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General Discussion

Posted by Ewerton Luna
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Ewerton Luna
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 24,031 Points

Having trouble deciding wich one of these 2 TechDegree courses to pick

Hi, there! I'm a CS student from Brazil on my first semester and I've been learning from Treehouse for a while now. When I started here, I decided I would chose a language and stick to it so I don't get the bad habit of jumping from one language to another without really having a solid foundation in at least one language. So I chose Python and I've been loving it. I find amazing how much you can do with it. I started the Python Track and I got, so far, to the Python Testing course and I have 2799 points on my treehouse profile in this language. Of course, I'm not an advanced student, but I've done nice little projects on my own with the knowledge aquired so far.

But now I feel like I wanna do a TechDegree and be job-ready asap. The two main courses I find that i may be interesting are the Python Web Development and Full Stack JavaScript.

The main reason for Python WD is that I want to have a more complete knowledge of Python, even though I don't think I want to be a web developer, but I would be sticking to the language that I've started with. Do you think this Techedegree will be helpful even for jobs that aren't web related?

Full Stack JavaScript sounds interesting because I wish I could be a Full Stack developer, but I also worry that I will end up being a web developer doing this course. And I don't know nothing about JS, so I would have to start from zero in this one.

I would love to do a Python TechDegree since this is my first main language until now and that would give me a more complete knowledge of this language, the only thing keeping me away from that is that I don't find web development that interesting, even though I dont know that much about this area.

So I'm leaning towards JS... I just don't know if it will give me the tools to go to other areas besides web development. I want to know your opinion on that.

Just one other question: If I choose the JS techdegree, will I be able to work with what I've learned from Python and the language itself to build stuff along side JS?

1 Answer

Daniel Barros
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Daniel Barros
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 23,589 Points
Daniel Barros
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Daniel Barros
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 23,589 Points

Hi Ewerton,

It is a tough question. It seems to me that you haven't had the chance to have much exposure to JS just yet.

It seems though that the jobs in many markets are going down the web route and non-web technologies are diminishing in relevance. Much more than 5 years ago, at least. With JS, for example, using the right environment, you can build mobile apps, desktop apps, servers, Chrome extensions, games, AI, IoT. The list goes on and on. The big Silicon Valley companies are using JS, not only for web dev but for other types of applications as well.

Also, the job market in many countries is getting blurred with front-end and back-end technologies being required more and more in the same job ad. Regarding the job market in Brazil, you have to do some research with recruiters to know whether skills alone or a Techdegree will be sufficient to go through the recruiter firewall without having finished the CS degree just yet. In some countries, the piece of paper is a must. In others, it matters very little. It seems that in most OECD countries, your portfolio and factual skills are what counts the most.

Regarding the Python Web Dev Techdegree, I can't see it anymore on the web page as of 4 July 2019. So it would be good to have a Treehouse insider to add to this. I'm not sure if it's under review, or if it's been discontinued. (?)

Now, with other technologies and web, which seems to be what the Python Web Dev Techdegree was about, you still have to know a fair bit of HTML, CSS, JS to be able to be productive in the workplace. It wasn't about Python, Flask, and Django only. The good thing is that Python isn't all too different from JS. The syntax is slightly different but the similarities are enormous. JS and Python are much closer to each other than say, Java or C#.

I hope this helps a bit in your decision. Cheers,

Daniel

Ewerton Luna
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Ewerton Luna
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 24,031 Points

Thank you very much, Daniel! I would give you the "best answer" right now, but it's not appearing for some reason. I'll check it again later.

I friend of mine here in Brazil told me that the market here is having the same trend as the one you described. Also, the college degree has its relevance here, but companies care a lot more about your portfolio and skills. If you are able to do the job, they will hire you regardless the college degree.

Thank you for the time, man. Your answer really helped me a lot!