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You can become a computer programmer by going to college to study computer science and beginning an entry level computer programmer job after college. However, if you cannot afford to spend years in college before you begin your programming career, you can learn programming from experienced developers or teach yourself computer programming using affordable textbooks, training courses and or coaching programs. I have written a series of articles telling people how to become a programmer in the shortest possible time frame. In this article I will show you how to become a computer programmer without going to college.
What Qualifications or Degrees are Needed?
It's not as difficult as you may think to enter the programming job market without having a computer science degree. This is because when it comes to programming, employers put more emphasis on your ability to write good quality code than your educational credentials. Many programmers have taken advantage of this to forgo college and focus on developing their programming skills to the best of their ability.
What Do Employers Want?
You've made over your resume, submitted it and begun preparing for programming interviews; but you should slow down and ask yourself "What do the employers really want?" No matter if you taught yourself programming from home or learned it from college or a correspondence training course, employers want to see good competent software development skills more than anything else. After you are hired employers expect you to be able to document and design software applications and write good quality code, regardless of where you learned the skill.
It Is Easy To Study Computer Programming and Get a Job
One of the best kept advantages of becoming a computer programmer is that you can learn computer programming at home and advance your skills to a competent level without first getting a programming job. When I realized this more than 12 years ago that I could just buy a computer, connect it to the internet and learn as much programming as I wanted without having to get a job first, I was excited. Of course, I realized that I would still need to invest in programming books, buy software development tools, and invest in training packages that would allow me to learn programming on my own. I figured out that the total cost of my investments in computer programming training would pale in comparison to how much I would earn as a programmer and how much more time it would take me to study medicine or law in college. I took my developer training and got a well-paying contract programming job within 6 months, an opportunity I knew I would not have had with any other high paying career.
How to Get a Computer Programming Job without a College Degree
What you need to emphasize when looking for a computer programming job is your software development knowledge, coding skills and any programming experience that is related to the job you are interviewing for. If you don't have a college degree emphasizes the other skills you have attained, like your ability to learn technology quickly, how you keep up with technology or solve real programming problems. In other words, you have to prove to prospective employers or hiring managers that you can do the job well if given the chance. Make sure your prospective employer sees the list of programming projects you have completed in a short time, web sites or software programs you have built and a list of books and future projects you are planning to work on. Show your prospective employer that you have a beautiful mind and make the case that you are an asset to any one who hires you!
Where Does This Leave You?
This leaves you without an excuse for not taking action. I am granting you the liberty to pursue your passion, your dream and your personal excellence to learn or master computer programming. As a software developer mentor, IT Career Coach and Contract Programmer, I have worked with people who overcame all sorts of personal situations, handicaps and obstacles to begin their software developer career. On my blog, I coach, mentor and train individuals who want to transition to a software developer career or become an expert computer programmer. From my personal experience and observation helping programmers from all over the world succeed in software development professions, your success in programming boils down to how skilled you are at software development and how much experience you have in solving real-world computer problems. If you gain a lot of practical programming skills and knowledge your software development career will go into overdrive.
If you want to improve your programming skills and take your career to the next level, I encourage you to read the book "The Street Smart Guide to Computer Programmer Careers". It explains how to master computer programming in as little as 6 months. It will shave years off your learning curve by showing you how to learn programming fast, how to prepare your resume so you get noticed by hiring managers, how to prepare and excel at technical job interviews so you get job offers more easily and how to consistently gain the kind of programming experience that keeps your career moving forward.
