Is a formal education usually mandatory to land a coding job?

[Eclair_de_XII]

Suppose the applicant has had absolutely no formal education in systems administration or computer science, but has demonstrated coding experience demonstrating his aptitude for both. Would his application be redirected to the physical equivalent of /dev/null the moment that human resources notices the lack of college education relevant to the work required of someone in the position that he is applying for?

I do not speak of myself, by the way. I'm just asking out of blind curiosity.

 

[Jody]

My friend is doing well with systems administration and makes more than me (I'm an electronics engineer). I don't know how folks do in computer science without a degree, but I've heard of stories.

As an engineer with "only" a bachelors I will say that there are huge barriers for me compared to my coworkers who have at least a masters. I would imagine these barriers would likely worsen for someone with less. Some of things are like starting pay, raises/promotions, and my work is scrutinized much more than my coworkers. I think I do a pretty good job so they scrutinize all they want, but does get tiring and I feel like I'm treated as much less talented than my team members.

I have noticed that the time spent in earning the degree is often worth much more than the work experience. If I have a bachelors degree with 2 years of fullt-time work experience (unfortunately internships often aren't calculated into pay) and a coworker joins the team with a MS no years of experience... guess who's likely getting paid more? Guess who gets bigger raises? Promoted more quickly? So long as they do a nominal job they can easily keep up. Can't say it's "always" the case, but if I were a betting man...

 

[Dale]

In my company hiring managers are trained to think carefully about that. When they write the requisition they can tell the recruiter that a certain education level is “required” or just “preferred”. Those words are used in the published job description. If it is “required” then applicants such as you describe are rejected by the recruiter and not even shown to the hiring manager. If it is “preferred” then applicants such as you describe are sent to the hiring manager if they otherwise stand out.

 

[Klystron]

Concur. Much depends on the applicant. Who they know in order to get past the initial HR screening process. Prior work experience that the hiring company substitutes for formal education. For example, management might instruct HR to flag resumes from military veterans from certain required career fields, granting that vital first interview.

Airlines would interview pilots and aircraft mechanics. Security firms give preference to certain military occupation specialists (MOS) in mil-speak. Investment management firms might court certain logistics officers. Police forces prefer experienced 'peace keepers'. International firms flag candidates with advanced language skills. Et cetera.

Hiring managers sometimes substitute certifications for academic credentials. Accountants earn various credentials that indicate expertise in their field. Restaurants look for sou-chefs raised in hospitality industries or with required health certifications. Certain skills remain in demand but applicants need to demonstrate those skills.

Outside my experience I understand sales, advertising and marketing to have different hiring criteria from STEM. Applicant age and appearance apply more, particularly for entry level positions. Medical and hospital positions may not only require specialized educations but also strong contact networks in the field.

 

[StatGuy2000]

I think the situation varies very much by the employer, and the particular skills of the applicant. Among many employers seeking to fill coding, software development, or IT jobs (particularly in smaller firms or start-ups), there will be a greater emphasis on demonstrated coding experience and job experience as opposed to a formal credential. For example, I know of one person who is currently working as a security systems software developer and who is highly sought after, and he does not have any formal qualifications in computer science at all -- he was completely self-taught.

In other settings (e.g. those with more of a research component) credentials will take on greater importance. Most of the places I have worked fall under this category.

 

[StatGuy2000]

My friend is doing well with systems administration and makes more than me (I'm an electronics engineer). I don't know how folks do in computer science without a degree, but I've heard of stories.

As an engineer with "only" a bachelors I will say that there are huge barriers for me compared to my coworkers who have at least a masters. I would imagine these barriers would likely worsen for someone with less. Some of things are like starting pay, raises/promotions, and my work is scrutinized much more than my coworkers. I think I do a pretty good job so they scrutinize all they want, but does get tiring and I feel like I'm treated as much less talented than my team members.

I have noticed that the time spent in earning the degree is often worth much more than the work experience. If I have a bachelors degree with 2 years of fullt-time work experience (unfortunately internships often aren't calculated into pay) and a coworker joins the team with a MS no years of experience... guess who's likely getting paid more? Guess who gets bigger raises? Promoted more quickly? So long as they do a nominal job they can easily keep up. Can't say it's "always" the case, but if I were a betting man...

This is surprising to me, because it goes against the experiences of most of the engineers that I know of (i.e. preference for bachelors degrees with job experience, over those with more advanced degrees with little experience).

But then again, I live in Canada, where all those who call themselves "engineers" (with the exception of software engineers) must have a P.Eng. certification (the Canadian equivalent of the PE designation), which can only be attained after completing a bachelor's degree, plus minimum 4 years of work experience and then taking a certification exam.

Anyone fresh out of university (whether bachelors, masters, or PhD) without a P.Eng. certification working as an engineer is referred to officially as "engineer in training" until certification.

 

[Locrian]

Depends on the company, of course. POV: I'm a data scientist at a tech company and my impression from the SWEs I work around is that their degree means zero to their career there. Nobody cares and it doesn't matter. Maybe having a BS is still helpful in getting the job (though much less so than in the past) in that it gives the opportunity of getting an internship (swe interns here are paid ~$9k/month, not a bad gig) and so a nice path to a career. . . but honestly, SWE is in such ridiculously high demand right now, if you can demonstrate you can code, you probably have a nice job.

The trick is what it means to "demonstrate". From what I can tell job experience and significant coding experience during college are both good ways, but there appear to be others.

 

[Locrian]

Saw this and thought of this thread: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-jobs-no-college-degree-necessary-11649371535

The company said it is hiring more broadly to keep up with its growth targets—it aims to roughly triple revenue to $4 billion by 2026. Like other bigger businesses, it is also seeking to further diversify its workforce, and hiring based on skills and potential, not a college degree, has helped. “We’re moving more to looking at motivation and skills and experience, not ‘What college did you go to?’ ” said Rachele Zamani, whom Okta hired last year to launch and manage the business development associates program.