Do You Need a Degree to Become a Programmer?

How do you become a programmer?

Becoming a programmer is a rather interesting thing to discuss, since it’s a job title which can be very different from person to person.

Programming can be done in various ways, and for that reason there is rarely just 1 type of degree which covers everything there is to know about programming.

Many programmers are self taught, since the one of the best ways to become a great programmer is to learn by doing.

Trial and error could be another word for programming, as it requires finesse and patience to write code properly.

Programmers are often also called developers, or coders since most of their work involves coding and programming various computer software.

You can become a programmer by simply working and learning by yourself, it doesn’t actually require a degree of any kind.

That being said, there might be various companies who have a policy that requires you to have some sort of college degree in programming or other subjects.

Often though, if your programming portfolio is vast, it is often seen that more experienced programmers without a degree are picked over newly educated programmers with various degrees.

When it comes to programming experience is valued a lot higher than a bachelor programme, experienced programmers are not only more skilled, but can also often carry out their work way faster than less experienced programmers.

Today there are hundreds of courses you can take to better your programming skills.

First of all you might have to pick which type of programming you’d like to work with, and make yourself a master at this before moving on to other types of programming.

A wide skill set that covers multiple types of programming is valued greatly, and will definitely help you land high paying jobs.

How much do you make as a programmer?

As mentioned above, being a programmer isn’t simply 1 type of job.

Experience matters a ton, and for that reason the average salary of a programmer can only be determined by analyzing what experience he or she has, as well as what kind of company they work for.

The going rate for average programmers is around 50.000 USD for early careers, but later careers even for simple coding can result in a yearly salary of around 85.000 USD.

If you land a programming job at one of the huge companies, or maybe a leader role in any type of company, your salary really has no cap.

Programmers are a bit like skilled salesmen, as their value can’t really be set in stone.

Your work directly affects the growth of your company, therefore many programmers often have steadily increasing salaries, if they can keep increasing company growth through their work.

Efficient work and skills will get you a long way in the programming field, if you work hard and prove yourself you can definitely make the big bucks.

5 Examples of programming jobs

As mentioned before there are quite a wide array of jobs programmers can take on.

The salary is also quite different depending on which type of programming you want to work with.

Lately, especially mobile app developers have seen a sparked increase in salary, which is largely due to the fact that more and more people in the world are using their phone on a day to day basis.

Here’s some examples of high paying programming jobs:

• Mobile app developer. The development of mobile apps, whether its games or functional apps for emails, economy etc. the need for app developers is quite high, and ongoing as well. You can really earn a ton of money in this industry, especially if you create something totally different and unique to what’s already available.
• Lead application developer. A leader type job which involves being the manager of a development team. As with any leader type job you can expect a rather high salary by being the leader of a team, however it comes with responsibilities and you will most likely take the fall if the team fails.
• Business system analyst. As a business system analyst you monitor and observe how automatic systems can help businesses foresee and meet various market trends. You also provide IT support to any in-house business systems.
• CRM system developer. A proper CRM system is something that pretty much any medium to large company needs. Having a programmer who can develop a CRM system specifically for your business is highly valued.
• Developer analyst. A developer analyst critically observes all programmes being used within the business and makes choices to discard or add various applications to create more efficient activities within the business.