Hey guys, I am an experienced sw developer (8+ yrs) with a pretty broad
background. I know C/C++ very well, have had a decent amount of
embedded experience, have had quite a bit of Linux app development
experience, as well as some core java development experience (swing
apps-no enterprise), and some win32/MFC app development experience. In
the past year I have been on a contract developing exclusively with
C#/.NET (windows forms and a bit of ADO.NET). All of my experience has
been with classic 'engineering' engineering companies.
I had been getting really psyched about moving into the C#/.NET world
UNTIL I started looking at the job postings. It appears that the vast
majority of jobs requiring C# also require ASP.NET (and many times
database design/maintenance). I have done some home projects in
ASP.NET, but nothing on a 'real' job. For me, it appears the writing is
on the wall...if I want to continue in .NET, I REALLY need to break into
the ASP.NET world and get some real experience in the technology. My
question for you folks is, how would you best approach it? How can I
maximize my chances of getting into the field? I have been studying my
ass off for the past two weeks (books and small projects), but I know
without real experience it's still is going to be tough. How should I
pitch myself to headhunters? What about interviews? I was thinking
that I may need to start dropping my rate or consider a jr level full
time position just to get this under my belt. Ideas? Any advice is
appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

I think its a catch 22 problem. You need a few real life projects to get
productive but with your background thats all you need I think.
Lower your demands maybe and get realy dirty in .NET cause as you know there
is a big difference between pet projects and projects that must satisfy a
community.
That's all the advice I can give you sry.

Cheers,
Tom Pester

> Hey guys, I am an experienced sw developer (8+ yrs) with a pretty
> broad
> background. I know C/C++ very well, have had a decent amount of
> embedded experience, have had quite a bit of Linux app development
> experience, as well as some core java development experience (swing
> apps-no enterprise), and some win32/MFC app development experience.
> In
> the past year I have been on a contract developing exclusively with
> C#/.NET (windows forms and a bit of ADO.NET). All of my experience
> has
> been with classic 'engineering' engineering companies.
> I had been getting really psyched about moving into the C#/.NET world
> UNTIL I started looking at the job postings. It appears that the vast
> majority of jobs requiring C# also require ASP.NET (and many times
> database design/maintenance). I have done some home projects in
> ASP.NET, but nothing on a 'real' job. For me, it appears the writing
> is
> on the wall...if I want to continue in .NET, I REALLY need to break
> into
> the ASP.NET world and get some real experience in the technology. My
> question for you folks is, how would you best approach it? How can I
> maximize my chances of getting into the field? I have been studying
> my
> ass off for the past two weeks (books and small projects), but I know
> without real experience it's still is going to be tough. How should I
> pitch myself to headhunters? What about interviews? I was thinking
> that I may need to start dropping my rate or consider a jr level full
> time position just to get this under my belt. Ideas? Any advice is
> appreciated.
> Thanks,
>
> Bob
>

Tom is probably right. I should mention, however, that there are other .Net
jobs available, but you may have to be willing to relocate. Still, .Net is
quite networking-heavy, at least in terms of business usage, although it is
perfectly suitable for any type of application development. I have been
fortunate to hold a job which involves doing every kind of .Net project that
can be done, but it does indeed include ASP.Net.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
Everybody picks their nose,
But some people are better at hiding it.

"tom pester" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I think its a catch 22 problem. You need a few real life projects to get
>productive but with your background thats all you need I think.
> Lower your demands maybe and get realy dirty in .NET cause as you know
> there is a big difference between pet projects and projects that must
> satisfy a community.
> That's all the advice I can give you sry.
>
> Cheers,
> Tom Pester
>
>> Hey guys, I am an experienced sw developer (8+ yrs) with a pretty
>> broad
>> background. I know C/C++ very well, have had a decent amount of
>> embedded experience, have had quite a bit of Linux app development
>> experience, as well as some core java development experience (swing
>> apps-no enterprise), and some win32/MFC app development experience.
>> In
>> the past year I have been on a contract developing exclusively with
>> C#/.NET (windows forms and a bit of ADO.NET). All of my experience
>> has
>> been with classic 'engineering' engineering companies.
>> I had been getting really psyched about moving into the C#/.NET world
>> UNTIL I started looking at the job postings. It appears that the vast
>> majority of jobs requiring C# also require ASP.NET (and many times
>> database design/maintenance). I have done some home projects in
>> ASP.NET, but nothing on a 'real' job. For me, it appears the writing
>> is
>> on the wall...if I want to continue in .NET, I REALLY need to break
>> into
>> the ASP.NET world and get some real experience in the technology. My
>> question for you folks is, how would you best approach it? How can I
>> maximize my chances of getting into the field? I have been studying
>> my
>> ass off for the past two weeks (books and small projects), but I know
>> without real experience it's still is going to be tough. How should I
>> pitch myself to headhunters? What about interviews? I was thinking
>> that I may need to start dropping my rate or consider a jr level full
>> time position just to get this under my belt. Ideas? Any advice is
>> appreciated.
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Bob
>>
>
>