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Computer Job w/ No Computer Degree?
Peterus7 asks: "I posted here a few years back, complaining that I couldn't code worth beans, but I wanted to get into computer science. Well, I'm back- with a psychology degree. However, I hear there's still hope since a lot of system admins and the like have liberal arts degrees. In the mean time, I've been working as a Macintosh digital media tutor, freelance tech support, and an assistant system admin at the campus library. Now that I've graduated, I want to find a job that will accept someone who knows a fair amount about computers, but is pretty much self-taught. Where should I start? Are there any classes I should take?"
I started as a computer science major and ended up with a degree in Human Communication though with my background of computer knowledge I was able to get a job doing tech support for a small dot com. Fast forward 2 years and I was able to move up in the company, currently working as a technical project manager and part-time DBA.
All it really takes is a foot in the door...once you have that it's a matter of working inside the company where you have something to offer. If it's a good company then your skills will be recognized and rewarded.. If its not such a great company you'll end up doing your job and someone else's, that's where having a good manager will make all the difference.
Just my $0.02
I started a CS degree and quit about 9 credit hours into it. I suck at math, but I've been programming since I was 12. I've had about 4 jobs doing computer/sysadmin work (two of them at large colleges), have programmed freelance for some time, and I'm now writing a book for Manning Publications on programming (along with a self-published book also).
All while getting a degree in Theology. :)
Don't fret about the degree; you just need the skills and mindset to do it.
[ check out my ruby book @ http://ww
Ever since, I worked in IT, my experience being more meaningful than degrees.
I went to a technical school and got a dgree in Network and Internet Technology. We learned network methods and each mod class we could get certified in that field. We started with A+ and went to NT (back then it was NT now I'm sure you'd learn XP/2003) and we had a Novell and Linux classes. We didn't have a coding class. The linux course touched on Bash and Perl like it rightly should. Maybe you could look into that.
That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
Rule number one is to never apologize for not having a Comp Sci degree in an interview.
(Rule number two is that you don't want to work anywhere that strictly requires it)
I have a Liberals Arts degree and I'm a completely self-taught, working Java developer. The only thing I did do to help my job search was get a Sun Certified Java Programmer certification. Almost no experienced developers give any merit to the thing, but during my job search it was useful to "prove" to the skeptical that I really do know Java.
Careers for Computer Buffs and Other Technological Types, 3rd edition
In 1993, I dropped out of college because the comp sci curriculum was horseshit, heavy on chemistry and physics that I would never need. I returned to my co-op job for a while, selling computers and providing some support in the computer department of the bookstore at another local university. I got very good at troubleshooting Macs. In 1996 I ended up at MacTemps (now known as Aquent). Through them I worked a couple brief Mac support jobs followed by a longer one which led to a permanent position in late 1998. After just over two years at that company, I left for my current job in early 2001. I'm currently making $60K+, and I have been increasingly in demand due to the Mac resurgence.
I think you're in better shape than I am, since you actually have a college degree. Try going to a temp agency and have them place you in some short-term temp gigs. It helped me build my experience and flesh out my list of references. Between an experience-filled resume and a few people willing to sing your praises, you should be able to land yourself in a good permanent position.
It's not impossible to do, but it does take a lot of hard work. First, learn everything that you can about what you want to do, and expect to start low on the totem pole. If you lack a degree or certification, then resume experience (or having good contacts) will be your only hope. I got started professionally in IT in the years just before Y2K, so everyone was always hiring, and I got a job as a PC Technician through a "consulting" company that did staff augmentation. After a couple of years and numerous assignments I was able to demonstrate competency and a wide range of technical knowledge, and began getting placements as a junior-level server admin. I continued working and learning, yadda yadda yadda, until I started getting more senior-level jobs (like as a consultant on large Exchange migrations, etc). If you work hard and learn everything that you can, you will continue building useful resume experience. Working at numerous jobs via consulting companies really helps here. If you keep at it you'll eventually be able to get that cool sysadmin job that you want. I've worked for organizations ranging from small nonprofits to Fortune 50 companies. At the moment I'm the senior engineer for a small company with an IT staff of eight people and make about $75k (in central Ohio). Granted, that's not riches beyond your wildest dreams, but for someone with no degree and no certifications who was largely self-taught that's pretty good.
If your goal is to get into development or some other more specialized area, then the barrier to entry is much higher. You might want to consider working on some OSS pojects to build experience and get your name out there. What I have found in life is that degrees and certs really only demonstrate a basic level of training and competence. Once you have the degree/cert, you still are fairly useless until you have accumulated some experience working in the real world. Some people are able to accumulate the experience without the degree, and as long as they can get past pre-screening for a job (where HR usually weeds out people who don't meet the paper requirements) then they can usually do quite well. That's why consulting companies are a good place to work, as their customers rarely ask to see anything other than experience. But if you have neither experience nor a degree/certs, prepare to start at the bottom and work your way up. Usually it's faster just to get the degree.