaches the entire design and web development process – that’s us! Check out the home page to get an idea of how we roll.