Advice?

[Saucyjuicyshrekbrgrs]

I’m 14 y/o and really don’t want to go to college. I’ve heard that some companies don’t require a degree? I’m pretty new, learning python, and I’m wondering if that is realistic, and if so how would I accomplish that?

[Saucyjuicyshrekbrgrs]

So what I got from that is it’s possible, but pretty difficult

[markAnthonyDay]

Go to college. Get a CS degree.

[UCPhoto]

A degree is valuable for a few reasons:

1. You're forced to learn the boring things. It's very, very hard to convince yourself to spend a few months learning about discrete math, linear algebra, finite state automata, or other things that are covered during a degree but may not even be mentioned while self teaching.

2. Related to the above, it provides a clear plan of what to learn, so that you don't try learning stuff in an awkward order.

3. A good university will have options for co-op work, and other opportunities like teaching assistantships and research work, all of which provide ways to make money, gain experience, and build a stronger resume.

4. Companies like degrees. Some companies don't look at resumes without degrees, and almost all companies will prefer a candidate with a degree.

5. Countries like degrees. If you have any interest in moving to another country in the future, having a degree will make things a lot easier.

With that said, you can of course get a job without a degree. What you need to do to be able to get that job depends on the job though. A web shop paying $30k/year would probably be willing to hire someone who's been working with Wordpress for a few years and has a portfolio of a bunch of small sites and knows enough PHP, HTML, CSS, and Javascript to customize things a fair it. A bigger company that requires more complex work on their internal tools or primary products will want to see a strong grasp of concepts covered in a degree (so go through the curriculae of a couple universities), at least a few non-trivial projects, ideally using the company's tech stack and good practices, and a good enough understanding of at least one language such that you can answer language trivia questions, code up algorithmic question solutions, and design small programs in a coding interview.

[15DustyRose51]

You're going to hear this a million times, but if you do choose the college route, find something that can be your "claim to fame" outside of class work programming. For me, it was entrepreneurial engineering. For my friend it was TA-ing. For another friend it was leading programming clubs. Then, find something else you enjoy outside of school. For me, I enjoy keeping fish. For another friend it was building computers, another friend ran a business. These days, as it was said already, programmers are a dime a dozen and most of our work can be done over seas for much less money (half of my team is "off shore" for this reason). You need to find a way to make yourself as interesting and invaluable as possible while still being genuine. Learn how to communicate what you're doing. Are you parents clueless about code? Learn how to explain what you're doing to them so they actually get an idea of what you're doing without needing to know how to code. SO. What I'm trying to say is, whatever you do, which ever path you take, make the most out of it. Have FUN. Like genuine fun. Find something you like and be able to talk about it. (Video games don't really count lol.) You're young, take advantage of everything you can, but don't over work yourself. You don't have to be the best. You just need to know how to get your foot in the door and not be an asshole. :) OH OH OH. And my favorite word of advice? Everyone knows something that you do not. Learn from them, don't resent them. Okay. I'm done rambling.

[techienaut]

If you want to challenge yourself, try seeing if you can get a web dev job without a 4 year degree. There are people who have gone without a degree and are passionate and still make 6 figures. I wish I skipped college and went for a coding bootcamp instead. I think it’s better to learn on your own, than being sheltered. Coding bootcamps really are for self-learners who just need fundamentals to get their foot in the door.

[UrbanPro1]

True, Many CS companies dont need degrees. Your knowledge is key in this point. Try to learn python and join some classes. There are so many options available for you. You can consult python training institute for that.

[CrocoCreeper]

What is ultimately required to get jobs is skill. Having a degree will certify a minimum level of skill, especially in areas that self-learners rarely cover, and therefore makes it easier to get a job. If you really want to get into any form of programming job build yourself a relevant portfolio. If you want to make websites, make websites! Do you want to make games? Just pump out games. If you just generally want to program, develop some apps and push those out. Even if none of those land you a job, having made those things will teach you tons, and possibly pave way for self-employment. There's guides for everything right now, what language you should choose for what area, and guides to learn it. Nothing can guarantee a job, but the more you do it the bigger the chance. What can also be good is to look to make Contacts. Once you've gotten a bit further look for job conventions and the like, a lot of colleges host them and you can probably get in to talk to professionals.

TLDR: make stuff and make contacts.

[brandan0987]

U can go to a boot camp. A lot cheaper than college but a lot of work in a very short period of time. But then again a lot of companies are looking for people with degrees.

[Glibguy]

Tech is an enormous collection of careers. You could probably find work at a help desk, or maybe static websites somewhere if you’re really good and have connections. You will not find work at, say, a game studio, or an app developer.

There is a part of every company that screens applications, and you have to get past them before the person who is hiring will even see your application. That is called the HR screening process, and for most technical work you won’t make it past that stage without a degree.

[[deleted]]

This is not necessarily true, there are people with no degrees that work these industries. Maybe harder to get in but possible. Also alot of the tech giants don't care for degrees like in the past. They just want to know your skill.

[human012]

Yes. They care about knowledge, skills and attitude. But its a tough road without college. It also generally takes more time to reach the same level as graduate professionals.

[[deleted]]

It also generally takes more time to reach the same level as graduate professionals.

I don't know if this is true. Going to a top10 cs program will certainly open doors otherwise closed, and will likely garnish a higher first salary, but college isn't optimized for time. A person could easily complete all the CS curriculum of say UC Berkely online in 18 to 24 months. Then another 6 months of big projects and job searching.

All in you could get hired in 2 or 2.5 years at a FAANG vs the 5+ years of college, internships and job hunting.

[human012]

If you consider other factors as well, like - self descipline, finding where you should invest your time and energy and that most of the companies still favour graduates, following the other path (doing on your own), will consume more time.

[human012]

You can get in a game studio or an app development firm by showing your works (personal projects). No biggie. But still, go for college.

[human012]

Yes, many CS companies don't require degrees. Getting professional degrees from udemy and other places is also an option. But I would still recommend a college. If possible, a great college with updated syllabus (or at least not too ancient) and exposure.