Python for Absolute Beginners

It's a free course on Udemy I signed up for. I love it because after each lesson the instructor gives you problems to solve covering what you've learned in that section. I'm only on Chapter 3, but it's been great so far. Over the years I would try to learn via books and stuff and was like... Nope nope nope... too complicated. I would just give up. This is the only course that has just clicked with me because he assumes you know absolutely nothing about programing whereas others expect you to know something going into it. You can go at your own pace. He even shows you how to install everything you need (couple free programs for installing and using Python). Here's the link. You'll need to sign up for Udemy, but the course and everything is 100% free.

https://www.udemy.com/course/python-for-absolute-beginners-u/

It depends on who you are. Are you an intellectual person why likes strategy, or puzzles, or debate, or good at math, or enjoy computers? If so, programming isn't any harder than other careers. But you do have to put in the hours and actually code.

You can dip your toes and try a $14 udemy course into Python. Python is an easy programming that is extremely popular and only getting more popular. https://www.udemy.com/course/python-for-absolute-beginners-u/

$16, you can buy this series on Udemy and watch it and follow along. I watched the series 2-3 times over the course of 2 weeks before the exam creating arbitrary code in PyCharm and VS Code. The Cohorts will shed light on the code you will be asked to run in the exam. The Practice Exam is almost identical to the OA so just get a feel for each topic. As is the case with all coding, repetition and creativity is key.

https://www.udemy.com/course/python-for-absolute-beginners-u/

Like someone else said, learn Logic. When they say "logic" it's not like the deductive critical thinking, lawyering kind. It's discrete math.

Master Discrete Mathematics: Logic

Master Discrete Mathematics: Sets, Math Logic, and More

But also learn Python. Python will give you an idea of what the heck programming even is.

Python for Absolute Beginners

I would highly recommend Udemy. I take their classes to prep for my upcoming semesters. Right now i'm studying Calc 2 and Linear Algebra, tbh the teacher is great (Krista King) and it's been a pretty good time.

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Now, if you somehow managed to not fuck around and actually get through these classes, take some time to learn about ...

Object oriented programming. What is it? How is it used? This concept alone is a mind fuck for a lot of people. If you have a chance, pick up an Intro to Object Oriented Programming Java or C++ class (depending on what your college requires).

Logic, Programming in Python and Object Oriented Programming easily weed out 1st year students. The best advice I could give someone is to start before everyone else to avoid getting fucked by the overwhelming amount of new concepts and information.

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Finally, computer science classes aren't like other classes and here's why:

- It's expected that you will look for information outside the material you're given (ie. textbook) and find the information on your own. Google is your best resource.

- "copying" code is not necessarily bad if you take proper notes and break apart what you copied. At the end of the day, you're learning how to walk through imitation. It's much more efficient than cracking your skull over a problem which you'll have extreme difficulty getting an answer to.

- When you google things, be specific. That's because the specific answer probably exists already. Now that you've found a clue to solving your problem, add in the code, and comment out an explanation for your work.

Some thoughts...

It's never an easy cut and dried "do this and profit" thing with finding work. I average more than 200 CVs sent out to get an interview that leads somewhere. Persistence is VERY important.

1. Keep applying.
2. Refine the CV to highlight the skills he does have (after 30 years, he will or at least should have skills in demand).
3. Write a cover letter for each application - do NOT use a generic cover letter.
4. Note solutions/plans in the cover letter on how and when he is going to relocate - on his own vs expecting a relocation package. It's hard to get a relocation package with tech writing jobs in Canada/USA (compared to Europe/ME). Employers will typically expect you to deal with relocation yourself. Employers looking at his CV will see some overseas address and be concerned about his status in USA/Canada, his relocation plans, his availability. This needs to be addressed up front.
5. Be prepared with Skype, Zoom, Highfive, Teams, Jabber etc. Being he is in the ME, he will have to do video conferencing.
6. Don't limit to just Canada/USA... look at Europe too. There is demand for experienced native English speaking tech writers in Germany, Austria, Czech Rep, etc.

Technical skill set is a big part of the game. Employers love it if they can find a writer who already knows their product inside out, but that's typically only the staff they already have on the team, not new-to-the-job employees. That said, brushing up on things like APIs (at least on the terminology and lingo), and familiarity with a few bits and bobs surrounding the currently popular development platforms and tools will go a VERY long way towards potential employability. Some things to look into are (with Udemy course suggestions):

• Confluence (and MediaWiki) https://www.udemy.com/course/introduction-on-jira-and-confluence/
• Git https://www.udemy.com/course/git-with-bitbucket-and-sourcetree/
• Jira (see the link next to Confluence above)
• Python https://www.udemy.com/course/python-for-absolute-beginners-u/
• API https://www.udemy.com/course/api-documentation-1-json-and-xml/

This is NOT an exhaustive list, but... it's a start. If someone can speak the lingo and understand at least SOME of the conceptual things around the common tooling, they will be more interesting to a potential employer.

Next, and this is a VERY important one, is a portfolio of writing samples. Is there anything at all that he's done, that is published or publicly available (not under an NDA) and can be referenced as an attached PDF, a link to a website, etc.? if not then make something. Do some work for an open source project - LibreOffice is a good place to dive in and do some doc-writing - and use that as the writing sample. Otherwise, create something... create a writing sample showing a procedure, a descriptive text, and maybe a marketing text (doesn't have to be for a real product, it needs to show writing ability).

Finding a job to apply to is an art. LinkedIn is a strong place to start. Also look into Indeed https://ca.indeed.com/ for Canada and https://www.indeed.com/ for USA.

Edit: spelling