How do I know if I'm good at programming if I'm self-taught?

Question

What do I need to know/be good at to get a job programming? How much do I need to know before I say I can put 'can program [language]' on my resume? Is the SoloLearn certificate good enough or just a start?

Edit: I guess my real question is, 'how does a person self-teaching themself to program know that they are good enough at programming with a certain language to be able to apply for and get a programming job?'

Edit2: I've seen this come up a lot, so you ac answer this question as well: How does a self-taught (no college degree) programmer get a job? What do they need to show that makes them look as competent as a degree programmer? Or does a programmer basically always need a degree?

I know there probably isn't just one, clear answer.

Thank you! :D

Answer 1

Sololearn certificates are more for motivation than for proof of proficiency.

Answer 2

It's like they say, if you have to ask, then the answer is no.

Higher education is useful but self-education is essential. 

One of my favourite self taught programmer succes stories is Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, the billion $ company that is best known for WordPress.

Read his story here.
https://fhww.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/61-matt-mullenweg.pdf

Answer 3

the certificate is not that great ... 😅
it would probably better if you can approach medium difficulty problems with atleast one solution or even better multiple ones.
Knowledge of Datastructures such as Tree, Queue and Stack would be great too
but to be honest you can either say "I can program" because you can do a HelloWorld-program or you can say "I just know the basics" while you fail at an challenge which is very hard. So it depends...
But if you put that in your resume you need to be prepared for questions about what you have programmed and maybe even solve a problem infront of sb 😅

Answer 4

Sololearn may not be a certificate that is recognized, but it is a fun way to learn! Learning to program is more complicated than getting a certificate, learning to solve problems, familiarity with different structures, the all important certificates (back up with experience). How do you get experience when you have no experience... in college you become a part of teams and solve problems, professors become your job reference. No easy answer to your question, Bill Gates did not have a degree or certificate, nor did Steven Jobs. I am not sure that many of the "famous" programmers had certificates or degrees. Yet, there is no doubt that an established company is going to want to see evidence, example Steve Jobs worked for "HP" ... running a photo copy machine.

Answer 5

Most employers are looking for an IT degree, however doing extra online courses helps.
In order to say your good at a programming language you'd have to be able to teach it to someone who has no experience with IT, you don't need to understand the language entirely but should be able to answer basic questions. If you complete a project you need to be able to explain every aspect of that project
Hope it helps ✌️

Answer 6

From questions I've seen here in q&a from people who had finished a bunch of tutorials, SoloLearn certificate isn't even a guarantee that people can write a hello world.

You can do everything over and over.

You can buy answers with xp.

You can freely access the comments that contain EVERYTHING.

You can also just google while clicking.

I will never understand why people even ask if the certificates here are valid in any way.

Answer 7

It would have been cool if there were some standardized online aptitude tests for different programming languages that people could use to test their abilities related to programming. I guess Microsoft, Oracle and others already have such certifications.

Answer 8

One problem with online certification is how to prove that it is indeed the candidate who did the certification course.

Answer 9

Traditionally recruiters required candidates to have a college degree and some experience. They may need to adapt in the future to accept online certification.

Answer 10

As a programmer, your work speaks for you.

Answer 11

By doing a lot of person projects to test your ability and skill

Answer 12

sololearn is really just fun practice. for an actual learning course you should try lynda.com or freecodecamp.org. they are a lot more comprehensive. then you need to start going to code boot camps, coding meet ups, and building your portfolio. after all that, you can start applying for jobs.

Answer 13

So, Anton, for a programming job the main thing you need to show is a portfolio?

Answer 14

Ok so the sololear certificate basically means nothing it just says you know how to write some code scripts not much else you need a noticable amount of respect for your coding to get a nice programming job... this was written by an 11yr old trying to think it straight.

Answer 15

The SoloLearn certificate does not count. Practice solving problems (there are sites). As a beginner, try to implement some simple project on order ;-)

Answer 16

If you can think about a functionality then implement it into a working app, you are probably good enough. Practice make perfect.

Answer 17

i'm self taught too and i use automated code review tools to ensure i pick up / maintain good software development habits. Next i strive to bulld something useful with concepts that i learn instead of just doing toy apps/coding challenges. imo, the real reason for learning to code should be to build something useful for us and others. also reading good open source code and comparing my code with it is another way i measure my progress. also i'd suggest try building a portfolio of apps which solve real business needs like bug tracker, project management app etc. the idea is to work and practice on real business issues so when you get an interview call you'll have worked on things which matter to the company. hope this helps

Answer 18

Are there other certificates that will?

Answer 19

Ask your people what do they want and try helping them

Answer 20

Basically if you learned programming form the Sololearn app then you know nothing