So, how employable is someone without a degree in CS? So, I used to do a little semi-pro programming (mostly C) decades ago while studying electrical engineering and working in high tech before dropping out in my junior year to switch to music, eventually getting a masters.
So, assuming I take fCC’s front-end course and work on some personal projects to build a portfolio, and keep working on building skills (backend, JS frameworks, Java, reading books, etc.) at what point can I reasonably expect to get a job? (Keep in mind that I am driven, learn fast, and love coding.)
Will the employers care that I don’t have a degree/formal training (other than those coding classes decades ago) or is there enough demand that they will just care that you know what you’re doing and have some experience/portfolio?
I’m not really picky. Short term, I’d love to just replace my day job, and that would just take $35k. Long term, we’re looking to become digital nomads and $35k would be more than enough. I’m not expecting $250k out of this.
But I just fear that I’m barking up the wrong tree. What if I do all this and it leads to nothing? Maybe I have a warped perspective of the market, living in the Bay Area so close to Silicon Valley. On one hand, there are a lot of jobs out here. On the other hand there is a lot of talent out here already.
Any thoughts?
A friend of mine got work at a web development agency from being entirely self taught and not even having fully completed the freeCodeCamp Front End certificate.
This was in Melbourne, Australia.
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Everything leads to nothing, but you are very likely to find gainful employment in web development. If you’re looking for job placement, then you can start looking for junior positions at pretty much any time. You may not have your pick of employers, but chances are good that someone will take you on for cheap labor. I would estimate that completing any of the FCC certificates makes you an entry level candidate in that particular field, which in turn gives you a bit more leverage for getting any job, even if it has nothing to do with that cert. By the time you get your backend cert, you should feel quite confident submitting applications, even if you don’t get many interviews.
For completeness, do check out P1xt’s guide: https://forum.freecodecamp.com/t/computer-guide-get-job-ready-with-1-fcc-cert-3-projects-2-courses-and-10-books/64027
I made a similar thread when I first came here. I had the same fears, that all of my efforts might end up in vain and whatnot, but now I’m sure that if I continue to put in the work, I’ll eventually find a job. Yes, a lot of employers won’t take a second look at your resume once they see you have no CS (or similar) degree, but on the other hand, many employers care more about experience and will be happy to give you a chance even without a degree. A lot of people on here have found jobs, and I personally know someone who has found an Android developer job without a degree.
As @PortableStick has suggested, check out P1xt’s guides (he has a few more focused one). I’m going through one of them, and I’d totally recommend that you do as well. FCC is great, but the guides will teach you additional stuff that I believe can improve your employability.
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