Okay Cred Forums, i want to be a software developer or engineer...

Stick with python to start with. Its easy to learn and has enough great features and a good community for experts. OpenGL is not where you should start.

A solid understanding of computer science and best practices are just as important as "how do i code". Anyway you would get better answers in /g than from the script kiddies in here.

As for where to learn.. try microsoft's virtual academy. They have great video guides for beginners on a range of topics

well i really love it im just constantly bombarded with all this confusing info. like i just looked up what an api is. im confused as shit on it. there are so many things that seem so similar but are so different. i really want to dedicate myself to this but i just dont know where to start. seems like anything i pick someone comes along and says thats worthless now.

If you just want to make money go to school to be a doctor or another type of engineer. If you wanna learn to code minor in CS

I swear only in software development do I ever hear people say you cant make it if you just want cash.
You can make it in nearly ANY career with enough drive, even if that drive is just wanting to live a higher class of life

btw guys, say i do get good at python. can i get a job knowing only python to atleast get me through to the higher skill lvl languages or not?

Come up with a project and make it. You'll learn stuff along the way. If you just learn a language but have no use for it, you're wasting your time.
If you want a suggestion, start with java and make an android app. People shit on java for alot of reasons but there's demand for it

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Python is a fun language to use. It has many uses in industry and yes you can get a job knowing python. Literally thousands of jobs advertise for python skills. Google it. Once you learn one language and the key programming concepts you can pick up new ones easily with some time. People will knock python as it is not the best for performance but not every use case needs to be fast.

+1

Decide where you want to start; Mobile (Android or iOS, other platforms are almost dead), Desktop software, Web applications, Server development. These are the main areas right now, and are unlikely to change any time son. From there learn the technologies involved in these areas (for example for server dev, you'll need to understand REST, SQL, and a few others). After that learn the most common language for that technology

Thank you and everyone else for the clear answers.

This

project euler

That is all.

im very interested in desktop applications such as discord and daemon tools. where should i start with this?

Software development is not just science, it's partly art. If you don't have the talent for it, you'll never rise above the army of shitcoders from certain 3rd world countries.

Desktop software is not a key area right now. As a beginner dont worry about this shit throwing accroynms round like you know everything. It will just confuse you at this early stage. (Didnt read the API post?) Learn the basic skills get a job in the industry. From there everything else will fall into place as you learn more on the job from experts. You will find areas you like and where you want to progress as an engineer.

thank you(api was in another thread btw) if i may ask, in your opinion, what are the key areas atm?

Learn SNMP. It is the future.

Udemy.com

Internet of things (IOT) and big data are the big growth areas right now

C/C++ or java

OP why are you on Cred Forums for this of all things? Most people that post here are literally autistic or retarded. Try Cred Forums, you might get some people who really know what they're talking about.

Just choose any popular language, because the language is mostly irrelevant. Then choose what you want to make, and figure it out. Programming is about problem solving and logic, and learning that just comes with building more and more stuff.

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I'd beg to differ. Although a lot of things are moving to web apps, there is still plenty of demand for local software (be it Windows, Linux, or iOS). Again it depends where you are at (location wise).

And regarding the acronyms comment, if you don't know what REST is, good luck getting even an intern job as a backend developer

Concepts involved in programming are more important than the actual language. Once you understand that, all languages are more or less the same.

+1

This.

But it's important to note that people learn in different ways. Some people like to study a book on programming from cover to cover first, it just works better for them.

Apples desktop operating system is OSX not iOS goddammit

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

>Cred Forums
>install gentoo
I'm sure all their memes will clear up your confusion

Data science or big data. Gf works at google makes 150k a year. I'm in a startup and we're hiring data scientists now.. It's a really good field.

These are not development areas from the point of view of SE. IOT is embedded systems+backend and big data is mostly database dev (SQL)

Be passionate about a problem you can solve with code and you'll learn how to solve coding problems and then be a coder.

I don't hire any other kind of software engineer

I dont think he is trying to get a job as a backend developer, intern or otherwise. He is just trying to start out. Probably doesnt yet know what backend means.

Obviously there is still demand for desktop applications but as for a main area right now it just isnt. Sorry. There is a difference between where the industry is going and what *you* are specifically working on right now or what you know.

This, I run a QA department for startup in SF. QA is a great field to get into and it deals a lot with programming and automation now. Selenium, and phantom JS are greatly needed right now. I start my QA engineers off at about 130k a year.

Whatever. Never touched that stuff, never will

College, you fuckwit

This

if you wanna stop thinking already, go to freecodecamp.com and start doing their shit. Prob a year until you can do start working.

You mean stats?

Well, since he brought the question of "what pays best", he is obviously thinking of a job and not a hobby. As for where the industry is headed, as I said, it all depends on where you are at. In Silicone Valley it all Cloud and Mobile. But in other areas it more diverse.

As for me, I've been working in mobile development for the last 12 years, so I don't have a bias toward desktop. But I'm quite sure that at least some of the 19 people in this thread are using a desktop browser

This

BS. Dropped out of Uni, 'cause the shit they were teaching us was already irrelevant (short of some theory)

Some managers see it as a ticket... unfortunately. Good managers will see you for your ability though.

Kind of, more like analytics and machine learning

Buy K&R The C Programming Language.

Pythons easy to start with, or go tard mode with HTML

Go to uni you lazy cunt. You won't learn anything but your chances of getting a job increase dramatically.

This

who's that girl?

If you learn JAVA it's already too late. You have to kill yourself. It's the most cancerous language in existence and it's perpetuated by the retarded code monkey masses.

+1000

There you go :)

No stackexchange or mathoverflow? Wtf kind of shit are you letting educate you? No proofwiki? Wtf kind of cancer is this shit? You're math section is bad and you should feel bad.

Also you can always just go book like someone who is not an illiterate retard.

Design Patterns
Databases
Set Theory
History of Programming Languages
IDEs
DTAP

Need to be at least slightly familiar with Scrum, Lean and Six Sigma. More maths is better but you can learn most of that on the fly.