To all the people waiting for me to get shit done: I am terribly sorry.
I carved out 40 minutes today to (hopefully) help a software developer with a ton of experience getting back on 'the market'. After a 10 year babies break she - funny how it is always the women trading in their careers huh? - has a difficult time finding an employer to take her and her > 12 years of experience on. She went through a series of interviews that read like horror stories. And we wonder where this diversity gap comes from...
Looking at her profile any company would be lucky to have her. She is both determined and excited to move more in the direction of web and mobile development and leave the systems engineering and more corporate languages (think Matlab, C++, C, Oracle, Unix/Solaris) behind her. I made a list with languages, technologies and related 'stuff' she might want to make herself familiar with, before heading off to any more fruitless interviews. I decided to share this list, hoping it might help others taking the leap back into working life after a longer break:
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Python developers are very much sought after. I found learnpythonthehardway.org to be a great starting point. Being as experienced as the woman from my introduction you will probably wooooosh through the first chapters but nevertheless. A great resource to get the Python basic principles down.
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Then: Django, Python’s web framework. docs.djangoproject.com is a recommended resource. Should be doable once you're somewhat familiar with Python.
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Ruby is a multi-purpose language just like Python. learnrubythehardway.org is a decent resource.
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Then quickly get into Rails, Ruby’s framework for developing web applications. rubyonrails.org is a good resource, as well as the book Crafting Rails 4 Applications by José Valim and this introductory course on Codecademy (which takes about 5 hours to complete).
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RubyMotion allows you to utilize Ruby code for iOs and android development: rubymotion.com
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Swift is THE language for iOs and OS X so if she would like to get into desktop and mobile development (wallet-wise not the worst decision) developer.apple.com is the place to get started.
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JavaScript is gaining traction, and not just as a frontend language, but more and more for backend use. I suggest looking at a framework like AngularJS if you feel like you know your JS.
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Get familiar with version control and Github / Gitlab. You might want to put up a profile on the first platform and look into (making a contribution or two to) some open source projects. Recruiters and HR of the more modern companies really appreciate being able to look through some code before they invite you for an interview. Plus: being able to work remote on a project, with other people, shows great team skills.
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Depending on the city you live in, there are a ton of meetups for almost every programming language. These are often sponsored by companies looking for developers. Or you might find future colleagues there. In any case you'll find a knowledge exchange unequaled by online tutorials.
By no means did I encourage her - or is it necessary - to learn ALL the technologies above. Rather: pick and choose what feels right for you.
Are you an employer dying to meet the female developer from my introduction? Don't hesitate to get in touch via floor_d@sektor5.at and I'd happily connect you!