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A person with knowledge of programming, either a self-taught programmer who has a degree in another area, a person who received programming training in a two-year or four-year institution, or a certified programmer, will bypass the data-entry job and move straight into a job actually related to programming. The first job title given to a new programmer hired fresh out of college (or one with little professional programming experience) is usually Assistant Programmer (also known as Junior Programmer or Programmer I). Assistant Programmer is generally considered the entry-level job for anyone without experience as a programmer in another company.

 

A person typically doesn't remain an Assistant Programmer for more than six or eight months. The job is really a trial period so the company can determine the employee's work attitude, skills, and general benefit to the company. An Assistant Programmer does no new programming. Instead, she works on programs others have written, often doing routine program maintenance. During the trial period, an Assistant Programmer learns how the company operates, gets acquainted with the other computer personnel, and generally ''learns the ropes'' of the company's working environment.

 

After a person stays in the Assistant Programmer role for a while, he is usually promoted to Programmer, along with a small raise and a pat on the back. The Programmer title means that the company expects good things in the coming years and has trust in the person. It is rare for a person to hold an Assistant Programmer title for several years and still be with the same company.

 

The Programmer earns a respectable salary for someone with little experience. As mentioned earlier, the computer field pays well, and its titles tend to command higher pay when ranked with similar experience titles in other departments. Therefore, if a person graduates with a programming degree at the same company, the programmer usually has a higher salary after the first year. Of course, this depends on many factors and doesn't always hold, but on the average it does.