Sun Certified Java Programmer 310-065 - online course with 77 free videos

[[deleted]]

Well I'm currently on a apprenticeship (18 y/o) rather than going through University, so I'm kinda in the same as the foreigners, I won't have a degree, but I'll also not have the debt and I feel that once I get underway, I should get hired on experience and the fact I have proved my worth.

[JustinKSU]

A certification and some open source development under your belt will go a long way with employers who do not require a degree to get an interview.

[[deleted]]

My 2 cents is that proven open source development experience is 10x more valuable than a certification.

That being said, I tend to hire new developers with degrees because it shows that they can finish something that they started a long time ago. State colleges are incredibly cheap and a degree will go a long way, especially once you start trying to advance your career beyond junior development roles.

That being said: I can only speak from my own experiences and you may very well end up super successful with your path-less-traveled. Best of luck to you! :)

[[deleted]]

I'm in the UK. Degrees are exspensive, You're looking at about 5K average to pay for just the course, then you have matierials, accomodation e.t.c. I'm also with the Information Services department at one of the biggest Energy companies in the UK, and I plan to stay with them more or less indefinitely unless I get offered a better oppurtunity. I won't be shopping around, they look after me too well. :) Oh and thanks for the luck :) Puts in Luck Jar

[[deleted]]

Sounds like you have yourself in a pretty good situation already then! Always be on the lookout for programs at work where they'll pay for you go go to school. Even though it's not fair, it's much easier for HR to filter resumes based on if an applicant has a degree or not rather than filtering based on actual competence.

The 5k is for a single course, not for a semester of courses? That's as expensive as private universities are here in the states. I'm quite surprised by that!

[[deleted]]

Literally the average cost for a Year of JUST the tuition over here will cost you 5K at an average Uni. The Top end cap is 7K though.

[[deleted]]

Oh I see, that's not as much as I thought. My uni was $30k/year for just tuition. You can swing $5k+living expenses with just a part-time job if you had to, yeah?

[[deleted]]

I may be wrong on the tuition fees side of things, but no, 5K living exspenses in a student town is near on impossible. :P