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Hello again smart people 
I need your advice again. As you know, I did survived my first semester and now I'm starting thinking about eventual career path, so that I structure my learning and don't waste my time on learning something I will not be good at or will not want to work with anyway. I really want to be ready for a job as soon as it is possible. I don't want to spend hours diving in the areas of programming I don't have talent for and than compete with masterminds for some few jobs. I thought about some areas I'm intrested in but there are some cons and pros with them:
- Embedded systems - I dont have any background in physics and mathematics though, and becuase of that I don't know if it's a good idea.
- Android development - but I'm not sure if it's not too competitive and if there are enough job opportunities.
- .NET developer - but it means that I really have to get my degree to get job in this field. I wonder if BS will do?
I can learn some algortihms and understand them just for the job interview and the project, but I will never invent my own or be a data scientist or some algortihm expert so I don't want to work in the area where you heavily rely on complicated algorithms because I lack mathematical skills and talent. I think that my biggest advantage is being creative so I thought maybe I go into direction of Android development (as I already said) or web development. But I would like to stay programmer. I don't want to be a manager, and I don't want to sit in the meetings for hours before the white board talking about programming. My highest goal is to be senior devloper and that's it - I just want to program and of course sometimes I can have a meeting for max an hour a day or something . But of course, I don't have a clue how the developer job really look like in reality, so which field of expertise would you recommend? Are there any users who work in the fields I mention and can share some thoughts?
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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Thank's 
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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Finding out what you enjoy is key to being happy at work. You've figured that out, so it's mostly a question of what domain most appeals to you. It may well be too early for you to reach any definitive answers to that question at this point.
Just a note on embedded systems. I define them as being dedicated to a specific purpose. This runs the gamut from toasters to what I worked on, core network servers that handle the calls in a mobile network. That kind of system contains very little math or physics but millions of lines of code written in an object-oriented language. It's more like a high-performance, robust web server than a toaster.
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Wow, that really sounds like what i would like to do. I thought I had to have a degree in electronics or at least be good at physics and mathematics. I really enjoy working object oriented and would like to work in c++ or java or both. Thank you for your advice 
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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If you read some of my articles, you might get a better sense of whether working on that kind of system would appeal to you. The articles usually assume C++ because I wouldn't use Java for such a system. But there are many different types of large servers, and Java would be fine for some of them.
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Thank's for article recommandation, I will try to find some time to read one of them and get an overview on the subject. I wouldn't mind working only in c++.
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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You don't need necessarily need Physics or much Mathematics to do embedded programming.
Sample the areas you're interested in until you find one you're good at and like.
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That's a relief I'm really intrested in that field.
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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Its a very exciting field right now what with IoT and there's a very wide selection of hardware to work with.
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Nice
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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Mike Hankey wrote: necessarily
It indeed really depends on what you are doing, embedded has so many declinations ! If I take my example, I could not go without strong knowledge of physics and mathematics, but there are plenty of area where it is not required at all - it just has to work ! 
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The problem with 'Android development' and so, is what will you do the day after?
I'm in software development since 1997 (and on computers since 1984), and thing had changed.
What kept me in the field is that I had a solid - language and environment independent - base.
So while you can focus on a specific environment and let all go, I would say that you should spend a year and a half or two (assuming that degree is 6 semesters there just like here) to get your bases together, and than (probably knowing more about the possibilities) take up some more specific...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Yeah, I actually thought the same. I have to do some priorities so I don't know if it's a good idea to put few hours a day to learn Android development if those skills are not that general. Maybe its better to put that time into learning concurrency, or maybe Java Springboot, database or practice common algorithms. Thank's for the advice
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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The bad news - you're stuck with meetings, mate! (And all the rest that goes with just having a job. See Dilbert[^] for what that's like).
In practice, the longer you're in the job the less hands-on programming you'll do. Even (in my experience) a "lead developer" spends more time filling out appraisals, interviewing recruits, writing reports and chasing up timesheets than they do writing - or even looking at - code. I "jumped ship" 25 years ago to go Freelance, so no more appraisals - just accounting, marketing, procurement, admin and more instead! 
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 That's sounds terrible... I hope you at least enjoy freelancing
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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Yes, it was stressful at the time. Going freelance was by far the best (career) thing I ever did.
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Don't forget robotics, artificial vision and automation in general.
Having all the theory and then a couple of years in an engineering company will prepare you to get into a specialized market which at certain places it's well paid.
But even you get a job soon, finish your studies, you never know what will happen tomorrow, maybe it won't help you, but usually is better being more prepared than others.
But as others said, you should do what you like the most.
You will spend plenty of hours of your life doing that... you should try to do something you like. Or something is so well paid you can learn to tolerate it. Any other option is suicide.
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Thank's I appreciate your advice.
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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What would be on your mind to ask advice from a site with 14 million+ members? By the time you finish reading the replies you are ripe for retirement. Just kidding!
From previous messages I see that you are kind of interested in IoT/automation/robotics side of the field but you are afraid you don't have the appropriate background. If you think you'll enjoy it, go for it. If you don't have fun, what's the point of doing it?
Also, if you go for these topics, plan to spend some time to learn some of the background. You may find that electronics and physics can be fun too. Otherwise you risk to be like a sailor that cannot swim. Swimming is not a required skill for sailors but it certainly gives you some confidence.
Have fun!
When you debug a program with an oscilloscope and you find a hardware bug with a test program, you're on top of the world
Mircea
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Mircea Neacsu wrote: Otherwise you risk to be like a sailor that cannot swim
Yeah, this is what I fear 
Mircea Neacsu wrote: When you debug a program with an oscilloscope and you find a hardware bug with a test program, you're on top of the world
I'm so ashemed but you made me google "oscilloscope"
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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Quote: you made me google "oscilloscope"
You see, you are already learning new things and you haven't even get your feet wet
Mircea
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modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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Unfortunately most of what you are being educated about is not relevant to any job you will find, and probably also outdated in 4 years.
Employers however will see your degree as a sign that you have the stamina to apply yourself and work through all the courses.
None of it matters to determine if you will be successful as a developer.
Find something that cannot easily be replaced with cheap overseas labor willing to work for $10/hr
The app store hay days are a decade behind us. The only app I would be willing to pay for is an app that stops all the forced updates. Few people make money.
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Thanks for a good advice It takes many hours to learn Android development so I wanted to know if it's even worth the effort. Now I know that I should spend those hours learning something that is more important, maybe algorithms...
Member 12924312 wrote: The only app I would be willing to pay for is an app that stops all the forced updates.
 lol yeah me too
modified 3-Jun-21 21:01pm.
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