Career advice (from professionals please)

[Mark Broadbent]

I am probably be going to offered a job next week as a software developer
in vb.net. However I have concerns as to whether this is a good move
considering I have spent the last 12 months in C#. Jobs in .net are a bit
thin on the ground near me. The job itself seems quite good.
My biggest concern is that all the bad programming practices I have tried to
forget from VB6 will start to haunt me again. For instance today I saw some
professional code that used VB's inferred default propertys.

Any advice gladly taken.

Br,

Mark.

 

[Cowboy \(Gregory A. Beamer\) [MVP]]

I would not worry about it, as you can take good practices with you into the
VB.NET syntax. If the shop is full of bad practices, you can become the
shining light.

I work in both C# and VB.NET. I am thankful for my C# experience for much
the same reason you are. But, I would not give up on a decent position
solely for language.

--
Gregory A. Beamer
MVP; MCP: +I, SE, SD, DBA

************************************************
Think Outside the Box!
************************************************

 

[Bob Powell [MVP]]

VB.NET is a proper programming language with all the capabilities of C#,
even if it does have one or two really annoying quirks. I prefer C# but I
use both almost every day.

Your C# experience will stand you in good stead and I don't think that you
need to pass up the job due to the language choice.

--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing

The Image Transition Library wraps up and LED style instrumentation is
available in the June of Well Formed for C# or VB programmers
http://www.bobpowell.net/currentissue.htm

Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
http://www.bobpowell.net/gdiplus_faq.htm

The GDI+ FAQ RSS feed: http://www.bobpowell.net/faqfeed.xml
Windows Forms Tips and Tricks RSS: http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.xml
Bob's Blog: http://bobpowelldotnet.blogspot.com/atom.xml

 

[clintonG]

Hardy Har Har.

Any attempt to become a 'shining light' is usually not well received
in a company that is not committed to quality.

When taking a job with a firm it is nearly impossible to determine the
real facts until hired. Two weeks later you realize you have signed on
to yet another death march and then what?

I'll tell you what has happened to me when I was the shining star and what
I observed with regard to other shining stars. Rather then expend your
time developing and refining your skills and talents while contributing
to the success of a company you will always be proving yourself over and
over and over and f*cking over until the twinkle in your star is burned
out or dim and I make no pun regarding useless keywords.

So, have you considered interviewing 'them,' ask to review and study
'their' code and documentation? Ask to read 'their' standards, 'their'
procedures, and 'their' policy documents? If they have none or they are
poorly done at least you know what kind of 'shining' you'll be doing.
Does the the bosses shoes ring a bell?

As far as I'm concerned, Glod bless her soul, but Mother Theresa
died and you have to decide if you want to work as a martyr or a
software developer who can continue to refine his skills and talents
while contributing to the success of a company that is committed
to quality and will make that committment known the first day the
two of you come into contact with one another.


--
<%= Clinton Gallagher
A/E/C Consulting, Web Design, e-Commerce Software Development
Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin USA
NET csgallagher@ REMOVETHISTEXT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/

 

[Mark Broadbent]

I appreciate your advice Bob/Gregory, but whilst you both stilll still have
your hands in the C# and VB.net pies, this job will be purely VB.net for the
forseeable future (and maybe for good)
Dont you think that I will slowly start to forget how to write a C# for loop
and the like, or do you think it will be easy for my to stay savvy with both
languages (as long as I keep writing some private C# coding)?
It's just that I created a VB class today at home and just felt kind of
sick, I much prefer C# syntax.

 

[Richard Tappenden]

Hi Mark,

I changed to vb.net after four years of C++ development.

It was quite a culture shock to start off with - but there is nothing to
stop you writing good code in vb.net. If you are unsure, start off by
asking to see any coding guidelines/standards/policy documents the company
has. If they have some, it should enforce good coding practices with the
codebases that the company works on, and you'll be ok.

Also, I noticed you didnt want any spam (by your email address) - perhaps
you might want to check out www.emailkey.com, as they offer a pretty good
anti spam solution for end users.

Cheers,

Richard

 

[Bob Powell [MVP]]

Well, you could write all the code in C#, convert it to VB using one of the
many free tools around and just don't tell your boss ;-)

C# to VB translation is pretty well 100% reliable these days. I use this one
a lot...
http://csharpconverter.claritycon.com/Default.aspx

The downloadable version is great. I use it for the VB conversions on all
the GDI+ FAQ articles because it churns out nearly perfect VB from a C#
source in a matter of seconds. Much easier than writing it twice.

Whatever happens, I don't think that you'll forget how to write a for loop
in C#. I can't seem to forget Z80 machine code and the last time I wrote any
of that was 1988.

--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing

The Image Transition Library wraps up and LED style instrumentation is
available in the June of Well Formed for C# or VB programmers
http://www.bobpowell.net/currentissue.htm

Answer those GDI+ questions with the GDI+ FAQ
http://www.bobpowell.net/gdiplus_faq.htm

The GDI+ FAQ RSS feed: http://www.bobpowell.net/faqfeed.xml
Windows Forms Tips and Tricks RSS: http://www.bobpowell.net/tipstricks.xml
Bob's Blog: http://bobpowelldotnet.blogspot.com/atom.xml

 

[Mark Broadbent]

Yes you are probably right. I wish the industry would embrace the
multilanguage ("it dont matter what you code in") aspect of .net, but
understandibly smaller software houses want to keep their codebase in the
same language.

Thanks for advice. I'll wait and see if an offer is put on the table.

Br,

Mark.

 

[Mark Broadbent]

Cheers Richard, my question really related to the part of me worried about
unlearning the C# way of doing things and the language itself. Not really
worried about producing good code in VB, cos I have used it in the past.
Your comments do give me an extra thing to check though before (or if) I
make the jump.

-Emailkey looks good but not sure I like having to pay a standing charge
each month. I currently use Mailwasher (which is good) and am in the process
of creating a newsgroup mailbox so I can be contactable by that. If it
starts getting spam I'll delete it and create a new one

Thanks for advice,

Br,

Mark.