As a programmer for 20+ years and head i IT in a small company.
You have to know several things about yourself and the job you want before look at changing from QA. Do you really want to be a programmer. Just like QA can be crappy, programming can be just a crappy if you dont really like it. If you love programming then go for it.
look for an open source project to work on in your own time. (beware of the "works for hire" clause in employment contracts.)
Do a side project. See about being a intern somewhere.
Ethanol-fueled is correct, try to cross grade in your job. Biggest problem is if you are good at QA most bosses will not want to loose you. I have friends who wrote a ticket tracking system to help out QA and used that as experience. Look for things in your QA group that could be better solved by a program, and try fixing the problem.
Look for small companies under 20 pople who need work done. I'm currently looking for java programmers and the main thing i look at for jr developers is a degree and/or experience. Ill pick the one that has both over one or the other. But ill choose a degree with a good demostration of being able to think programatically, knowlege of the language and basics over only experience. (sorry, but many (not all by any means) programmers who have not had any training tend to be a bit more eratic and harder to intergrate into a team.)
Go to your placement office at the school you graduated from and look for the jobs there. Use QA as an advantage. Good QA people generally think very logically and if you can show them that your experience gives you a better grip on how to write better software.
Every good programmer I know is always learning. Get the books on the languages you like and play around on your own time. Get to know the language inside and out. When you have an interview make sure your know at least a little bit about the features they are asking for. If they say mysql is a nice to have, make sure you have done at least a little bit of the examples from the mysql site. Try to hit most of the nice to haves in the job offering and be able to speak about it at least in theory.
Lastly, when submitting a resume, read the posting and try to address the concerns of the person asking (taylor your resume too to emphisize the points that they are asking for). I would gladly call someone that did not have the exact specs i ask for but took the time to clarify how they can help fulfill my needs. Ones who dont have the qualifications and dont put any reason why i should ignore this fact are put at the bottom of the stack.
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As a programmer for 20+ years and head i IT in a small company.
You have to know several things about yourself and the job you want before look at changing from QA. Do you really want to be a programmer. Just like QA can be crappy, programming can be just a crappy if you dont really like it. If you love programming then go for it. look for an open source project to work on in your own time. (beware of the "works for hire" clause in employment contracts.)
Do a side project. See about being a intern somewhere.
Ethanol-fueled is correct, try to cross grade in your job. Biggest problem is if you are good at QA most bosses will not want to loose you. I have friends who wrote a ticket tracking system to help out QA and used that as experience. Look for things in your QA group that could be better solved by a program, and try fixing the problem.
Look for small companies under 20 pople who need work done. I'm currently looking for java programmers and the main thing i look at for jr developers is a degree and/or experience. Ill pick the one that has both over one or the other. But ill choose a degree with a good demostration of being able to think programatically, knowlege of the language and basics over only experience. (sorry, but many (not all by any means) programmers who have not had any training tend to be a bit more eratic and harder to intergrate into a team.)
Go to your placement office at the school you graduated from and look for the jobs there. Use QA as an advantage. Good QA people generally think very logically and if you can show them that your experience gives you a better grip on how to write better software.
Every good programmer I know is always learning. Get the books on the languages you like and play around on your own time. Get to know the language inside and out. When you have an interview make sure your know at least a little bit about the features they are asking for. If they say mysql is a nice to have, make sure you have done at least a little bit of the examples from the mysql site. Try to hit most of the nice to haves in the job offering and be able to speak about it at least in theory.
Lastly, when submitting a resume, read the posting and try to address the concerns of the person asking (taylor your resume too to emphisize the points that they are asking for). I would gladly call someone that did not have the exact specs i ask for but took the time to clarify how they can help fulfill my needs. Ones who dont have the qualifications and dont put any reason why i should ignore this fact are put at the bottom of the stack.