Programming languages in demand for IT in Trinidad?

smithmj678 · Postby **smithmj678** » May 31st, 2015, 9:56 pm

Pleasant evening to everyone on this website.

My name is smith and I wanted advice for a career path in IT, specifically programming. Is an Associate degree good enough for such a position? What languages are they looking for locally and what type of work would be required of me?

I am going to assume its all mostly high level programming? C# and .NET etc? I do not think a computer science degree is required for the work being done locally as I assume its mostly business level programming. By all means feel free to correct me where I am wrong. Do employers down here value experience more than a degree? And what off database certifications such as Oracle OCA and MCSA SQL. Are they worth going after? if so which one would you recommend?

I have a 2 year associates degree from the UK in IT and I would love to get some feedback from the men in this field.

Thank you

Smith.

uncle sam · Postby **uncle sam** » June 1st, 2015, 7:55 am

I do not think a computer science degree is required for the work being done locally as I assume its mostly business level programming. By all means feel free to correct me where I am wrong.

Right now we are doing a lot of high-level programming here. I've seen some extremely good work from our locals. I even know some local programmers who work at google and fb now. T&T is no longer backward in this field at all.

Additionally, business-level applications would most likely be what a programmer ends up developing anyway, but are those apps somehow limited?

go get a bsc in something like CIS.. you would not make any here with just an associates.

smithmj678 · Postby **smithmj678** » June 1st, 2015, 10:49 am

^ thank you sir.

While I would love to get the BSc right now, I do not yet have the funds to do so. I was of the hope that perhaps the asociates along with experience in programming and developing software would be able to land me atleast some sort of entry level Job in this field, where I would then be able to obtain the necessary funds.

If however it is indeed a lost cause, I suppose I could settle for a different type of job and save the money to complete the BSc? it would only take me approx a year to do the final year in SBCS. I see they have a program with University of Greenwich for CIS. Definitely costly.

I have looked online at caribbean jobs and I notice some of the programming IT jobs require a Bsc in IT field OR 4 years experience. This suggests to me that employers do value experience a lot even if you do not have a BSc. I would however assume this would mean you are an expert in software development if it is they are going to ignore qualifications? I assume one would have to be really impressive?

Racegod · Postby **Racegod** » June 1st, 2015, 4:20 pm

From my experience, programming isn't what it used to be where you'd be responsible for developing an entire custom application. Programming is now much more akin to coding and customization. The thing about coding and customization is unless you are with a company that really needs to have you on staff or a services provider doing this on a regular it may not make sense.

If you're interested in databases as you outlined. I'd go into Oracle. There are always opportunities in the larger companies in oil and gas such as BP's, BG's, Petrotrin, in telecommunications such as TSTT and Digicel for Oracle resources. Not to mention services companies like Fujitsu always need UNIX (Solaris) resources with Oracle DB skills.

Employers in Trinidad do highly value degrees, but informed employers value experience. I didn't do a degree initially, and didn't finish my diploma with UTT either, yet I was able to find jobs and be quite successful. The degree helps you not only find jobs, but get progressed within the company. That was my stumbling block. I needed a degree to be considered for the high positions like solution architect. I did my Master's and guess what, now I'm a solution architect.

You need to find the balance in having a degree and developing real skills in an area of your interest that is needed in the field. So doing a degree along with Unix (Solaris) System Administrator 1 and 2, then progressing to Oracle DB training is the kinda balance you should be looking for. Don't over certify as in get MCSE, CCNA, UNIX and Oracle, companies will hire you to do everything including building the kitchen and room to truly specialize in an area will be reduced.

Now not saying over certifying is all that bad, it depends on your goals. I am certified in Microsoft, Symantec, VMware, and Cisco. Kinda broad but my intent was to be an Infrastructure Solution Architect which these certs have helped with: Symantec - Backup, VMware - Virtualization, Cisco - Networking, Microsoft - Directory Services, etc...

smithmj678 · Postby **smithmj678** » June 1st, 2015, 4:44 pm

Racegod, thank you so much kind sir, your post is exactly what I was hoping for.

I have been very interested in Oracle because of my knowledge in Java. And I know it often comprises of building JAVA apps and connecting it to a Oracle database. But I didn't know if Oracle was even used in Trinidad.
Microsoft MCSA SQL was on my list but I felt Oracle would hold more weight. Anytime I saw a vacancy for someone with microsoft SQL certification, it almost always came with another list which included PC Repairs down to builiding a kitchen as you put it.

But when I saw Oracle jobs posted, they were by much bigger companies and they seemed to respect the Oracle certified person. You would see reasonable skills wanted in conjunction with oracle such as Unix Skills and JAVA etc. You have given me confirmation to go ahead with the Oracle OCA cert.
It is $125 USD per module and its 2 modules you must complete to get the 12c oracle OCA cert. Its very reasonable at just $250 USD tops, would seem like a good investment to me to make my resume look more attractive.

And yes I absolutely love the database field. Creating apps and connecting them to databases etc, I am still learning because truth be told the really important real world stuff they don't teach in school. I found that investing all my free time into learning and furthering my knowledge in these things has given me the biggest impact to have a skill beneficial to the real world.

Thank you for clarifying the Oracle question I had sir, you have also given me a lot more hope i was about to give up thinking without the BSc its a lose cause but you have given me hope. I intend to put up some free Apps on the android market, so that when I am accepted for a Job interview I can show an employer what I have created. Perhaps it would add to my overall experience and credibility and may be able to persuade an employer to give me a chance.