[Closed] training conundrum? ASP .NET or SQL Server?

What do you want to do?

What do I want to do? Now there's a question. Realistically, anything that'll pay the mortgage 😀

Seriously, long term, I want to get out of coding and into pure analysis, but I know that I am good at working on ERP systems, so it would make sense to continue doing that

I'd suggest C# .Net.
Dunno about the rest of the country but Manchester C# requirements have gone through the roof recently.

Personally I find a subscription to something like pluralsight.com to be much more useful than the courses I have attended. They have Microsoft MVP guys doing a fair chunk of the material and you'll find plenty of C#.net and SQL Server content.

turns out I'm a BA, read and tweak CV

Cheers Mike, much appreciated.

I was thinking C# rather than SQL as there do seem to be a lot more jobs out there - although having done SQL in the past it might be a quicker win.
But if I can get into a BA or SA role that would be even better as the coding skills are less important than the softer people skills

In my opinion you should do C# and do some refresher training on SQL Server. Hiring decent application developers that properly understand T-SQL, set based theory and the various features of SQL Server can sometimes be difficult. You might find you get hired for your SQL skills but your C# training will quickly get used in most development teams (or vice versa).

Cheers, I'll give that some consideration 🙂

Diversity is key with the newer technologies.

Older like c++ and you can focus just on that and be paid a lot for the expertise, but newer languages things move very fast and you need to be more than just a c#, Java, Python or whatever expert. You need to be on to of the latest version, the latest trendy libraries, and such. Then you start learning the latest and find out it's already deprecated and you need to learn something else.

Anyway, as for ASP.NET, if you look into that, concentrate on MVC as everyone wants that now. Though it's already dated.

General C# is okay, but so many places want a dozen specific and maybe obscure libraries as must have expertise (quoted as N years of experience even if it's been around for only half that).

C# ASP.Net MVC would be the way to go.

SQL experience never goes amiss though, so that's a good thing to have as well.

Very best of luck - I hope it works out for you.

So you want to be an analyst, and you know ERP systems. Why not training in dynamics AX or CRM?

+1 for pluralsight.

C#, OOP, solid principles, unit testing, MVC, MVVM, if you're going for .net roles you'll be expected to know some front end as well, WPF, HTML, probably some Javascript and JQuery.

SQL roles will usually want BI/ETL/data warehousing skills, kimball, SSIS, SSAS, SAS, QlikView.

Job options could be developer, tester, pm, or ba. I would say dont hang around though and immediately look for short term contracts using your current skillset, you might find there are few people left doing that work so you can command a good day rate, though it will likely mean regular travel and time away from home.

Got some course details today, I can train on SQL Server Business Intelligence AND ASP .Net/C# for £189 + VAT. So I will

Sounds too cheap, post some details.

Microsoft just announced some free courses on edX, including a C# one.

https://www.edx.org/school/microsoft

Microsoft Virtual Academy is another option. Many online courses on there. Some are more oriented around the certifications, but you can do the online jump start courses for free. Those along with other background learning could set you up to doing the certifications without having to pay a lot for physical courses or do the old school method of learning from their books.

I wouldn't pay for any courses until I'd exhausted all the free tutorials on line - unless you specifically want / need a certificate...

Might not need to go down that route after all.

Long term I want to get out of coding and I have two interviews lined up that would allow that, with possibly a third in the pipeline.

However, today I had an interview for a contract programming role in the language that I'd consider myself an expert in, and there may also be an opportunity for me to carry on working, contract, on the ERP system I've been working on for the last 18 years. So perhaps there's life in the old dog yet 🙂

If you get the contract do I get a fee for giving the advice [i]I would say dont hang around though and immediately look for short term contracts using your current skillset, you might find there are few people left doing that work so you can command a good day rate, t[/i] 😛 some Ti bits will do!

Hope it goes well!!

That was the first thing I considered duckers, and it was always going to be an option.

Hi John, you may remember that I'm in the unique position that I also worked at your employer (as a contractor) just before you. I had 10+ years of the PICK / Databasic / SB+ skill set but now work in ASP.NET C#, VB.NET and 'web technologies'.

I don't think a course will offer you much on it's own. I did one ASP.NET which cost (my employer at the time) over £1K may have been nearer £2K. There is only so much that can be covered in a week, the course tried to cover so many topics that each ends being nothing but an overview. What I found far more valuable is working on my own towards the Microsoft certifications with a couple of books and the internet then taking the exams. Some people dismiss the exams but they have opened doors for me and convinced people to give me a chance to prove that I could do the job.

An exam / course without any experience of using it is going to be a struggle to get a job on it's own but perhaps if you get into a place where that technology is in use it may help you to move over and gain experience.

good luck in whatever you do.

p.s. I couldn't just 'do SQL' for a job but that's just my preference. I have to write plenty of SQL which is an interesting diversion but I couldn't imagine being all that I did. Personal preference though.

yeah, I remember. I'm all too well aware that a course is only as good as the practice you get afterwards, it's the experience in the real world that counts.

anyways, I had an interview the other day for a contract PICK coding role in Ripon - you may be aware of the employer - which I think went well. Now I wait.
In the meantime I have 2 more interviews lined up for Business/Systems Analyst roles so if I get the contract, or either of these two roles, I won't need to bother going down this route just yet

And now is the time that I say Woohoo!
I got the PICK contracting role 🙂