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Jul 25 2012 07:18pm
Hi, I'm new to JAVA/programming in general and I would like to learn as much as possible about what I should do in my situation.

Just finished an 8-week summer course in JAVA and I enjoyed it -- but I only know the basics at a conceptual level and maybe applied couple times for class projects. I graduate in one more semester, but I don't want to use my major. This semester I'll be a part-time student (costs ~70% less than full-time), and I'd like to work on a project which would make me better at JAVA and create something I can show off to potential employers that has enough of the "wow" factor I can get my foot in the door or just have them ignore my non-programming background altogether.

What do you guys recommend I should do to achieve this goal? I'm looking for project ideas or direction -- point me towards more resources where I could figure it out myself. Who should I contact at my school for an opportunity like this? I have no idea how the culture works. I'm also feeling I should concentrate on a particular industry and start learning about it--also looking for suggestions!

tl;dr: Looking for suggestions for a side-project during my final semester
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Jul 25 2012 08:25pm
If your only coding experience is 8 weeks in a summer course, then don't bother trying to show off to potential employers. You're too new to make anything decent unless you put a LOT of work into it. I don't mean 5 hours a week, I mean 5 hours a day if you're trying to get it done this year. If you want to show it to potential employers, your best bet is an android application. Publish it to the market and whip out your phone during an interview to explain what you've done. It won't be very good, but at least it'll show initiative.
http://developer.android.com/index.html

If you just want to improve coding skills, my recommendation is to google for more java courses online and look at their homework assignments. And read books.
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Jul 27 2012 10:11am
To start, Java isn't an acronym. 8 weeks of basic instruction is going to get you nothing in the way of a foot in the door anywhere. Start writing mode code and working on personal projects.
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Jul 27 2012 01:13pm
Quote (rockonkenshin @ Jul 27 2012 09:11am)
To start, Java isn't an acronym. 8 weeks of basic instruction is going to get you nothing in the way of a foot in the door anywhere. Start writing mode code and working on personal projects.


I knew a guy who was a professional Java developer, but he still called it JAVA.
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Jul 27 2012 02:01pm
Quote (BreakPoint @ Jul 27 2012 02:13pm)
I knew a guy who was a professional Java developer, but he still called it JAVA.


That makes me sad.
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Jul 27 2012 04:28pm
Quote (BreakPoint @ Jul 27 2012 03:13pm)
I knew a guy who was a professional Java developer, but he still called it JAVA.


i think he's just overly enthusiastic
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Jul 28 2012 01:57am
A good side-project is learning how to JavaScript into HTML design
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