I'd like to move into science programming. How can I best do that?

[throwaway93834]

I'd like to make a career move into science programming/IT or whatever work I can get in that industry. I think it would be great to know I contributed to something that may help people by writing code.

What are the most plentiful type of job in this industry, and what fields typically have a need for programmers? Is the expectation that one have an educational background in science or technology?

More importantly for my own situation, can a guy with a BA in a non-sci/tech field (with a minor in information systems, if that's even helpful) be considered if my work history is filled with over a decade of programming experience and general IT work?

An outfit named Schrodinger in Portland has caught my eye as I'm in the area. They do some really neat chemistry stuff, but it would seem they expect a science background. I'm trying to undertake a course of self-study and creating some relevant projects in hopes of sneaking in to such a company.

PS. I looove python. That's pretty much the standard language these days for this stuff, right?

[firebrand39]

How about math? Being a programmer helped my get up to speed on math. And there are so many wonderful resources out there. My advice, do not buy a textbook and try to kind of linearly take in math from a single author. Pick a topic and then move around with Google following your interest and questions. Fill in the gaps with Google searches as you move along. This has been tremendously useful to me, and, yes, I am very grateful to Google. When I started, my interest had been piqued by machine learning. I did not expect to get as far as I did, hitting a wall sooner or later, but not so. There are really really great authors and blogs out there, explaining in plain language what you may not understand. You just have to find them and they are by no means all Ivy League. Although my current favorite is Steven G. Johnson from MIT.

[throwaway93834]

That's a good point. I have been working on my math skills independently, but haven't taken anything over Calc II in my time at university.