IT Job Without a Degree?

adh0c writes "I have been lurking Slashdot for some time now without registering and I don't think this question has been answered yet. Is it possible to get a good IT job (assuming that there is such a thing), preferably a sysadmin position, without having a BS or other degree? From browsing the job postings on Monster and such, it would seem that everyone wants university papers. Is there hope for computer enthusiasts who didn't go to college?"

Comments

My company explicitly does not care about degrees.

[alanfairless]

We've had good results with simply giving out actual trial programming tasks and comparing the results of several programmers.

Degrees don't seem to be a strong predictor of usefulness.

Incidentally, we're hiring right now.

https://spideroak.com/blog/200810280100

It's a little harder but you can find a job.

[GrpA]

There are typically two reasons someone will employ you without a degree.

1). They want to get the best skills without paying for them.

2). You have sufficient experience that no-one reads your resume far enough to notice you've never been to college and wouldn't care either way, or you present extremely well at interviews.

I'd say work on (2) because companies that focus on (1) tend to be bad employers, although not always. Sometimes it's just employers who realise the value of the skills you have, not the paper you paid for that claims it.

GrpA

Re:Do you live in a van down by the river?

[PenguSven]

Of course you can. I left High school 2 years early, got a diploma (dunno what that equates to in the US?) and now Im contracting in an unrelated discipline (Diploma in Network Engineering, working Web Design/Development). And before someone mentions $$ - both by previous and current contracts are six figures. I was somewhat lucky, but I am also living proof you don't always need a piece of paper.

Re:Not in this economy.

[neko6]

Since, there are lots of people who have the degree, I think that you will be in bad shape to compete against them.

My problem is the inverse one. I have a BSc and an MSc in Computer Science from a respectable scientific institute (app. 10% of our MSc graduates are recruited by Google each year), but I can't find a Software Developer position. Alas, nobody wants to take in someone without experience in this economy - nobody wants to invest in the shaky future. I've seen many job listings with "Bachelor's degree a plus", but the experience dominates.

Re:Not in this economy.

[Rysc]

It's all about who you know.

They call it "networking" but I dislike this term as it has a well defined technical meaning.

I got my first job because I knew a guy who recommended it to me and mentioned me to those who later interviewed me.

I got my next job because a co-worker from my first job told me about a position, handed over my resume and gave me a nice talking-up to the people doing the hiring.

He got his job there because someone he knew in school recommended him.

Do you see a pattern here? In an uncertain world it's hard to know what to believe. I've seen people with great resumes, claiming experience AND education, who couldn't do the jobs they were hired to do. I've seen people with no degrees and no experience excel. How do you tell the difference between the two when you're doing the hiring? You rely on the advice and recommendations of people you trust, i.e. people you've already worked with. In this down economy the tendency to go with the safe bet will be even higher.

Knowing people helps you get a job. It's not absolutely essential but it really, really helps.