vb developer jobs - what are are you expected to know not know

[gphillips]

I am interested in becoming a VB developer, when jobs are advertised they
are very vaggue to reqyuirements - just state vb as need to know - vb is so big - they surely can't expect you to know everything.

I guess jobs predomintely are based around creating database (access/excel) interface type appliactions for reporting tools with a little bit of .net and xml. I guess SQL is must know as well.

There is an awful lot of knowldge to know here but uni courses don't cgo into that great detail in one module. So i guess you need to know a little bit of everything - not hugely in depth.

How much realisticalkly do you need to know to apply for a job around 25 to 30 thousand pounds??????

Cheers.

[mendhak]

25 to 30 thousand pounds??????

2 years of programming experience, to start with.

[si_the_geek]

Which country, and region? (based on 'pounds', I'd assume somewhere in the UK)

The jobs will typically specify how much experience you need - which is how much time you have been using it in a work environment (using it at home/Uni/etc doesnt count). In the UK, it is typically 2+ years for that kind of wage (as mendhak said above), and for a graduate you can hope for about 20k; wages do vary quite a lot by region tho.


Nobody will expect you to know everything, but they will expect you to be able to learn new things reasonably quickly without much help (generally the more experience you have, the quicker you will do that). Knowing at least the basics of databases is almost essential for most VB jobs, and the basics of programming (arrays/loops/...) are essential for all of them.

[gphillips]

I doubt I could work unsupervbsied even then. I would constantly need to go on forums for help. I guess this is normal even for experinced people with 4-5 years expereiced. Do they expect you not to be on forums asking for help?

At the momnet I am getting extensive macro experience in vb6.0 and vba excel, but that is about as far as stettches - crteating data manipulation appliactions.

I know nothing about sql, visual basic for access, xml or vb.net. It would take me years to larn that and even then not hugely in depth.



All this is on the basis that jobs refgaing VB are predomintely databases application type jobs???????????


Cheers

[mendhak]

"Browsing forums" is never part of a job description. You will have Internet access so that you can search on your problems. So in that way, it's usually allowed.

There are two types of knowledge: theoretical knowledge, and real world knowledge. You will start with theoretical knowledge which they will gauge in interviews and on the job, and working on projects will give you real world knowledge of how things are actually done.

[gphillips]

I pretty much know I would rely on forums even with 4-5 years experince. I can't imagine anyone not - evenwith that expereince!!!


Its a lot to expect somone - not to rely on forums and internet to solve problems?



My knowldge so far is leraning excel data manipulation appliactions. I don't have degree in IT - my dgree is is another subject.



Degree to go hugely indepth as well.

[Wally Pipp]

you may want to revise your grammar and spelling skills first.

[RobDog888]

Moved

[mendhak]

LOL. It does sound harsh, but I agree with Pipp. Communication skills are very important in the long run. It's annoying when a coworker fumbles over spelling and grammar, talking as though it were an SMS rather than an actual communication. When my mood is dark, I reply to them saying, "I don't understand you. Can you write more legibly?"

[Slaine]

You will need a lot more experience than 2 years if you want to earn 25-30k. I would expect at least 3 and prefer 4. With 2 years experience you would probably only be elligible for junier positions paying about 18-22k. As a real world example HSBC were recently looking for senior software application developers, with min 5 years commercial experience and offering 25-30k. For this they also required experience with the full software lifecycle and a modicum of experience leading a small team.

Nobody will expect you to know every aspect of VB when applying for a job. What they will expect is a good understanding of the basics, and a certain amount of knowledge in the area you are applying for. So if you are applying for jobs that involve designing desktop applications with db back ends make sure you practice this area and not directx games programming. It pays to investigate the companies you might be targeting and finding out what their particular niche is.

While you might think that with 4-5 years experience you will still be using forums like this regularly I can assure you that probably won't be the case. Unless of course you mean 5 years experience of tinkering a few hours a week. This is good time to explain the difference between what you think experience means, and what an employer thinks. Generally you will see x years commercial experience - the commercial part means they expect you to have been working fulltime and not just as a hobbyist.

And finally I will advise what I do to most people asking about a career in Programming - forget about learning a language (VB,C# etc) instead first learn about programming - about the theory of computers languages, how they work, what they can and can't do. Then move onto application design, and the software lifecycle. The former will give you a real good grounding for mastering ANY language. The latter might seem irrelevant in the context of hobby or community projects, but will be a great selling point for you in the commercial world.

Hoping some of this helps.

Edit:
Sorry, I just saw your comment about Access. Forget about learning access - if this is used in the commercial world you will often find that it is simply another part of the office desktop rollout and development using it is left up to individual users and or departments. If you are aiming to be a developer in an IT department then you will be using the big guns - MS SQL Server, Oracle, SQL Anywhere, IBM DB2. If you want to appear credible then try to pick up a development/training version of one of these (I believe they all provide free versions for this purpose) and learn it inside out - you only need to learn one, because it is relatively simple to transfer your knowledge from one to the other. My advise would be to learn DB2, I know this goes against the common belief that SQL Server is the top dog in the VB world, but trust me - if you know DB2 you will not be dismissed when applying for jobs that require experience in any of the others (you know what they say about IBM!)

[gphillips]

Hi slaine , thanks for the detailed advice . I thought SQL server was access database manipulation/query devlopment. This is a detailed level - which I guess most users could not use.


I have see people create html/xml database type application which involves displaying reports on Html web page screen and the abilty opening/esport reports up in various formats access/excel/txt files/PDF. I assumed this is what most VB developers did. Obvioulsy not.

What type of projects could they be involved in? I can't imagine what a vb developer would do in say HSBC other than databases orignated . Data manipulation/sql query development work.


Many thanks,