Entry level programming jobs?

Question

So i ve been teaching my self various programming languages for the past about 3 year (i m 20 now) and its genuinely the only thing i ve found that can keep my attention for any given period of time xD.That said, i realized its something i both love to do, and am decent at. I was wondering what the best course of action is for someone like me who really can t afford any sort of degrees but would still like to get maybe on the job education. I ve found apprenticeship programs but they all need loosely defined "Experience" at any given quantity as well as some sort of ba or other degree, again going back to the lack of money on my part to get said degrees. So what options does someone in my position have? i m a quick learner, i ve got a bit of c++, javascript, html, and a tiny bit of lua under my belt (however its all mostly concentrated on the javascript side of things). i ve heard that "writing a plugin" or "making an app" is a good way to get started with things but there s two problems with that, i m not good at creating a fully fledged idea, in the way that i work better with a team of people rather than completely on my own. and two, most "apps" or "plugins" (mostly apps tho) require some level of "art" skill, such that i do not posses.

ok ramble over, point is, i d like to get into software engineering, where s the best place to start looking for an entry level job?

Answer 1

Write a resume and start applying for job advertisements. (Use google to find job search websites (stack overflow careers is one), in Australia there's seek, indeed, etc.) Make sure you use proper spelling and grammar when applying, avoid smileys.



So, you don't have a degree. That means you need to have something to show off your skills and your experience. A Github page, contributions to projects, some of your own personal projects, etc. are good examples. You really need to rely on those things to get you a job, and also performing exceptionally well during interviews and tests.



Don't expect to get a job in one day or one week, it's a long process and you need to keep improving your resume and your programming skills, and keep working on new projects.



If you can go to university, it will definitely help a lot, but it isn't always necessary. You mentioned money as the main thing preventing you from doing this, in some countries you can take out loans for education that are paid back whenever you start working, so that might be worth looking into.



Either way, just stay optimistic and everything should fall into place. :-)

Answer 2

Unfortunately if you want a programming job, you're really going to need to get a degree, preferably a bachelor's degree in either Computer Science or Computer Engineering.



There is financial aid available in the form of grants, and student loans. Don't let loans scare you. A typical programmer just out of school can expect to make around $50,000/year on average, and salaries quickly increase from there based on your ability.



While in school you can also apply for an internship program. With an internship you take a semester off from school and work for a company. These are paid internships but more importantly they give you real-world experience which will help you a lot more when it comes time to get a job after graduation.



In the meantime, you can build up your experience by joining any one of the 1000s of Open Source projects out there. Anyone can take a look at the source code of these projects, and submit bug fixes, or new features. Once you start getting your code accepted into these projects you can start making contacts, which may lead to a job that way.

Answer 3

First off, without a college degree you dont even get an interview.