Comment Experience matters more (Score 1) 1123
I have no college degree at all in any major and I have consecutively held 3 senior level development positions in the last 15 years and have even been on the hiring end a few times. Admittedly, I have taken some courses at a local community college just to keep up with technology but mostly I've found that I learn better on my own. I've often been asked during interviews if I have ever had a hard time finding a job because I have no degree and the answer is a resounding "NO". While interviewing for my current job I had several interviews and 3 offers. If you look close at every job posting they usually say BS "or equivelent experience". I'm not telling anyone to quit school, the advantage I had was that I have been obsessed with computers and programming since I was a kid. By the time I was looking for my first job I had already written dozens of programs and had extensive experience building my own machines. My first position was as an entry-level in-house programmer, but I moved up through the ranks and gained experience along the way. Four years into the position, I held a senior level title; the same amount of time it takes to get a BS and I actually got paid to get experienced. As someone who actually looks at resumes, I, personally, don't look at the degrees; I look at experience, what skills the person has used that parallel our needs and more importantly, I google the crap out of the person's name and visit the links they put on their resume. I want to see if someone is programming for their own enjoyment. If someone really loves computers so much that they do it at home, the are bound to be good. So if you have done projects on your own, definitely put them on your resume. There's no harm in sending your resume without college credentials, the worst thing they'll do is throw it in the trash and move on, but you won't get any calls if you don't send them out at all. You gotta play to win ;)
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