Do you need to have a degree to be a professional programmer?

[AruneBend]

I think that a coding degree does help significantly. With a degree, you can also get more job opportunities; however, even if you do not have a degree, you can still be a professional. After all, there are thousands of tutorials on platforms like YouTube, as well as paid tools, which wouldn't hurt. I think that if you are disciplined and have clear goals to achieve, you can do that with or without a degree. What is your opinion on this topic? I would love to hear your thoughts!

 

[Cory]

I agree with you to a tee! A degree can certainly be helpful to obtaining a career in programming, but to become a professional programmer you can be completely self-taught. Many professional programmers are self-taught and excel in what they do.

 

[Teegold]

I know a lot of programmers that do not have a degree, and they are very good at what they do. So I'll say that the degree is not mandatory, though it can serve as an edge over those who don't have it.

 

[Cedric]

Unless you're a doctor or an engineer, you don't need a degree for anything imo. Everything can be self taught if you put your mind to it and stay motivated.

 

[uptrendfinancialsignal]

A degree can be so helpful, but I know that it's not always necessary because matters most is the practical experience and soft skills.

 

[Shortie]

I wouldn't say that a degree is necessary for something such as a professional programmer, it could help but you could also learn to be a professional programmer without one.

 

[Pousinha]

I can report my husband's experience. Unfortunately, he never had the luck to attend university, so he doesn't own a degree. He only could attend a post-High School technical course of 18 months I purchased for him, that gave him the basics of programming, while was focused on hardware. In any way, he found an online programming course for free, that looks like to be complete. So he is studying, as his idea is to apply for a remote programming job when he finishes the online course. My husband is confident his technical 18 month course plus his current online programming course should be helpful, despite his lack of a programming university degree. In the case of very technical subjects like programming, it's likely a degree is not that essential.

 

[eLdavis]

You do not need to have a degree before you can become a professional programmer. I have seen cases of self-taught people, and they are doing pretty well in this field. Having a degree, on the other hand, does have its advantages. Having a good degree creates more opportunities, such as higher offers or job opportunities.

 

[Kinxee]

No off course you don’t need a degree to be come a professional programmer but all what is necessary for you is to acquire knowledge and skills on it because there was certain time that skills is rather than justice

 

[King Belieal]

Programming is completely skill based. One doesn't need a degree. It is all about how creative you can be. I doubt anyone would ask for a certificate to give you a programming job. Experience is superior to qualification in the programming gig sphere. A sound degree could be helpful to introduce you to programming as a skill but the rest is completely based on your ability to develop yourself. So many programmers that I know are self taught.

 

[Clevvy]

No, you don't. I'm my little experience in life, I've come to understand that university degree is unrelated to the practical skills and prowess needed to be a professional programmer. University degree will feed you the theoretical aspect while immersing yourself into studios learning can make the difference you wanna see.

 

[Kennysplash]

You don’t need a degree to have a career as a programmer. All you need is to have an impressive portfolio that will entice your clients. But if there is an unusual need for it, you can get some certifications from online academies.

 

[riberet19]

I don't think a degree is the big difference in getting a job as a professional programmer, I know many people who have studied programming in a self-taught way and without a degree and have gotten a job as professional programmer, nowadays IT companies do not look so much at degrees but at skills.

 

[Mace]

A degree is definitely not required to become a professional developer (or designer, for that matter). In fact, I feel like self-taught programmers often are able to demonstrate more skill compared to people who have only just received a degree and 'should be job-ready'. In the past, I have successfully secured positions that 'required' a degree (as mentioned in the job postings) of some sort, despite not having a degree related to design or development myself either. And well, I am now working as a creative director doing both and managing a small team of designers (and I am a freelancer - design + development - as well).

So ultimately, your skills and experience matter way more than that degree. Whenever I had to talk with a potential employee, I honestly was never all that interested in their degree - if at all. I always looked at the portfolio they sent in first and then had a look at their curriculum vitae (primarily to check if they were simply not job hopping too much).

A little side note though: I do appreciate it if people at least do have some degree (but not in IT / design per se). It does show some perseverance, after all.

 

[uptrendfinancialsignal]

A degree is definitely not required to become a professional developer (or designer, for that matter). In fact, I feel like self-taught programmers often are able to demonstrate more skill compared to people who have only just received a degree and 'should be job-ready'. In the past, I have successfully secured positions that 'required' a degree (as mentioned in the job postings) of some sort, despite not having a degree related to design or development myself either. And well, I am now working as a creative director doing both and managing a small team of designers (and I am a freelancer - design + development - as well).

So ultimately, your skills and experience matter way more than that degree. Whenever I had to talk with a potential employee, I honestly was never all that interested in their degree - if at all. I always looked at the portfolio they sent in first and then had a look at their curriculum vitae (primarily to check if they were simply not job hopping too much).

A little side note though: I do appreciate it if people at least do have some degree (but not in IT / design per se). It does show some perseverance, after all.

I couldn't agree more with your assertion! Skills and experience are what matters in the programming and design world. I’m so surprised to see how self-taught programmers and designers demonstrated more practical expertise.

 

[Mace]

I couldn't agree more with your assertion! Skills and experience are what matters in the programming and design world. I’m so surprised to see how self-taught programmers and designers demonstrated more practical expertise.

Well, if you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense that they demonstrate more practical expertise.

Most people who teach themselves programming or design initially started learning out of genuine interest. Learning new skills without a standardised curriculum gives you the freedom to acquire your skills in a way suited for your individual learning style, you only learn whatever you are truly interested in / want to specialise in, and, perhaps even more important, it keeps it fun to learn. And well, enjoying it is important to keep yourself motivated to learn and to become better at what you do.

If I look back to when I started learning design/development, I barely even ever followed tutorials, since I personally could never remember anything simply by reading and then doing. I simply started doing, and finding my way around the different types of software, only looking things up whenever I got stuck (which is what made me remember solutions to problems I ran into much better).

And believe me, I actually did give formal education a shot, trying out both design and development courses at different universities. But honestly, for someone who's self-taught, a lot (if not all) of the classes were either too basic to be interesting, or they did not have my interest at all (because some of the mandatory classes just did not have anything to do with what I specialise in). So, I definitely wouldn't recommend doing this if you already have experience, and it's probably only a good idea if you want to start your design/dev career from scratch but don't know where to start. Do always keep in mind that a portfolio consisting of completed school assignments is hardly ever impressive, and you will need (to develop) genuine interest in the field and practise / build on your portfolio whenever you can in your free time, too.

If you're a self-taught designer/developer but want to get a degree of some sort, I would recommend going for something in a related field. Want to specialise in UX design? Perhaps go for psychology. Graphic design? Try marketing communications. You're a UI / web designer but cannot code? You might want to go for information technology. Just try and expand your skillset with something useful.