How likely is it to get a job as a software engineer without a degree in computer science?

Question

Are there many jobs out there will hire if you don’t have a degree but have completed courses and a portfolio?

Answer 1

Kiersten Castleberry It depends on your market, portfolio, aptitude for learning and your ability to demonstrate that aptitude and what you've learned.

These are difficult for many recruiters to assess with experienced developers much less for those without formal training.

I've personally met many people that were in other professions and wanted to transition to software development. It's a lot to overcome in that transition. But, I've been fortunate enough to help a good number of people with a strong natural affinity for programming make the switch eventually.

There are those like me who rapidly rose to success without any formal training. Ultimately, it's going to depend on the individual, the opportunity, the timing, and someone in a position to see the talent and make it happen.

Answer 2

No I can say with confidence that you don’t need a diploma to be a programmer. It might be a pre-requisite to getting a job, though. Some job applications might require it because it helps filter the huge number of candidates they get, not because a degree means anything in terms of competency. It can, but to me personally it just means the person had the opportunity to go and spent 3-5 years to get a degree, and had the will to go through it. It does not mean the person is more intelligent than others.

If you don’t have the will to study things on your own, you’ll never be a programmer even if you have a CS degree.

No school in the world can teach better than what you can teach yourself with a great book, a great course, a great will to learn. And thousands hours of deliberate practice.

Programming is great because there is no gatekeeping.

Answer 3

Although having a CS or equivalent degree always helps but it's not impossible to get a job without it. Just keep in mind that you should have enough good projects in your portfolio that reflect your skills because without a degree those are the only way to show how good are you at what you do.

Answer 4

degree is not everything

its depend in your ability.

if you have ability to do that then it is easy to get job

Answer 5

Some major software companies have recently stated that they will recruit some people without a formal CS degree, but it doesn't mean that it's going to be easy for such candidates unless they have some outstanding talent or potential.

Answer 6

I think yes, there are. But not many. Because startups and industries now need a proof that you have already graduated from computer science degree. Even though your skill is still basic...

But in another side, we can prove it that we have skill in it, in computer science, with our results. Don't you know the story of Bill Gates? He dropped out from his college and he didn't get any degree certificate. But he can prove to the world that he has skill in computer science...

Just the way you are... 😄

Answer 7

Souyane SoloLearn proverb says please don't spam.

Answer 8

I don't know if I can get job without degree but I know that in college and school mine mostly time is wasting.

In lockdown I learned Python programming language professionally , learned basics of C programming and DBMS.
I learned basics of C in almost 2 weeks and MySql took me 5 days. But in college mine whole year is wasting on learning just basics of C Programming and DBMS.
They are teaching me useless things in mathematics like derivatives etc.
Half of physics is also useless. Most of topics has not any use in Computer Science like Centripetal Force, Gravitational Field, velocity, acceleration, Gravitational constant, mass of earth etc.

Mine teacher of Computer doesn't even know about string width in printf function, signed int and unsigned int data types. And he has experience of 4 years in CS. I know more then him with experience of 1 month in C programming LOL!

Answer 9

Very likely. CS/Programming languages are languages themselves, even if we both can't speak the same language, or any really, only knowing C++, we can still communicate perfectly. Only in C++ commands ofc. If you show me, without saying a word, a function that checks within a for loop if the variable (number) modulo 2 value is equal to zero, even if you speak alien language and I speak antarticaneseian, we both understand what you just showed me (even numbers)

What I mean is that as long as you can prove that you spend time chasing certificates and IMPORTANTLY created your own websites or applications, Co development etc... you can easily get a job without an advantagous degree.

In fact I'd prefer someone without a degree than someone with because you proofed that you were able to teach yourself easily what someone with a degree forced themselves upon.
That's what I call purpose/pursuing genuine interest!

Answer 10

[FCC Stories Part 1 of 2]
I found this person's journey from learner to first job to after as a junior developer to be authentic, transparent, and interesting.

It's unique in that the post started as someone needing to land a job within 12 weeks, finally got hired in a month, and then continued sharing updates about his experiences and observations since.

He offers some great insight about himself, his struggles before and after, and how different things were from what he imagined to how it really was and how that differed from how he prepared.

One thing he learned was that no matter how ready he thought he was, he later realized he would never be ready and was no where close. But, that was the wrong metric to focus on. 😉

There's more I enjoyed after only reading halfway through so far.

I've read enough for me to realize how good this is for people trying to break into the career without formal training.

https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/american-millenial-expat-i-need-a-job-in-12-weeks/267606/67

Answer 11

Yes, it's possible.
If you're sure you are grounded in the concept but you do not have a certificate yet, set up a platform for displaying you expertise - like a portfolio.
Show your skills to the world and those who need your skills will get to you.
Remember, mastery is key.

Answer 12

More likely.... bookworms are potato heads ⛑️

Answer 13

Yes but only if you can really proof that you know it like those who have the degree and by nature all software Developers are self employed so don't worry about getting a Job you can be a solution developer freelancer and even earn more than what you will make if you have a Job

Answer 14

I’ll be honest, I don’t have any work experience, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any advice!

Just as many other mentioned, you don’t need a CS degree or a outstanding GPA to get a job in tech. That sounds fantastic, because you can skip four years of headaches, but then you need to self-learn.

If you don’t earn a CS degree then you need to spend most of your time self-teaching and making projects that will really impress the recruiters. You need to show them that even though you dont have a degree you are worthy of the position. You need to really understand things like data structures and algorithims.

You also need to have A LOT of project experience. You need projects that are made to impress.

Therefore, YES you can get a job (even at top companies) without a degree. Just be aware that you will need to invest a lot of time in either learning the skills on your own, or going to a bootcamp.

Happy coding! ~ Hira

Answer 15

I would prefer college because I would be in an area where I am more motivated by other students, and professors.

Answer 16

Projects projects projects!!!
1. Learn a language (python/java) basics , (variables, loops, conditions, functions , arrays, classes )

2. Important step is to learn data structures ( dictionaries, linked list, binary tree, graphs and so on)

3. Practice implementing sata structures in the language you learned. And the best case to use a particular data structure.

4. Learn sonne advance topic, polymorphism, dynamic programming, recursion more.

5. Learn algorithms and Big O notation. Practice and make sure you understand why some algorithms works better then others for specific task.

6. Practice questions on leetcode and other coding interview sites.

7. Build your portfolio site as many projects as you can of things you're interested in.

8. Once you're comfortable doing the medium and some hard coding questions in step 6 APPLY for jobs

Answer 17

[FCC Stories Part 2 of 2]

Here are a few other good links I found useful, realistic, and informative for many of you in similar situations. 👌

The perspectives in these links reflect outcomes more on the positive extremes, but they don't sugarcoat the challenge.

It's worth reading the follow up comments as well.

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-i-landed-offers-from-microsoft-amazon-and-twitter-without-an-ivy-league-degree/

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-get-a-software-engineer-job-at-google-and-other-top-tech-companies-efa235a33a6d/

https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/got-a-job-and-some-criticism/321126

FCC Careers Forum:
https://forum.freecodecamp.org/c/career/299

Answer 18

Quinn I'm curious... are you speaking from experience from working as a professional software developer? If so, how long have you been working and how many jobs have you had?

Answer 19

You can also look into open source internship programs such as Outreachy and GSoC to get a foot in the door.

Answer 20

Aheve