Career Advices

[Guest]

Which one should I learn ?


DirectX with C++ (becoming a graphics/games programmer)

or

..Net with C# (becoming a business programmer)


Which one is safer ? or wiser from a career standpoint ? (security, salary,
job finding, benefits, pension etc....)

I don't know which one I should learn ... It seem like I can't make up my
mind which one I prefer the most ....


Thanks a lot


nb: I am a hardcore gamer who always wanted to do games ... should I go
with what I love ? everytime I took something new to learn, am always
thinking about how I can do games with it ... it's weird

 

[Guest]

Hi Kepler,

You can choose any of the methodologies as its not like that C++ people are
not in demand. Just look at your background and I would suggest you to go
through C# in .NET as through it you can also do game programming. Apart from
that, the Managed environment handles a lot of problems that C++ developer
still has to deal with. If you will learn c#, i hope you are doing some smart
investment

Nishith Pathak

 

[Angelos Karantzalis]

I'd think that to become a game programmer you certainly need to learn a lot
more than just how to use C++ with DirectX, which is skills you can pick up
in a couple of months.

In order to get good at game programming you'll eventually have to get
fluent in algorithms, data structures, memory handling, optimization and all
sorts of other stuff. It's not a walk in the park, and certainly not
something you'd say "ok, I think I'll be a games developer this week ... "
about. It's a constant struggle - although it tends to be a very well-paid
one, IF you can cut it !

On the other hand, C# or - better put - .NET programming is a bit easier.
You don't have to be an expert in Comp. Science to write a couple of VB.NET
components, or an aspx page. However, eventually you'll get to the serious
stuff on the entrprise world, where coding is the least of your concerns.
You'll get into architectures, software/hardware specs, availability,
maintainability, politics (!!!) and all sorts of stuff.

So, what I say ... both worlds have something to offer, both represent a
sometimes interesting, sometimes very hard path. However, doing one doesn't
exlude you from doing the other. IN my book the merit of a good programmer
is not his existing skill set in a language/platform, but how quickly he can
adopt himself to a new situation, a new skill set and platform, and still do
a good job with it.

Think of it as being a writer ... the language you write in does have some
effect on the book, but really it's just a means for you to type pure
thoughts that don't necessarily depend on the language you choose.
Programming is more or less the same for me. If your thought-stuff is
faulty, no matter how good you're in C++, the product will be crap :] If
your thought-stuff are good, then no matter what language you choose to
write with, the product will be good enough.

I say, get acquainted with C# & .NET ( especially if you're relatively new
to programming ), and then try to apply all the stuff you've learned using
C++ & Direct X or whatever else you might fancy.

Angel
O:]

 

[Tarakeshwar L]

Hi Kepler

Your passion lies in games, so that will surely give you that extra momentum
to make you work harder to achieve your goals. I personally started of with
C++ and for me to learn c# didnt take much time due to my knowledge of C++.

..Net is relatively easy if you have to speak in terms of Games programming.
But I guess nothing is impossible if your heart is in it. Go ahead and do
games/graphics programming, you can at anypoint shift to .Net if u want to.

Regards,
Tarkeshwar
..Net Programmer
Fifth Generation Technologies

 

[ToddT]

there are probably about 100 "enterprise" development jobs for every
"games" development job (probably much more than that). consequently,
the enterprise path is much safer in regards to your citeria. however,
(speaking from experience, sigh), it will be much more boring than
games development.

good luck in whatever path you choose.

 

[Guest]

Do what you really love and the money will follow. After you learn one
discipline, you can easily move to another, as good programming practice is
good programming practice, no matter what you are creating.

If you truly want to excel, find something you can be passionate about. You
will get much farther in the long run.


---

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

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Think Outside the Box!
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