[Tutor] Real world experience

[C Smith]

What is a difficult problem that if I could solve it would indicate I
am ready to begin looking for a job? I realize that solving just ONE
problem isn't too meaningful, but I am looking for a level of
difficulty or some sort of gauge as to what a good programmer would
consider difficult. What would a junior programmer for a company be
expected to be able to do? This way I could have an idea of the range
between a beginner (still a paid employee) and someone with many years
of experience. I am in the south, USA.
thanks

On Sun, May 11, 2014 at 9:43 PM, Tim Krupinski <tdkrupinski at gmail.com> wrote:
> Probably off-topic for the list but i'll let some of the others weigh in on
> that.  This is more for help with the python language itself.
>
> But i'll weigh in.  Programming is difficult work.  It's definitely a
> profitable career.  Its hard to say how much you'll make since it varies
> depending on location, but in general a combination of experience and your
> ability to solve difficult problems and provide solutions consistently
> command higher salaries.  However, many companies wont even consider you
> without a degree, or a significant contribution to the industry.
>
> If you want to pursue a career in IT, you need to finish high school.  You
> would be wise to get a degree.
>
> My $0.02.
>
> Tim
>
>
> On Sun, May 11, 2014 at 7:12 PM, C Smith <illusiontechniques at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> I have never known anyone that works in this industry. I got one job
>> transforming xml (should have used xslt, ended up using sed and python
>> regex scripts) where the guy asked me how much I wanted and I threw
>> 200 bucks out there because I could get a room for two weeks at that
>> cost. He just laughed and handed me the money. That is the only
>> professional experience I have and no formal education whatsoever
>> (some high school). I have been doing online stuff and hit a wall in a
>> 'design of computer programs' class on udacity. I made it about
>> halfway through but started back at square one to sharpen my skills
>> before trying to come at it again from a different angle. I started to
>> feel overwhelmed when trying to basically recode regex (functions for
>> '*' and '.' for instance) in python and make an api to interact easily
>> with the text parser.
>>
>> I am still completely in the dark about what level of difficulty I
>> would be facing in the professional world.
>> If this is difficult at all for me, is there hope to think about
>> making money in this field?
>> I am pretty persistent and can keep up a level of work if I am not
>> even close yet, but I don't know if I am a year off or 10 years off.
>> Are basic scripting skills employable at even a very low rate (10
>> bucks an hour)?
>> What level of experience are the people at who make 100k a year?
>> Sorry if this is off-topic for the list, but I am trying to get past a
>> psychological hurdle or two before reapplying myself and hopefully it
>> would be valuable to others as well.
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>