Programming without post secondary education
 

I have a question for any proffesional programmers out there. I'm just wondering to if it's likely to get a programming job without any post secondary eduction or very little maybe a 2 year college diploma. Let me tell you the situation first.

Now i'm really really into programming, in fact i have a passion for it. I don't think that i'm going to make it to university. So i'm wondering how easily i'd be able to get a job if i really work hard read many books on programming. Is a degree / certificate all they look for. Please tell me if "knowing your stuff" is good enough for them or do they require you to have some evidence of your programming skills (degree).

If not, what programming language should i move towards. I've heard that "c# is where the industry is going in database programming" ( from one of my database programming friends) and database is where i want to go.

Hey man! I love programming!! I want to become a professioanl programmer as well! I am going to a community college to get my Assiocate's Degree in Computer Science. I plan on getting my Sun Certified Java Programmer Cerfitication and my A+ Cerfitication! I have brought over 11 books within the past 3 months! I only read 4 of them, 3 on Java, 1 on HTML, 1 on Visual BASIC, 1 on C++, 2 on Linux, 2 on Eclipse, and 1 on JavaServer Pages!

I think programming doesnt require a college background but it sure will help! It's like saying in order to know another language you speak(German, English, etc.) you have to go to college. I know thats not the point behind your question but I am just throwing it out there. My answer though is this...I think you can get Cerfitications left and right and it will help you out a lot but having a college background will open your door wider than you will ever except it!

Go to monster or dice, search for software development jobs in your area, and look at what the employer requires. You'll find the majority of them require a degree. In my area, I've not seen one that doesn't list a degree as a requirement. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's definitely an up-hill battle to find a software development job without a degree.

A good friend of mine makes quite a reasonable living with database programming, and he never finished high school. He's actually a muso (music is his first love, with his wife and daughter very close second), and database programming provides a very good income stream for him in gaps between gigs.

A lot of employers require a science or engineering degree of some form because the process of getting those degrees teaches problem solving skills, which are sort of necessary for software development. The key is developing problem solving skills; the challenge it's more difficult to convince a potential employer that you have such skills (particularly if time is short) if you don't have a degree.

thx
 

That statement helps me out a lot!
Now anyone here in canada know if your able to go from college to University? Opposed to taking university courses in high school leading to university?

Here's a fact. When a potential employer gets several hundred applications for one job, he/she screens them in some way. There have been times I've thrown all the green, pink, and blue envelopes away, unopened. Why? They were resumes prepared by the schools. They all looked alike except for the person's name. Any outstanding candidates were hidden and would have taken an inordinate amount of time to discover. After that, one screens some more. A person with a degree is likely to get more attention than one without (for the reasons Grumpy mentions), however MORE capable the person without a degree may actually be. Fair? No. Economic requirement and reality? Yes.

I'm 15, and possibly looking for a job this summer.

If I needed a job done, and all I was looking at was a bunch of names, my natural inclination would be to look at people with degrees. (just like my natural inclination for a partner for a school project would be someone with a high average.)

It may not be fair, but my impression is that it is true.