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Tomasz Foster
19,442 PointsHas anyone used Treehouse skills to get employed?
I've been on a roll, learning as much as possible with Treehouse since May of this year and I feel very comfortable with HTML/JavaScript/jQuery/CSS, and relatively so with the Rails framework. I began with Treehouse after going through Codecademy and finding that I finished all their courses in just a few weeks. I recently finished the Programming Languages course on Udacity and just began their HTML5 Game Dev course, which is incredibly buggy. I find myself on StackOverflow looking for why the right code isn't working, which usually turns out to be an error in code that was provided from the instructors. (I will say that this has made me appreciate the very well designed and constructed courses here on TH so much more.)
Before you ask, yes, I do have side projects in things that interest me and I've been toying with HTML5 animations, watching a lot of Bonus Content on here (starting to really enjoy Backbone.js), as well as building a Ruby on Rails powered website that I'm hosting off my Raspberry Pi here on my home network. (I geek out every time I remotely SSH in from my local coffee shop and am able to push/pull files to/from my 1TB HDD connected to the Pi). I'm keeping myself busy with projects that I enjoy and hopefully will make me more flexible.
Outside of this I'm a student and have just a few classes left until I graduate with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics, something I've realized I don't want to do as a profession, but continue to study because my GI Bill pays for it. Also, I only have, literally, 4 classes left to take.
I would love to find employment as a Junior Web/Mobile developer to really accelerate and focus my education. I think after a certain point you just need to take the plunge and fully immerse yourself in the topic and I was wondering what students here have done to further their education outside of TH and find employment? This applies equally to the staff as I would love your input as to what steps you think me or anyone else at this point should take?
Thanks!
8 Answers
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsI signed up on April 1 knowing pretty much nothing. I got a job 6 weeks ago and love it. I did study all day every day from day 1. I have 9 projects on the go at the moment. 5 I'm sub-contracted too and 4 of my own. I have also started a hosting company off the back of it all. So yeah...Treehouse really works and I love it. I owe so much to treehouse that I could never repay.
Jah Chaisang
7,157 PointsMan, this thread pumps me up. I'm itching really badly right now to kill some more badges lol.
I cannot offer anything of value, because I'm not there yet. So I will stay tuned to this thread for inspirations.
Nathan F.
30,773 PointsSame here. I don't have a paying job in the development/design industry just yet, but Treehouse has opened some doors for side projects. I was also able to confidently interview for a QA tester position at a web design/development startup. I'm still anxiously awaiting news on that.
It's exciting to see the opportunities Treehouse makes possible.
Jah Chaisang
7,157 PointsWay to go Nathan! I keep my fingers crossed for you. Confidence is really huge. Treehouse allows me to trust that I get all the basics covered and shows me people who make a leap from where I am. This incredibly boost my confidence and point me to the path to achieve the impossible. I'm so glad I found this place!
Tomasz Foster
19,442 PointsJah, I know the feeling. Learning as much as I have, especially recently, has just excited me more for the future. Keep on completing those code challenges and it'll happen!
Brandon Harvey
5,709 PointsI feel like a nerd always on here watching these videos, taking notes, and hacking away. I am actually learning stuff and I am so excited to get through this Rails adventure so I can start working on my own things. I was thinking of going to a Dev school here in San Francisco, I don't think I will anymore. I just hope to get connected soon....
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsDan Ridley - thanks, Treehouse will always be a source for information. I'm anxiously awaiting the next WordPress bits. Need to finish off what I started and recap some thing. Do the CSS stuff to. I just want to complete everything and pick up a few things along the way. Just need some time. lol.
Brandon Harvey - It was actually me helping someone out on here that got us talking. I actually wanted them to help me as I had sites to design and he is a shit hot designer. Sent an email, got to talking and it transpired I could use my skills in the position available. Don't be afraid of contacting people and sending emails. Better then applying for a job with 40+ other people all applying for the same job who are probably better qualified and more experienced for the position.
Brandon Harvey
5,709 PointsMan that CSS deep dive.... You better swim hard!! LOL
Brandon Harvey
5,709 PointsI have been networking a lot here in the area, once I learn more I feel like I'll be set.... Side question, I bought WordPress.com..... Should I have bought WordPress.org???
Kyle Ferretti
3,757 PointsI just finished the CSS deep dive. It was so long but great stuff to learn.
I personally go with .org over anything because you can customize your site better and it's cheaper! .org doesn't cost any money though... It's just software that is open sourced for anyone to use. Essentially you'd buy a domain and get it hosted and install it on your site.
Brandon Harvey
5,709 PointsI have already paid for my WP.com.... Can I still upload a site even though they don't accept FTP?
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsNo, WordPress.com is for WordPress.com. You use their themes which you buy and their plugins. There's no development outside of WordPress.com.
WordPress.org is the place to be. There's all the .com stuff there through plugins but more themes and you can make your own. Look at WordPress as a CMS, nothing else, if you really want to use it's full power. Themes written by others will always limit you or you'll edit them to a point where you might as well have made your own.
I did the original 2 CSS things before the swapped it out for this one. I wish they'd kept the first two as well. Don't see why they needed removing. I feel like I've been here forever talking about things that used to be here. lol.
Brandon Harvey
5,709 Pointsthis dude has been here over a year with a 11,000 points.... He's like yoda on here. LOL
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsI've got mine since April and haven't really been able to learn anything new in the last month and a bit because I got busy with work. it's not a complaint but just shows how quickly you can learn a massive amount and then get into working. :)
Patrick Cooney
12,216 PointsNot really related per se but I wanted to throw in my $.02 about the applied mathematics degree. That's a good degree to have. I would think that having that under your belt is a huge advantage. Possibly even over CS people.
I decided what I was doing wasn't right for me and I'm going to school again, this time for CS. Let me tell you, CS degrees are mostly math with a few computer classes sprinkled in. They mostly focus on your ability to work through problems logically, by sending you through a bunch of math. Languages change, tech changes. But once your brain snaps into thinking logically to develop algorithms and such, that's not gonna change. Once you learn the languages, that degree is probably going to be a huge selling point for you. I wouldn't be too down about having chosen a degree in that field. You'll be well suited to being a programmer. And with the rise of "big data" there are even more opportunities for people like yourself.
Also, if you haven't already, maybe take a look at functional programming. I'm sure if you could do it well you'd really set yourself apart. From what I've read about it, you're basically programming using mathematical functions.
Tomasz Foster
19,442 PointsPatrick, this is a good idea, and it's given me something a little more to think about. I'm thinking of trying to get more proficient with the LAMP stack first and then possibly getting into Haskell, Lisp, or Clojure? I'm not really sure, this is where I would need guidance. From what I understand, functional programming can be done in other languages though, so perhaps maybe I should become a better Python, Ruby, or C developer first?
Patrick Cooney
12,216 PointsI can't help guide you with functional programming unfortunately. It takes people much smarter, and better at math than myself to program functionally. I don't know much about it. One thing I do know is Scala is pretty popular in the functional programming world. Twitter has a bunch of stuff written on Scala since it runs on the JVM and Twitter is Java based.
Patrick Cooney
12,216 PointsThis video popped up when I logged into youtube today. May be worth watching to see if it's something you'd even enjoy. Great videos coming out of this channel. Definitely worth a subscribe if you're interested in developing of any type. Data Mining with Scala at Identified
Tomasz Foster
19,442 PointsSweet, thanks Patrick! I'll check this video out in a monent
Thomas Joseph Meneses
9,838 PointsWith regards to functional programming, I just wanna pitch my own experience and thoughts in. Like Patrick said, Scala's currently the hottest FP-oriented language right now, not the least because of the long list of features and advantages it has over other languages. It's fully cross compatible with Java, takes advantage of the near-native performance of JVM, scales (get it?) well from simple applications to large enterprise software projects, etc.
If you're interested, you can check out [this[(https://www.coursera.org/course/progfun) course in Coursera; it's a course designed for people who already know how to program, and want to get into the basics of FP using Scala as the language taught. It's also being lectured by the creator of the language itself, so take that for credentials!
Jason D'Angelo
6,592 PointsSome very inspirational stories here. I cant wait until I land my first job. This industry is so exciting to me. Great job everyone!!
Aaron Walton
3,557 PointsTreehouse was only a minor part of the overall picture, but I would say that it certainly helped me get a job with a major software company. During an interview I got hit with a surprise quiz on some tech overview stuff and some of it I happened to have been studying here at Treehouse. If I hadn't had that extra bit of knowledge right at that moment I may not have gotten the job. IMO Treehouse is worth the investment 10 times over.
John Weland
42,478 PointsI would say... maybe? I mean my use of Treehouse to up my skills has certainly helped. Occasionally too much.
Brandon Harvey
5,709 PointsBrandon Harvey
5,709 Pointswere you scouted out on TH or did you go out on your own and apply?
Dan Ridley
Courses Plus Student 14,839 PointsDan Ridley
Courses Plus Student 14,839 PointsHey Matthew, That is quite an achievement. I am so glad that you have had such success and I hope Treehouse can help take you even further. Keep up the good work.
danielcroft
7,438 Pointsdanielcroft
7,438 PointsAlso i dont think Matthew will mind me saying but i did get some contract design work of Matthew via meeting him on here. So i guess his success has linked on to mine although i dont have regular design work that keeps me going enough just yet but i have designs i can start to add to my portfolio now which is a positive step in the right direction.
Tomasz Foster
19,442 PointsTomasz Foster
19,442 PointsCongrats on your successes Matt! I'm glad things are going well and I hope you keep us posted as to things you learn and progress you make! Stories like this are giving me hope that I'll find a job that aligns with my own interests and will allow me to push the boundaries of what I know now. Thanks!