What computer related skill will be the most beneficial?

[jc0481]

Hello all,

I am looking to learning a new computer related skill. When I talk about being beneficial I mean money wise. I want to learn a computer skill that I can gain money from either from a business or through an ad on Craigslist and some other local website ads.

I already know how to build a desktop computers and build them but only have done it here and there for the past six years never a full time thing.

Should I learn Photoshop editing photos for people, programming, web design, make building computers for people full time and sell them? I also could fix computers too. I could build and sell them but already there is so much competition out there for this.

My ultimate goal is to learn a new skill doesn't matter if it takes a long time or a short time to learn. I would like to provide a second source of income for me and my now pregnant wife. She is due at the end of November.

Hope someone here can provide good advice. Thank you.

 

[Apple OC]

how about something you can do from home ... graphic or web design maybe?

 

[torbjoern]

Whatever you enjoy doing is what you should learn. It will become less of a chore that way. There's a huge variety between programming and graphic design, so which one do you like better?

 

[Designer Dale]

Don't expect to make reasonable money with either design or photo editing through CL. there are too many people seeking those services who have no idea what goes into the work. They go all screwy when you start talking real money. I mean, really, all you need to do to fix that wrecked photo is click a button....Right?

Dale

 

[DavidB52]

Success in the computer business is a moving target.
If you look at the tools that are hot right now, and enroll in a program covering that tool, by the time you finish the program something else will be hot.

And there is a lot of competition in most fields, as has already been pointed out. It seems like every high-school student knows enough to get a basic website up and running, so unless your skills are highly specialized, I expect it to be very difficult to find work in the web design field. And if you do, it won't pay much because there is always some friend of a friend who might come along and do it cheaper.

If you are into programming, I might suggest taking some C++ courses. Most languages are very C-like, so if you get some understanding of C, the others should follow pretty easy. And if you find that you like it, take it from there.

Don't do it for the money. If you just want a job for the money, become an accountant, or an electrician, or a plumber. In fact, plumbing is especially highly rated because they do so much moonlighting; some plumbers claim to make more money under the table doing side jobs, than they do from their day jobs.

 

[Cole JM]

Can I hijack this and ask where is a good place to learn JAVA coding?

 

[RedReplicant]

You're not going to become a proficient programmer in a few months, or even a few years so I would skip that. Case in point, all of the CS graduates going to work for a real company and realizing they have no idea what they are doing.

The guy talking about picking up a trade job is right.

 

[63dot]

Java, Cisco networking, Microsoft networking, tutoring users/teaching CS, and other "common" tasks. At least start with a part in the computer field which has a high demand and then go from there.

You can become an expert in making lifelike robots or try and invent a killer computer game, but unless you are in the right place at the right time, it may not pay off with the large amount of time it would take and the smaller chance of return. However, if you have what it takes to do something uncommon, when it does pay off it's amazing. My neighbor was in the computer gaming field near the top of the field and she did very, very well but people like that are very rare. I have another friend who used his skill as a computer animation expert and became one of the top in the field of making animated films for kids (stuff like Toy Story). As you can imagine, those dream jobs pay very well but at any given time, you can count your peers on both hands in many cases.