Hello there, I am currently a student studying computer science. I have heard that companies will hire those with experience over an individual with a bachelors degree. I believe that I am capable to learn more sophisticated areas of programming but would need the right direction.

This leads to apprenticeships. I was hoping if there are any apprenticeship within the state of Oregon and whether there are other opportunities similar to this such as paid training(pay for learning to code).

Although it sounds farfetched, I have encountered a company, Catalyst IT Services, who does pay trainees to learn to code after the 20 week learning mark. The only catch this is that they will only pay graduates $15.00/hr for two years. After that there are other possibilities.

For now, I am trying to find any programming jobs that further not only my knowledge but also in experience.

I was hoping to see if anyone has any information regarding to the company, Catalyst IT Services, or any opportunities for a programming job. Also, this must be in Oregon since I am only a student and have no other fundings.

TBH You should've started working on open source projects during your studies. This is a good way to show a potential employer your ability to work in a team on a large project.

Apprenticeships don't really exist in software development as there isn't really a need when there are formal qualifications available. Your best bet is to take the Catalyst Job and then continue searching for a new job while working there. TBH $15/hr ($30k/year) isn't that bad for a graduate.

Thank you for replying and you are right. I should work on my own projects or contribute in a team. I believe this is great way but I am not confident in my programming skills yet. I have learned up to the topics of "binary trees" but I still feel like I am lacking skill to contribute.

Another concern for me is to know what languages are needed. I am currently learning Ruby from codeacademy but that will only get me so far. Also, I know that the number of languages that an individual hones isn't as important as their problem solving skills. Clearly, this is where I want to improve on and I understand that working on projects will help improve my skill as a problem solver but I am sure that there are books that teach different topics of data structures or unique ways of coding to overcome obstacles.

So my next question would be.. what books can help me learn different ways of coding rather than learning another language?

Learn Design Patterns, you can wiki them or get the book by the gang of four.