Flying a kite about working with python

[miles]

>Some background:-
>I am considering my future career plans. I am currently a scientist working
>in academia (in the USA but I'm british without a green card so I quite
>probable I will have to return to the UK) and feel that I need a fallback
>position if/when I finally decide that I can't go on post-docing for ever.
>This lapse into sanity has been brought about by the recent arrival of our
>first child.

I left graduate studies in chemistry four years ago to pursue a career in
programming and I've never looked back or had a regret.  Good programmers
are in very short supply right now and many employers will consider
candidates without degrees if they do well on a programming test.

Former scientists are actually quite common in the software industry and
usually do well because a lot of the same intellectual skills are
 required.

One piece of advice I would give you is that you should master a few more
mainstream languages.  Python is certainly a very pleasant language, but
there are for more openings out there for java or perl programmers.

miles