You dove in.
You’re putting in the work - learning a ton about coding and technology.
But in the back of every self-taught developer’s head is that nagging question: will it all be worth it?
In other words, who’s going to even consider hiring a programmer with no degree?
Well, if emerging trends are any indication, a lot of people.
Why Employers Already Want to Hire You
In this 2017 interview with Workforce.com, CEOs and founders from Event Temple and Textio said they actually prefer self-taught developers.
Why?
The reason they offered was twofold:
1.) Passion
We touched on this before, and for Event Temple and Textio, it was the No. 1 differentiator.
Event Temple co-founder Bob Graham put it this way:
“They see coding as a life-style, not a job.”
If you’re dedicating nights, weekends, and lunchbreaks to that coding lesson or portfolio project – to learning your craft – it’s safe to say you’re about the life-style…
…and employers are paying attention.
2.) Real-World Tech Skills
Okay, I’ve promised I wouldn’t knock the CS degree route, but this quote, (also Bob Graham) blew my mind:
“You don’t learn to program in college.”
Textio CEO Karen Snyder elaborated:
“Candidates with computer science degrees are really well-versed in design theory, but unless they’ve had internships, they often struggle with the transition to a production environment. While self-learners lack the theory, they tend to be better at solving real-world problems.”
The Age of the Self-Taught Web Developer
In this 2016 Stack Overflow survey, 69 percent of web developer respondents described their tech education as at least partially self-taught – up from 41 percent just a year prior, according to The Washington Post.
And while the payscale, according to the Post article, still favors the CS degree holder, self-taught developers still command a $103,000 average salary…
…not bad, especially when you take student debt out of the equation.
If you're ready to get started, I lay out everything you need to know about self-taught programming here.
And whatever you do…
Self-Teach with Support
One last bit of advice: there’s no such thing as a truly self-taught developer.
It doesn’t exist. It CAN’T exist.
Why?
Because we’re all borrowing lessons, project ideas, and problem-solving approaches from somewhere.
From each other.
And in case you haven’t already checked out our Traversy Media YouTube channel, there are over 1.15 million inspiring, supportive, and self-driven programmers ready to help you learn, grow, and hit your goals.
You can chart your course with these proven strategies for self-taught web developers.