Rating: 
Summary: Inspirational! Helped me find a new career path.
Review: 8 months ago I was doing tons of career research in the hope of figuring out which direction to take with my life. I am now a web development student at Spokane Community College and am really excited about my future for the first time in years. This book was the turning point in making my decision. Jesse Liberty inspired me. I have traveled 1,700 miles to study in what I judged to be the best web dev program in the U.S. A year ago I never would have dreamed I'd be doing this. The book answered many of my questions about programming, while at the same time convincing me that there is a nitch for me in programming and that there is no reason to be afraid of trying to learn to program.However, Mr. Liberty pushes the study-at-home method pretty heavy. Since he is an author of tutorial books it's in his best interest to get people interested in them. My personal experience is that I tried learning programming at home, and found I could learn it. However, despite the fact that I'm very enthusiastic and motivated, I found it difficult to consistently motivate myself to do it day after day. Having no feedback from anyoone else, and being at home alone day after day, week after week grew tiresome. Also, when it comes to web programming, there are so many different languages and technologies, I found I just wanted to study in an established program with like-minded people. So, I have opted to return to school. One other point on which I disagree with him is his suggestion that a beginner should jump in and start learning C++. Here again, he writes C++ tutorial books... The fact is that C++ is the most difficult programming language. Beginners will find Visual Basic much easier and more fun. And there is PLENTY of demand for VB programmers. (Incidentally, a great VB tutorial book is "Programming With Visual Basic 6.0" by Diane Zak, which we're using at school.) If you're considering a career in programming of any kind, GO FOR IT! Don't be scared. Prorgamming isn't as hard as you think. Millions of people are going into networking because they have the perception that computer programming is super-hard and boring. It's not hard, just complicated. It just takes time to learn. And if it's so boring, why do so many programmers find their work so rewarding and satisfying? Did you ever stop and wonder why there are so many programmers who write programs for fun in there spare time after working all day programming at their jobs? I find it extremely satisfying to know that when I graduate I'll be able to go anywhere and get a job - a very high paying job. And where else can you find a relistic possibility of moving into management within just a few years, due to the tremendous growth in the industry. Good luck in your new career!
Rating: 
Summary: Decent introduction but don't take his advice to heart
Review: A more appropriate title for this book would have been "An Introduction to the Field of Computer Programming." It's an excellent read for someone interesting in understanding what computer programming is about. It is not, as the author claims, a guide to building a career as a programmer. The author would have you believe that all you need to become a Software Engineer is to study a couple of books on VB or C++ that he's written (indeed, much of this book seems like an advertisement to persuade the reader to buy his other books). That's like saying you can become a doctor by reading physiology books in your spare time. ... If you're considering a career in programming, this book can help give you an idea of what it's like so you can decide whether it's for you or not. Then, if you do plan to pursue this field, take some computer science classes at your local college or university. ...
Rating: 
Summary: a thing of the past
Review: As much as I would like to become immersed in programming, the field is becoming obsolete. There are too many easier ways to program something like an HTML document than to write it out long-hand. Had I found this book/field five or even ten years ago I could be rich by now. Oh well! But the book itself isn't bad, it just needed to be more specific on the actual programming steps instead of pushing that off to other resources. This book is a "How to learn about Programming" instead of the actual programming steps. But for those points, it was very good.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for starting a programming career
Review: Does a good job of advising anyone beginning a programming career. It is hard for a beginner to know if the book is always credible, but I have experience in computer hardware engineering, assembly code C++ and Java and I can testify that the advice in the book is good. One distraction was writing in a politically correct tone. On page 50, for example the author refers to a hardware engineer as "she". In my 23 as a hardware engineer I found very few 'she" engineers.
Rating: 
Summary: no help at all
Review: I am interested in becoming a programming, but just don't know where to start. This book didn't give me much help. It focuses too narrowly on C++ and dismissed any others. There weren't enough resources in the appendix and the author did not give many online resources. The author wrote many programming books, and the only ones he suggested were his books.
Rating:
Summary: It is working for me
Review: I am very happy to say that I am beginning to do software programming on the job now thanks do to this book. I am an Electronic Technician by trade. I work in a manufacturing plant that makes printed circuit boards(PCBs) and my job is to repair printed circuit boards that do not pass the functional testing process. I have been doing electronic repair for about 10 years now(since I was in the military) and I love it, but I was beginning to see that without some software background that advancement and pay would be fairly limited. However, I did not want to go to college yet; and to be quite honest, I felt that why spend the money on college if I can get my foot in the door with some programming experience on the job? So, I started to do "Sams Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days" by Jesse Liberty; and while I was doing it, I came across this book in researching other books by Jesse Liberty. Well, after reading a few chapters, I started to talk to a couple of Test Engineers at my job and with their help I received some test documentation and a limited test code library. I am proud to say, just after 2 months of self study, that I have developed a simple program that helps me troubleshoot one of the products that I repair regularly, faster and more efficently. The test engineers have seen my my little pet project and are quite impressed with my progress. Now understand, I am not close to being ready to write professional commercial software. However, this is just the beginning and I am planning to create even more code for the other PCBs that I repair. Also, at the same time, I got my foot in the door for advancement to a position in computer programming (hopefully sometime in the near future.) So if you are really serious about changing careers, you MUST buy this book! This is the time for it now! There are not enough computer software professionals out there to meet the demand and employers just want someone who can do the job. This book can help you be the person who gets the job.
Rating:
Summary: Very Impressed with content
Review: I bought this book up after just barely glancing at it in the bookstore, and was not able to put it down for several days. Being of the Complete Idiot's Series - I was surprised at how "readable" it was. I am a soon to be graduating student in Computer Science and this book really brought together alot of things I have learned, and things that I have wondered about. It is very inspiring, very informative, and very honest about what I have heard/know of careers in Computer Programming. I highly recommend this enjoyable, informative, and entertaining book to read for anyone who might be interested in working in the field. Best of luck to you. I am going to go out there and pick up other books by this author!
Rating:
Summary: Very Inspiring & Informative
Review: I could not put down this book for the last few days and now I am INSPIRED. This book literally answered all my questions. I had some experiences in VB6 and VBA (Excel & Access) but was confused over the difference between the other programming languages and the various terms. I heard a lot about C++ and Java, but had no idea what it is. Also, I have been secretly wondering what I need to do to change career (from accounting field) . Now I feel lucky that I stumbled across this book in the store a few days ago. This book is very informative and easy to read. The layout and style of the book make the contents easy to digest (important for me).
Rating:
Summary: Clear, concise, comprehensive
Review: I just finished A Career in Computer Programming. So far, this is the best book I've read in the field in terms of focus and execution. Well done! So you can put my comments into context, a little about me: As of this writing, I am taking the Computer Information Science certificate program at Coleman College in San Diego. This is an intensive eight-month, full-time course designed to prepare people for entry-level jobs in programming. So far I've had introductions to C, C++, Unix and simple program design (from the book by the same name). For the last 20 years I've been a copywriter, technical writer and marketing communications consultant, working for advertising agencies and in-house marketing departments as well as on a freelance basis. I got my start at the old Bell System, first Indiana Bell and then AT&T Communications. I am 45. This book, unlike any other I've read so far, really "puts it all together." Up until now, as a newbie, it has been frustratingly difficult to get a comprehensive sense of the industry and where I might fit in. Moreover, I'm amazed at how many general-market books are riddled with errors and appear to be slap-dashed together. As a writer myself, I appreciate Liberty's clarity of thought and economy of expression--the two hallmarks of excellent writing. Thanks to the author for making this arcane field a little more understandable.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe just a little too much information...
Review: I know that too much information might be a dumb thing to say, especially when that is the main reason why anyone picks up a book, they want to learn as much as they can and they want to do it as fast as they can. Anyway, I say this because Jesse goes into programming topics such as classes, objects, and functions, this is supposed to be a quick and easy way to get the inside knowledge on a programming career, not programming concepts 101. The reader wants to know HOW to go about entering a career into programming. Well enough of the negatives. I really enjoyed Jesse's encouragement on learning computer programming. He will motivate you and give you a list of programming languages that are in demand and set out a plan of attack for you. He provides learning options and suggests books to read (although, why he recommends Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 6 in 21 days, i'll never know). And Jesse even goes over the actual time it would take you to become employable, this is the kind of information I was looking for and did get with this book. But all in all it could have covered the desired information in just 20 to 35-40 pages. But I know that a book that small couldn't get published and sold for $17.00. I really would have gave it 4 stars if he didn't get into information that beginning programming books get into, and I definitely would have given it 4 stars had he not recommended Greg Perry's Teach yourself VB6 in 21 days. If you've got 17 bucks to spend and want some encouraging support and useful information then buy Jesse's book, else, go to Wrox.com and check out their book tree views.
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