How to go from engineer to programmer?

Question

IT education

Welcome all.
First, I'll tell you a little about myself and how I came to the question in the title.
I am 32 years. I am a refrigeration and air conditioning engineer by training. I have been working since the 4th year (today, about 12 years of experience) in construction. Most of the time he was engaged in the design of heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems. For the last two years I have been dealing with water and sewerage + I act as a GUI (Chief Project Engineer) in terms of cable sections. He also worked as a product development manager, technical engineer. product support. I have experience in leading a group of engineers.
By my mindset, I am a pure techie, and even a perfectionist (oh, how it interferes with construction, where still + -meter is an acceptable margin). I'm not afraid to learn new things, rather the opposite, that's all I do in life.
The more I work, the more I understand that in construction there is a full life. The more expensive and premium housing, the worse it is done (the exception is renovation - it’s generally impossible to speak without a mat here). At work, I hit the ceiling, and further growth of knowledge is not enough.
In general, it all started with the installation of Linux on a computer a couple of weeks ago (I have long wanted to try what it is and how to use it). I liked Linux, but I will not use it of course :).
In general, it dawned on me specifically. Why not try your hand at programming. I have always had an inclination towards IT:
- made simple websites, launched all this on the server;
- Wrote a couple of calculation programs for the selection of equipment (if, of course, formulas in excel'e and simple commands in visual basic can be called programming).
Tell me in what area of ​​programming (and IT in general) my knowledge can be useful? In which direction should you look? I would like not just to rivet sites, but to do something more or less serious. How realistic is it to get into serious programming, with my input?
From what seems to me the most real is the programming of controllers for building engineering systems. There is no urgency in the transition “right now here”. In principle, ready for a smooth transition from one area to another within a couple of years.
It turned out a little messy, but as it is.

Answer 1

From what seems to me the most real is the programming of controllers for building engineering systems

Great idea, nothing to add.
Most importantly, do not go to the web.

Answer 2

I wonder why everyone thinks that the transition from any profession to a programmer is not that difficult? Advertising courses works - three months of training and rowing white loot with a shovel while drinking corporate macchiato surrounded by pretty testers? But this is not entirely true. ))
To imagine the scale of the problem you are facing, just imagine that a guy came to you and said something like:
"I'm a programmer, I'm 32 years old, so I thought about moving into construction, well, I looked through the Internet a little, I liked it, in I put together a booth for a dog on weekends, I know how to mix mortar in a trough, and last summer my father and I laid down a half-brick shed in the country house with a shed roof. Tell me, how can I break into the construction business?
It is possible, but not easy.
Listen to yourself, maybe you just have an internal crisis in your head, and you need to fix it, and not change your profession?
You have already achieved something in your profession, according to your description, it makes sense to steer up and develop in this area. You can "wait" in IT, but you are ready for a significant drawdown in money (because you don’t know how to do anything and you will be paid accordingly), to the fact that you will have to study a lot, to work sedentary from morning to evening (without rest, the first time)? And the light at the end of the tunnel will dawn on you in a year and a half? (and not the fact that it will not be a train flying towards. joke)
If you still need it.
1) I strongly advise you to consider the career path of a manager. This is a parallel thread.
2) Testing. Another parallel branch with a simpler entry threshold. But nevertheless, there is room to develop both upwards and in breadth, and there is money there.
3) Try to write in the evenings under a smartphone (the one you already have). Those applications that would be of interest to you. Swing for half a year and try to knock on the offices as a novice mobile developer. For any money. You will work for a year, fledge and already go looking for a normal job as a normal developer.
something like this.

Answer 3

How realistic is it to get into serious programming

climb , you can anywhere .. but often, for this, you need to rest against the horn (c) folk?
ps

In principle, ready for a smooth transition from one area to another within a couple of years.

that's just the area spat on your point of view. in programming, now, in 2 years, everything changes ... let's explain - the principles of thinking. that is, speaking in the kitchen language - everything changes
.. so that you can do it at all

from one area to another

, necessary

within a couple of years

all .. ALL free (and not only) time, devote to programming in general, and biting into a specific subject area in particular

Answer 4

This question is asked by both beginners (what topic to choose for a graduation project) and specialists from other areas not related to programming (for example, articles "June at 40" periodically slip through Habré).
I will tell you a little about my path in this area.
1. From the very beginning I wanted to be a programmer. Right from school, from the 7th grade. It did not work out before - there were no personal computers yet, so I started on the terminals. But this is not critical. Therefore, at the age of 30, I think, you can and should not forbid yourself. Brain plastic.
2. I tried to program whatever comes into my head. This, apparently, is an important stage when you learn to separate flies from cutlets - when and where it generally makes sense to use programming.
3. Countless attempts to make the idea work in the form of a program. Sometimes it's not 1-2 attempts. 20, 30 and more. A day, two, a week to make "it" work. And this is far from the limit.
4. Over time, you learn to set yourself a task in a more or less clear form and in a technical language, a kind of "terms of reference", only internal, when you describe the solution to yourself step by step (I'm sure that this stage is familiar to you in your profession).
5. And now the most important thing - the work of a programmer in its "pure form" is called "encoder". And it's not fun at all. Even the low-skilled. Therefore, the most interesting thing in programming is personal communication with people of other professions. Just imagine that a qualified specialist or even a GUI tells you how something is designed and built! Yes, not a single teacher at the institute will tell you so interestingly and enthusiastically how this process is going. And you listen, shake your head and think about what you can do for this person to automate his activities (points 2 and 4). So to say, you are looking for your place in this work. In fact, having one profession as a programmer, you can get acquainted with a large number of different professions and participate in them. And at this level, the lack of work seems to be no more.
Well, the most unexpected thing is that you have no idea how many necessary programs and utilities have not yet been written!
I'll tell you a couple of secrets from experience:
1. There is no good or bad code (such as "shit code"). If the code works and does its job, it's good. The rest go through the woods. You can ask colleagues to tell you how you could solve the problem easier, but you can ignore their advice, because. they do not live in the context of your task, and it is you who are responsible for the fact that this or that piece of code will appear in your program. Therefore, do not insert code into the program that you do not understand.
2. As in any other profession, you will only be taught how to do it right, but no one will teach you how not to do it (I think that this should be familiar to you in your profession). This is just from my own experience. And these two concepts are very different in terms of transit time.
3. Keep a journal. Write down what happened, then reread. Start simple, "wrote a Hello World program in C#" and did it like this - Visual Sudio startup screen, creating a new class, specifying the place where I entered the text "Hello World". Then in a couple of days you will do another program, you will quickly remember how you started the first program. Personally, I myself began to make such notes about 8 years ago. And write docks in your programs. It helps a lot when pulled out of context for six months,
I also got a little messy, but as it is. )))
PS

programming controllers for engineering systems of buildings

- from my point of view, it differs from "ordinary" programming in development tools and debugging and test environment simulation capabilities. So with controllers it's better after some programming experience. Although the controller programming itself can be easier than regular Windows/Linux programming.

Answer 5

Controllers are what you need. Codesys (IL is not needed, ST, CFC, SFC; you can view LD and FBD) and some SCADA.

Answer 6

The easiest option is to try yourself on support. I myself left the stadmins. For developers, the requirements are high, even for a junior. Our company is constantly looking for employees. There are always offers for Moscow, Voronezh and Saratov.

Answer 7

Engineer_R410a
I somehow already answered a similar question. There, the input conditions were about the same as yours. Look here