I have been writing
java programs just for myself for several years and I think I am getting pretty good at it. So I am considering trying to enter the world of professional programming.
Experience: No job experience with programming. I'm a teacher, actually. I do have experience programming, but not something that I can put on a resume. I just have a few programs that I have written which I could show to people and say, "I wrote this."
Education: BS in Chemistry and Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language.
Certification: Recently I passed the Java SE 7 Programmer 1 exam (Associate). I took the Java SE 7 Programmer 2 exam, but don't know the result yet. But I think maybe I didn't pass....
I'm fluent in Japanese, too, but I don't know if that would help getting a computer job.
By now, you are thinking, "Why don't you just look for a teaching job?" Well, I have a teaching job, but I want to make some extra money on the side. So I wonder if there is such thing as a part time computer job. What I heard from a friend is that there exist jobs that you can do at home. Someone sends you a computer project to work on, then you write the code and send the code by e-mail, and then they pay you. That's what I heard, anyway. Is that true? How qualified does someone have to be for that?
I live in a small town, so I can't really go to some office every day to work.