How to get into programming part 1

I have been asked a lot of times, especially from fellow Ethiopians, on how to get into programming as a career or stream of life style..
But this note is not only for those who are asking that, it is for:
– those peoples with a lot of potential into programming and not just do it only because they don’t have enough information where to begin
– Friends, and relatives whom I see are in some other work stream but I think they are a good candidates for programming and make a decent living out of it..

First thing first, lets start from addressing common questions:
How could I get into computer profession?
It is a broad question and I will try to dissect into the following parts

1. Computer Technician
Are you interested in getting dirty hands with fixing computers, mobile devices, network configurations, fixing broken hardwares and the like? if so you can be on this area and be professional
What you need – usually you are required to have certificate in electronics and/or maintenance stuff along with a bit of experience.
MarketIn demand
2. Network Administarator
Large enterprises with so many, not limited to, computers and users that needs management require Network administrators.
Largely, this is a task where you would configure servers that run different kind of services like web or file, management of user access and resource access, management of computer’s resources that task out the above and related services, making sure server softwares are upto-date are among the tasks you will be working on
What you need You need certification for this one. The common one is cisco certification. There are tones and tones of books and training material that would help you get up and ready for the exam.. you can take a look at http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/certifications/index.html
MarketIn demand
3. Database Administrator (DBA)
Every interaction with have Facebook, the emails records we have on gmail, or any other interaction that needs to remember our data needs a database. A database is a huge part of computer related profession. The data that is stored could be in millions, each data would interact with another data, it will be backedup incase something wrong happens, it needs to be consistent and available, it should be upto-date, it shall handle insertion editing and deletion of data nicely .. you got the idea – for this there are well trained peoples who would make sure the data that we care for is properly handled. You can be one of those peoples
What you needThere are several brands of database management systems. The notables are oracle, MSSQL Server, MySQL and Postgres. You need a certification in at least one of these big database providers. Once you got the idea of one jumping to the other should be easy. And the good thing is when you are preparing for the certification you would know most of the basic stuff you would need for future profession
MarketIn demand

4. Designer (Front end developer) These days all you would see is a websites and mobile application. And apart from doing what they do, they have to be attractive and simple, easy to use, faster, forgiving on error and much more. This is usually the task of the designer.
Designer are usually artful peoples. If you are that kind of person, then design might be yours. Probably, you have come across the site or app that you tot you could have done the layout better or something..
What you needMost of the designers that I know are self-taught ones. Pretty much all you need an introductory lesson into HTML, CSS and Javascript. You need to have a good image processing software like adobe photoshop or something that can process images nicely. For that matter, there are well talented peoples that can make a good image from simple image processing softwares like MS-Paint.
Another thing would be to look as many website and apps as possible. This will give you a best approach to have your own signature that singles you out. Like a writer reads more before s/he writes kinda thing :)
The other good thing is, you can start to design just today. You have already what it needs to be the designer. A simple notepad and a web browser. There is a good step by step guide on HTML Introduction. Once you are done with it, you will be a good designer or front end developer

5. Developer/Programmer