IT people, need your advice. Mom of twins, computer science student.

[Anonymous]

I will appreciate any constructive advice or opinion.
I am staying at home right now with my 7 m.o. twins. I have this summer and 2 more semesters left to finish my BS in computer science part-time (online at a public university). I used to work remotely for about 1.5 years at an entry position in software development, but I was laid off when I was 3 months pregnant. They wanted me back at some point (a week before I gave birth) which tells me I was not laid off because of bad performance. I desperately want to work to gain experience, and I am not a SAHM-type at all, and I kind of feel that time is ticking, and we are struggling financially, still paying hospital bills for the birth of our kids.
At the same time, I realize that all odds are against it right now: kids are small and need their mommy more than anybody, and I won't be able to work FT, study PT, and take care of the kids and home at the same time. It's probably doable but my DH is understandably not ready to take care of the kids all by himself all weekends.
I browsed part-time entry jobs/internships but there are not that many out there. I can't afford an unpaid internship as it has to pay at least for the childcare. I study web development on my own in addition to classes at the university as at school they don't really teach technologies which employers want. Right now, the gap in employment is 1 year. In 1 year from now, I will be a fresh computer science graduate with 1,5 years of experience and 2 years' gap in employment. At the end of this year, I will be a naturalized citizen with dual citizenship.
What would you do in my shoes? What is the best way to go? Where to look? Which technologies to study on my own? What are my chances?

[Anonymous]

Find a full time job and stick with it. Just string out the classes as long as you can. In the IT field, experience is needed to go along with the degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Find a full time job and stick with it. Just string out the classes as long as you can. In the IT field, experience is needed to go along with the degree.

+1

Also, you can have your employer pay for your certifications that way. Any gap in an IT field is difficult (but not impossible) to overcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I browsed part-time entry jobs/internships but there are not that many out there. I can't afford an unpaid internship as it has to pay at least for the childcare. I study web development on my own in addition to classes at the university as at school they don't really teach technologies which employers want.

Hiring manager here. What technologies are you studying by yourself? Which ones are taught at your school?

When you say 'web development' that's pretty broad.

I agree with PP's that you should try to find a FT job, preferably one that you can learn from -- either with certifications or just on the job training. For example, find a job where you can do more Java programming, or .NET if that's your thing. That will eliminate the need for your self-study in your own time. How long can you string out your school?

[Anonymous]

What do you know how to do?

"IT" and "computer science" are VERY broad categories. Do you want to be a sysadmin? A programmer? (What languages?) My advice is going to vary a lot depending on the answer.

The best way to learn is by doing. That doesn't necessarily mean classes, although it can; my DH has been loving Stanford's online computer science courses, but he also just wrote his own compiler for fun.

FWIW, there are a TON of jobs out there, especially for programmers. DH's startup is desperately looking to hire, but so is everyone else.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for your responses, I really appreciate. We moved here from a different state just 4 months ago so any information is helpful.
At school, there is C++, and there was some SQL and a basic Java class, so basic that it was not challenging at all. I suggested they introduced more Java electives, but they just like C++ I guess, and public schools are not that flexible.
At my previous job, somewhat agile, test-driven and completely OO, I used C#, a proprietary library based on C#, MS VS 2010, SQL, but no web, just a desktop application. I would work on an additional feature using their classes or re-factor code under supervision. I am aware of design patterns.
On my own, I am practicing at html and css to go over to ASP.NET and/or PHP. I actually like Java, but as I already started with C#, it makes sense to continue with ASP.NET. I roughly analysed jobs on Dice and it seems that there are more Java jobs than ASP.NET in this area. Does Dice reflect the real picture?
So I would like to be a developer, whether .NET or Java. I could go either direction. Both front-end and back-end, but I think I would be better at back-end.
I think I could string out my classes, even though I like to finish things fast and be done. If I string out my school for longer than 2 semesters, I will lose in-state tuition rates and any financial aid though. It's not GPA related, my GPA is 3.8, it's just because they add apples and oranges.
Maybe I could still do everything I want at the same time - FT, school and kids. Sleep a bit less. Give up the rest till I am done with school. Start reading Fall textbooks before the semester starts.
OK, what technologies are in? what would you recommend? Except for Dice, what else is good for searching jobs?

[Freeman]

Most of the newer web development projects I see starting up are using Java(Or Java-based platforms), PHP, or some of other free frameworks available. If I were you, I would focus more on Java for now, particularly since that has a lot of similarities to C#.(At least it did several years ago when I taught myself a little C#) I don't see nearly as many .NET projects starting, although there are still a decent number of existing/ongoing projects utilizing it. As for languages in general, you can't really go wrong with either C++ or Java, considering how widely they are both still used. And as long as you understand the basic underlying principles of software development, it usually isn't that hard to switch from one language to another.(I've worked extensively with both)

As for work, most of my experience has been on the government contracting side, and I'm not sure how someone would get started there.(I came from a military background, which is how I did it)

[Anonymous]

OP, also think about how you write your resume. You don't actually have a "gap" in that you are currently in school. Pitch yourself as someone who got laid off and used the time to focus on school and come back to the work force with more competitive skills.

Can you contact your old employer and see if they have any need for someone P/T again? A full-time job is best (and what you want) but it may be worth taking a P/T job in the short run. Use the contacts that you do have to leverage something new to get on your resume.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Freeman, thanks.
13:57, PT for a little while and then FT would be ideal. I did contact my previous employer, and they don't have anything for me yet.