How does someone without a CS degree get an interview in a sluggish economy?

Question

I've been programming off and on since 4th grade (for about 20 years). Technology is one of my passions but after working in the field for a couple years out of High School, I spent nine months and $15,000 getting an accredited certificate in music performance instead of CS.

I've been doing lots of self study but I think a CS degree is overkill for most line of business applications. Even so, HR departments can't be expected to know that...

How does one get their foot in the proverbial door without a degree, especially in a smaller "fly-over country" market?
...or...
Where can I get the cheapest/easiest degree that will pass muster (including testing out of as much as possible)?

Don't get me wrong, I'm down with learning new things but I don't necessarily need the expense or coaching to motivate me.

EDIT

Consolidating good answers:

• Networking/User Groups
• Portfolio/Open Source Contributions
• Look for hybrid jobs (How I got my start :) )
• Seek un-elitist companies/hiring managers. (Play the numbers game)
• Start my own business. (This is a bit challenging for a family man but a very good answer. My reason for searching is to reduce my commute thereby allowing more time to cultivate income on the side)
• Avail myself of political subsidies to constituents in the teachers' unions ;) .

Answer 1

Your resume is typically your bid to get an interview. Recommend: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/ResumeRead.html

Answer 2

So you're not a college grad, eh? Well, to be uber-elitist for a moment, I'll tell you the same thing I told my brother: Rethink that college degree. By no means is a college degree "overkill" for this industry--it's bare minimum at best. You'll be exposed to things in college that will make you a better programmer for sure, but you don't even have to go for CS (my BS is in Management and Econ -- the Accounting and Finance has helped me tremendously).

Colleges offer plenty in financial aid to help you get through them, and do not underestimate the Old Boy Network. Alumni take care of their own, always remember that. Don't go to a DeVry, University of Pheonix, or ITT Tech (or really any college that advertises during the Price is Right)--you won't gain much over where you're at now. State schools are always a solid bet (and cheap!). I have wealthy friends and family who went to small state schools, so don't think that you have to go to MIT (although Cambridge is lovely).

To paint a bleaker picture, we won't even look at somebody without a college degree, and we're hiring as fast as we can.

That's the best advice I can give. Unless you're on par with Gates, Larry && Sergey, or Torvalds, get the degree. It will be the best move you ever make (professionally). As a bonus, while you're going for a degree, you can minor in music!

Answer 3

Focus your resume heavily on your skills, abilities, and projects you've completed. Since you don't have a degree, it will be important to show you know what your talking about. If you've been involved with any large open source projects, that could make a great addition to your resume. Also, if they ask for code samples, make sure your samples are concise, clean, and efficient. What I thought was really good starting out fails miserably on many people's standards for good code. I would suggest getting critiques on any code samples you want to show potential employers.

And most importantly, keep applying. Even in a tough economy, there's always someone hiring. I would also suggest getting a degree at some point later. Some people will just not take you seriously without one.

Answer 4

If you're not in a CS degree then I think you should create some online portfolios of your work (as a proof that you know how to code/design) and put them to your resume. Also, your resume must loook good.

Goodluck :)

Answer 5

A degree is optional if you have practical, solid experience for the last few years.

There are many and varied paths that end up with you working in IT: getting a CS degree (or any degree) may not lie on your path.

Perhaps I'm being too British here, but I've never looked for a degree on a CV. Frankly, for a junior position no degree means less to beat out of them. For a senior position, I want to see experience.

Edit:

Your CV will not go to HR in many places in Europe, unless you go via the company web site. HR get involved after the manager has picked candidates via IT agencies with who they have a good relationship. I want to see raw unfiltered CVs.

Answer 6

When I read resumes to fill an experienced position I want to see experience building software. I don't care where or when you went to school, if you have a successful track record you are worth talking to. When I interview candidates I ask lots of questions about their previous projects and their role in the projects, I don't think I've ever asked a candidate about their schooling.

Answer 7

My personal experience when looking for work:

In IT, especially programming, 1 year of experience is worth more than a 4 year degree.

I value what I learned in my CS degree, but not everyone hiring programmers does. If they have to, they will often pick the guy who only has the experience over the guy who only has the degree.

Answer 8

Some of you are probably going to disagree with me, but this is what i have to say based on my expierience.

I don't know about the CS degree being 'optional.' Every single company i interviewed for or heard about in the area require a degree in computer science (a lot emphasize on MS in CS), no 'ifs' or 'buts'. If the degree's all you got, it tells the employer you have the potential to become something. Nobody but you knows what, but that's a chance your employer would be willing to take. And believe me, they'd rather take someone with a degree than somebody who was a pastry chef and then decided to become a developer. Software engineering is very difficult work and the major problem with the software industry is that it has people working in it who have nothing to do with software engineering. And I'm talking about business majors, ITT tech-schmeck grads and, heck, even electrical engineers (although they may be the most qualified.) Everybody's a developer these days, primarily because it's an open, nonrestrictive industry out there. I think a lot of employers in the software industry have caught on to this and have set up more rigorous interview processes as a result, which i believe would become a standard procedure for many. My suggestion would be to definitely get a degree. A lot of organizations in the software industry (i.e. IEEE) are pushing this profession to become a true, certified engineering profession. I think this will happen, eventually, which will bring all of the legal matters of a true engineering profession to software engineering. Which means you, as certified engineer, would have to abide by legal, financial and moral ramifications of your certified profession. That, in turn could suggest that you may have problems keeping your job if you don't have a degree or have a certificate from a tech school. Honestly, i don't think this will be happening any time soon. May in 10/15 years from now, but eventually it's going to come down to this. And i believe that's a good enough reason to secure yourself as a professional in the future and get yourself a concrete degree.

Answer 9

I graduated in Economics, so I've got a degree, but not in CS. I figured freelance on the side was my best route to gain the "... equivalent experience".

After a year, I didn't need a job interview anymore, just a business license :)

Answer 10

The answer is "it depends."

The outcome for you is going to be very dependent on where you are and how much software engineering is going on commercially.

If you're in Silicon Valley, you're going to be in much better shape than a lot of places.

Your resume should highlight jobs/experience/projects. You may well get turned down at "larger" companies, but if there is enough small/medium sized business you may have a good shot.

Answer 11

I actually agree with the author that a CS degree is overkill. Most programming activities do not involve any science or even basic knowledge from that domain. It is one's ability to start and finish projects that matters.

I also long believe that almost any degree is an overkill for its respective profession except for engineering of technics and medicine/biology. The rest of knowledge domains can be learned in practice, and in > 90% of cases the practical experience will overwrite your theoretical knowledge even if you have it still left till after 6 months of graduating.

Answer 12

If you haven't read, "What Color Is Your Parachute?" that would be my suggestion for a different way to get in the door or even just making the door so there isn't an HR to deal with in some cases. If where you got your music certificate has a career services area that is worth exploring, local user groups for technologies you know or are learning may also have suggestions.

If you do decide to go for the CS degree, please don't go for the uber cheap and possibly questionable institute where someone reading the name of the school could go, "That's not a real school!" After all, one could just create a "Master of computer programming at MyKingdomGoesHere" which is likely to go right into the trash. Recruiting firms may also be an option if you can get that face to face interview with one of them to help your file get a bit better than what you may look like on paper. I'm not sure how many firms will go that extra mile and it may take going to a few to find this but it may be out there.

Lastly, you may want to consider looking for hybrid jobs where part of it is programming and part is something else with which you have experience, e.g. sysadmin, testing or troubleshooting. This can give you a chance to pick up enough culture and other things that may allow to transition to analyst or developer as you pick up some domain knowledge of how things work in an organization.

Answer 13

It depends on the hiring manager. I know somebody who got hired by the Excel team in the 90s even though his major was physics and knew little about programming. The reason of the hiring was "he was super smart and thinks very clearly in solving tough problems".

Answer 14

After you gain experience with few projects, its unlikely that you will be asked about your college education at a programming job interview. In order to gain some real world programming experience you may want to try volunteermatchdotorg. Look out for virtual opportunities where non-profits are looking for help with websites, web applications and database related work. I used this site to get C#/.NET experience back in the last recession of 2001-02. I got a couple of small projects from this site when I was laid-off and used the experience to get a job doing .NET work at a small consultancy.

Answer 15

If you really want this, go for the degree. Smaller schools/classes (associates degree) will mostly teach you tools, but a CS degree will get you well rounded. Teach logic, methods; give you a peek into areas you've never thought of.

I agree 100% with @unknown (google) If you look at the growth numbers there are still more software developers needed than we have access to in the US. The issue is we have bodies, but there are fewer good developers out there (hopefully Stackoverflow.com will help that), thus we bring them in from other counties. Having a degree is one part of proving you have a passion and some skill for this labor of love. You still have to have logic/math skills and really be in tune to understanding the business. A is noted, yes there are some great developers out there that don't have degrees, but if you have to ask you are not one of them. Not to be mean, just to prove a point.

If you can't say yes with conviction to committing to this then maybe this isn't a career for you.

Once you have a degree. Get out there:

•Create a portfolio site
•Doing some open source work
•Work for a charity
•Continue to learn new tools and technologies •Get deep into something you are passionate about - be active in that area •Get involved in social media - tell the world.
•Be your biggest advocate
•Network with others of similar interest. (user groups, conferences and online communities)

•Get theresume out there. All the job boards. Why not?
•Use your schools job board resources.
•When you send your resume and promote your portfolio - follow up with those that have reviewed it. •Stay positive

I wish you the best.

Answer 16

StackOverflow started "StackOverflow Careers":
http://careers.stackoverflow.com/

Fill out your resume/CV here with your skills/experiences and employers will have an easier time finding you. If your skills match what they're looking for, you may get an interview out of it. Plus, because you're contributing to StackOverflow, employers can see firsthand your knowledge on topics important to them by looking at your questions/answers on the SO site.