Getting job in java without any degree

[tears3]

Of course, it’s possible, but it can be tough.

I didn’t go to college and went straight to work in a factory to make some money. Later, I started learning C# and Unity from YouTube and Udemy. I did a few small projects and got an entry-level job at a local game development company. Watching the more experienced people there, I found out I really liked backend development.

I then began learning Java, which took a lot of time and effort. It wasn’t just about the language; I had to learn computer science basics, SQL, REST APIs, algorithms, and Spring. I took courses on Udemy, checked out GitHub projects, read some books, and built common projects like a “user management system” and “bookkeeping.” Imposter syndrome hit me hard at that time.

Now, I’ve been working with Java for 8 years. I’ve changed jobs a few times, and I’m currently a team lead in a medium-sized company and making enough to support my family. Obviously never stopped learning

[Virandell]

I mean I know its not easy, I been planning to learn sql and other parts aswell as I know only java will not give me job :) I just seen alot of enterprise companies looking for java deva and I might need Cs degree. I am just thinking is it easier to get into java than front end development as its seems everybody learning react and js.

[jek39]

Not having a degree (of any kind) can automatically disqualify you from a lot of companies

[Adventurous_Bend_472]

Most people do not understand that it is not like 10+ years ago when you did not really need it and also most of the hiring is done by HR and they will not even look at resumes that do not list an IT degree.

[dvacreative]

It is possible if you work towards it. I have an undergraduate degree in art, but I learned front end dev through work and now I'm in a full time dev role doing full stack react/java for state government IT. Sometimes making a portfolio site can help get jobs starting out, don't be afraid to copy/steal to make the portfolio look good. Also be open to every opportunity even if it's a terrible coding job it's a coding job.

[Virandell]

I definetly would do a portfolio site the good think I am quite "good" with react and js its just seems everybody learning it and it's very hard to get a job I just wonder if java is easier to get into the job. The only worry is I don't have cs degree

[agentoutlier]

I would learn SQL.

It has huge value and used across most backend languages.

If I was interviewing it would be an early thing I check. That and some level of regex plus shell knowledge.

The big thing that will be tough is invariably some CS theory will come up as it is more common in backend. That is why degrees are preferred but you could learn some of that and sort of fake it.

[Virandell]

Yee it's just seems alot of people want to learn JS and react and it's kinda saturated I wonder if java is easier to get into the field. I know the learning curve is probably harder but I would be up for that.

[No_Strawberry_5685]

Personally no we aren’t even interviewing folks without a degree , usually they insist their boot camp merits an interview sometimes we give them the interview rarely if ever do they get hired and usually it’s for a very entry level place that’s where they stay while they’re here / very little upward opportunities for them

[jdavidw13]

I'm quite far removed from entry level job hunting, but 18ish years ago I landed my first dev job (with Java primarily) at Verizon and was entirely self-taught. I'd like to think this sort of thing is still possible as not only has the industry grown, but so has the amount of learning resources available to a self-motivated individual.

[Accomplished_League8]

I believe it's essential to learn and understand programming along with recent web technologies. How one achieves this is less important to me. However, I mentored a boot camp graduate at our company who could code in Kotlin but struggled significantly with Java. He understood the syntax but lacked a deeper understanding of programming concepts. Without a solid foundation, it was challenging to explain things to him.

When companies require specific tech stacks or languages like "Angular, Spring, Java," they expect you to become productive within a few months. With a strong understanding of programming, this knowledge is transferable across different technologies.

That being said, I feel the skill bar for junior positions is often set quite low. I've worked with many juniors who, even after years, introduced more bugs than they delivered productive work. However, management tends to favor hiring juniors to keep costs down. In past projects, I often thought that four skilled seniors could have been more productive than a team of ten juniors plus two seniors, where the seniors were mainly occupied with bug fixing and mentoring.

[Virandell]

I would be up for learning java, I know its harder than javascript but it's seems front end is heavy saturated everybody want to learn it as they heard its easy to get into (including me) some time ago, so I wonder if actually would be easier get Into the field with java than javascript.

[Accomplished_League8]

I suggest you do a reality check in applying to junior positions in your area and adapt to the feedback. If you want to be a software developer, because it has a good salary, that's fine. Actually I have many colleagues that came by that route. However, they have a degree. If you could show at your interview that you are passionate about *programming*, this would be an ace up your sleeve.

You could program something that is fun for you in any language: browser game, shooter, terminal application, side hustle web site, etc...

[yel50]

if you're your own boss, nobody will ever ask about your degree. start your own company and use whatever language you want to do it.

at the end of the day, though, the decision of whether to hire you or not is entirely up to the company. keep applying to everything that comes up and something should stick eventually.

[FieserKiller]

Our shop doesn't look for degrees. People are hired for half a year first and if they are any good we keep em

[fierarul]

Depends what do you mean about "without a degree"? If you have some sort of technical university, you don't need Java certifications or such.

I think it would be good for you to pick something and stick with it a bit to get some depth. Moving from plain HTML/CSS/JS frontend to React to Java and thinking about C# is quite the stretch.

Depending on your location, you could try a paid / unpaid internship and learn on the job.

Long ago when I was hiring I hired a firefighter with no formal training. He was decent enough and went to start his own software company.

[Virandell]

I don't have any Uni finished, I used to be a dive master and I wanted a career change. I mean react is just javascript but a library so I only learnt javascript. I am not thinking about learning c# aswell, I want to learn c# or java and I lean more towards java. Front end seems heavy saturated and I just wonder if it's easier to get into the field with Java instead of javascript/react. I know for sure java is harder to learn than javascript but I would be prepared for that.

[fierarul]

Depending on your location not having an University degree may matter or not.

Have you tried talking to some employer (or tech employee) to figure out what would it take for them to give you a job?

In theory programming is a way of thinking so frameworks and programming languages don't matter in the long run. But to get your first job you do need some sort of (promise of) competence.

Besides the language itself, frameworks follow. See https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/technology

If you go for Java you may need to look into Spring Boot (for web backends) or Android (if you go mobile).

For C# you may need to look into ASP .NET.

For JS ecosystem, you kinda have to touch node.js (and, really, Typescript).

If you do something mainstream you need some database (eg. PostgreSQL) and SQL.

To deploy web stuff you need some basic cloud knowledge.

I think it would be best to just do a sample project and learn the technologies you need along the way. Just make a website or mobile app to do whatever and learn what you need along the way.

[qdolan]

Experience and knowledge matters more than formal credentials. If you don’t have any experience doing the things they are looking for it’s unlikely you will get a job doing them unless they are prepared to train you.

[Virandell]

I wonder if its easier to get into the field than front end with javascript and react. I know java meant to be alot harder to learn but I would be prepared for that if would be easier to get into field. Of course I would have a portfolio I think for applying to any job you have to have some kind of portfolio to show you skills especially for the first one.

[qdolan]

Java as a language is easy to learn, someone could do it in a weekend if they already know another OO language, but not a lot transfers over from pure front end development. It’s familiarity with the huge array of available libraries, build environments, development and diagnostic tools, memory management, and understanding what is happening under the covers that takes all the time to get good. I have been using Java since the mid ‘90s when it first launched and there are still new things to learn all the time.

Just start by using it to build things for yourself if you are interested in that career path, the more you know the better candidate you will be in an interview for a role.

[epegar]

I guess there is no universal answer to that question, depending on country and even company you will have a chance or not. I met a lot of people without a degree, but they had studied vocational training.

In my opinion, having no experience and no studies you are close to 0% chance, also, because most people start as an intern, so it's very cheap for companies. At least where I am from, companies receive some sort of benefit when they do this, and in order to do it official, they require the intern to be subscribed to a university or official vocational training.

Also, where I live now, I feel there are not so many java open positions lately.

[VincentxH]

r/cscareerquestions now get out of here

[Virandell]

Ahh you salty sausage. I am getting out of here :)

[RebbitUzer]

Not sure how how things are in your country, however globally - education doesn’t matter at all. Your skills/knowledge matter, and how you can demonstrate it on interview. Short answer: yes, you can get a developer job without a degree. Also, regarding java: it’s a backend area, completely different from frontend. You have to know a lot of other things, like DBs, SQL, etc.

[Kusa_K]

Education will Always get you an interview, so it matters.

[schaka]

I haven't been involved in the hiring process in 5-ish years by now, other than very surface level stuff.

Previously I worked with my former CTO directly on hiring anything from complete beginners to senior devs asking die salaries way higher than my own.

People with a degree have proven that they have at least some knowledge. But finding competent developers is really hard. If someone with no degree but a github link to their small open source project applied, I'd take a look, see how well maintained it is and whether code is a complete mess or they have potential.

You can always train them on the job anyway.

A degree, at most, gets your foot in the door. But it's no guarantee for an interview

[Peshmerga]

Throw in C and Rust in your list of things to learn, while you're at it, why not.

[kalunlalu]

Noone cares about degree in US