How many of you became developers without any college degree

I started as a self-taught and then went to college and am now doing an internship.

it helps but experience and a passion is more then enough

I can't speak from experience, but I do know that most developers have some college experience, even if it's an associates degree from 20 years ago. It's hard to get past HR with absolutely zero college courses under your belt. It's not impossible, but it's a huge disadvantage when being compared side by side with other developers with degrees, or in salary negotiations. That said, it's really only a big issue for the first 0-3ish years of your career, once you have a few years of work experience lack of a college degree is at worst going to cause you to lose out on jobs where you're competing against someone that is almost identical in talent and experience. I'd recommend you really consider cheaper college options, even just for a class or two to prove you're capable to HR screener, but if you're really determined, nothing can prevent you from landing that dream job. If you want to go that route, breaking into the field with 0 college, I'd make sure you're 100% positive this is your dream job because it's going to be one hard, long and frustrating journey with many, many, many obstacles to overcome. I don't mean to discourage you, but if your heart isn't in it, it's hard to land a job with a college degree in computer science, much less no college at all. Alternatively, getting IT certifications, landing an IT job, and using that to break in might prove to be a path with less resistance, particularly considering many tech companies offer financial assistance for further IT training (which can include programming) and college courses. Whatever you decide, good luck, and stick with it!

Hi Justin, and anyone else curious about this.

I landed a job as a Software Engineer using Treehouse as my school. I actually list Treehouse as my education on my LinkedIn profile, proudly I might add.

Most employers list some kind of degree as a requirement, yet they often hire candidates missing them. Just never give up and you can definitely make it without a degree.

I hope that helps,

Best of luck.

Jonas

justin s. It's definitely possible to get a job if you have solid technical and communication skills without a college degree. I've talked to Treehouse students (like stjarnan) who don't have college degrees but are working as developers. However, some businesses do look for a college degree as a way of limiting applicants -- they see a 4 year degree as some proof that you have the grit to work through something and have some base level of writing, communication, and logic skills.

When hiring here at Treehouse we do not ask for a college degree, and many other tech companies are following the same path. What's important for you is to be able to demonstrate solid technical skills -- as in a portfolio of high quality work -- and the ability to communicate clearly and professionally. Good writing skills can mean a lot and can certainly be gained without going to college.

Best of luck to you and thanks for being a Treehouse student.