It’s no secret that aspiring software engineers need specialized skills to break into the profession. But while a computer science degree is certainly helpful, it isn’t the only way to build expertise. In fact, with so many universities struggling to accommodate increased demand for computer science majors, alternative routes for learning are more important than ever.
Whatever your learning style, budget, or time allowance, there’s a path that’s right for you. Here’s a closer look at your options for meeting the education requirements for software engineers so you can make an informed decision to support your professional goals.
Do you need a college degree to become a software engineer?
The short answer is: it depends. While entry-level and mid-level jobs tend to be more flexible on software engineer degree requirements, senior management positions might require them due to their leadership responsibilities.
A bachelor’s in computer science is the best degree, but one in a related field (such as engineering or software development) is often also sufficient.
What alternative education can you pursue to become a software engineer?
With the average cost of tuition for computer science degree programs ranging from $38,496 to $66,000 per year, going to college can be a big investment. Luckily, alternative paths now exist that make it possible to learn new skills more affordably and quickly.
Associate’s degree
An associate’s degree is a two-year course designed to help you get your foot in the door with an entry-level, full-time software engineering position. These programs cover the basics of programming, such as languages and web development, and prepare you to earn your bachelor’s degree should you wish to continue with higher education.
Self-teaching
While challenging to execute independently, it is possible to learn software engineer skills through self-driven study. This typically entails diving into a combination of online courses, white papers and books, communities like GitHub, and industry events. But it requires a fair bit of self-discipline, as well as the time and energy to do copious amounts of research.
Teaching yourself to code has the lowest cost and gives you the most flexibility with your schedule, which makes it perfect for people switching careers, parents, or anyone juggling other commitments. You'll need a lot of self-discipline, but plenty of developers have proven it can be done.
How long does it take?
Most self-taught developers spend 12 to 24 months getting job-ready. Money-wise, you could spend as little as $500-$2,000. Some people drop $3,000-$8,000 on higher-quality training because it speeds things up and gives you more structure.
What it takes to succeed in teaching yourself:
Students in guided programs have built-in accountability from classmates, instructors, and deadlines. When going it alone, you don't. You're creating your own curriculum from scratch. Here's what seems to work:
- Get really solid on the fundamentals such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for web projects and Python if you want to tackle back-end work. A lot of people rush through the basics thinking they'll pick them up later. Bad idea. Even junior developers need strong foundations, and employers can tell when you skipped a subject.
- Your portfolio matters more than anything. One polished project beats five half-finished ones. Build two to three complete applications that actually solve problems and show you can think through technical challenges.
- Open-source contributions are a smart move. You improve your skills while proving to employers you can work with other people's code and follow professional standards.
- Write about what you're learning. Start a blog, post on Dev.to or Medium about problems you've solved, and write detailed README files for your GitHub projects. Employers look at all of this to see how well you can communicate.
Come in with realistic expectations
Job hunting takes longer when you're self-taught. The market's competitive right now, and companies often hold self-taught candidates to higher standards than degree holders or bootcamp grads since you don't have the structured training.
But it works. Stack Overflow's 2023 survey found that 80% of professional developers learned through online resources, and about half completed online courses or certifications. So yeah, plenty of people get there this way.
Software engineering bootcamps
Bootcamps are self-contained programs designed by experts to help you master the fundamentals of software engineering and successfully pass technical interviews. Some, like TripleTen’s, offer mentorship and career preparation as well. Most are designed to fit around your commitments, making it easier for working professionals to transition careers.
Bootcamps are the most structured option outside of getting a degree. You're looking at around nine months of intense, focused training built around what employers actually need if you choose to study part-time or four months if you dive in full-time.
Key advantages for bootcamp graduates
Job placement happens faster. Most grads land something within six months of graduation, and a lot of programs guarantee placement or give your money back. The proof is in the outcomes; TripleTen has an 82% employment rate for grads.
The math makes sense, too. Spend $10,000–$15,000, start at $65,000–$75,000, and you've broken even in about 14 to 18 months. Degree holders might wait three to five years to recover what they spent on four years of college.
You also get career support in the form of interview prep, resume help, LinkedIn fixes, and direct introductions to companies that hire from the program. Good career services separate the bootcamps worth attending from the ones that aren't.
Online certificates
Coursera, edX, Udemy, and specialized platforms sit somewhere between teaching yourself and doing a bootcamp. They offer more structure than going solo, but there’s less guidance than what you’d find at a bootcamp.
The upside? They’re cheaper ($500–$8,000) and flexible. Universities run programs through Coursera, and IBM, Microsoft, and AWS offer their own certifications.
The downside? Most employers don't care much about generic online certificates. AWS and Google Cloud certs are exceptions, though; those actually carry weight.
The smart approach here is to not rely on certificates alone. Pair an AWS DevOps certificate with real projects and active GitHub contributions. The certificate shows you learned the material, and your projects prove you can use it.
Internships
Some companies hire people without degrees into engineering internships, using skills tests and training you on the job.
Google (through Career Certificates), IBM, Tesla, and EY have all hired non-degree candidates into entry-level roles based on technical ability. Internships usually run three to six months and sometimes turn into full-time jobs.
Examples of real software engineer qualification requirements
Looking at job postings from November 2025, here's what most entry-level software engineer positions are asking for when they don't require a degree:
- Knowing at least one programming language well
- An understanding of version control systems like Git
- The ability to write code that's clean and easy to maintain
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to debug effectively
- A solid grasp of software development fundamentals
- A portfolio showing personal projects or contributions to open-source work
- Basic knowledge of data structures and algorithms
Here's what's interesting: most job descriptions have stopped listing "Bachelor's degree required." These days, you're more likely to see "Bachelor's degree preferred," or they'll skip mentioning education entirely and just focus on what you can actually do.
Your GitHub portfolio
No degree? Your GitHub is your resume. Companies actually look at your code quality, how you commit, and how you write documentation. Here's what you need to make it shine.
Deploy two to three complete projects that show you can build something start-to-finish. An e-commerce site with product listings, a working cart, user login, and real payment processing? That's worth way more than 10 todo apps.
Write good README files. Explain what the project does, how to install it, how to use it, and what you built it with. How well you document tells employers whether you can communicate and follow professional standards.
Show you can work with others. Include at least one project with pull requests or code reviews, something that proves you've collaborated. Employers want to know you won't be a nightmare to work with.
Lastly, keep your commit history consistent with regular work and logical progression instead of dropping massive code changes every few weeks.
Technical skills
Whether you plan on becoming a front-end engineer, game developer, back-end developer, or any other type of software engineer, you’ll need a healthy mix of soft skills and technical capabilities to succeed. Here’s a snapshot of some of these skills and why they’re important.
Technical skills span coding and programming (such as expertise in relevant programming languages like JavaScript or HTML), data structures and algorithms, and testing and debugging. They’re important because they let you perform the responsibilities of your role. We go into more detail in this article all about technical skills.
But for a quick FYI, entry-level jobs usually want:
- Front end: CSS, JavaScript, and advanced HTML. Pick React, Vue, or Angular and get good at it. Understand responsive design, accessibility (WCAG standards), and performance optimization.
- Back end: Python, Java, Node.js, or Go. Know database design and how to optimize SQL or NoSQL. Build RESTful APIs. Understand system architecture and how to scale things.
- Full-stack: Both of the above, plus Git, Docker, and basic deployment.
Soft skills
Soft skills are important because they help you add value to your team and thrive in your role. Potential employers want to see your approach to solving problems, collaboration, time management, learning, attention to detail, and more.
What employers want to check in on:
- How clearly you explain your development process and the decisions you make
- That you understand trade-offs such as choosing between memory efficiency and speed or keeping things simple versus adding more features
- Proof that you've learned from your mistakes and worked through tough debugging problems
- Professional communication throughout your work, from code comments to commit messages to documentation
Problem-solving and data structures
Software engineers still need to know data structures and algorithms, no matter how they learned. You don't need to memorize every algorithm, but you should understand:
- How to evaluate algorithm efficiency using Big O notation
- When to use different data structures (arrays, hash tables, trees, graphs) and why
- Basic sorting and searching algorithm concepts
- How to analyze and optimize code performance
Most people prove this through technical interviews on LeetCode or HackerRank. Expect to spend two to four weeks working through coding problems before you start applying.
Examples of becoming a software engineer without a degree
Talk to enough software engineers and you’ll discover that no two career paths look alike. Some get their start with a bachelor’s in computer science, while others change course mid-career with a professional bootcamp. Here are two stories from TripleTen graduates for inspiration.
Isabelle Cuisset
On paper, Isabelle Cuisset had it all: A dream career in luxury fashion and a peripatetic life among Europe’s biggest cities. But after 20 years of constant motion, she was ready for a change. A small fashion project during the pandemic gave Isabelle the direction she needed. After building the project’s WordPress site, she was inspired to pursue coding with TripleTen and used her new skills to launch her own boutique web design and development studio. Now, Isabelle feels more energized than ever, splitting her time between luxury fashion and creating bespoke web pages for independent consultants, artists, and designers.
Desiree Bradish
As a college student curious about tech, Desiree Bradish had built a game that brought together a community of nearly 15,000. It was a fun side project, but she decided to move away from coding to pursue a career in graphic design and animation instead. Five years and lots of long hours later, Desiree knew she wanted a change, but wasn’t clear what that was until she found herself furloughed during the pandemic. Determined to return to tech, she enrolled in TripleTen’s bootcamp and landed an entry-level job within weeks of finishing. Now a full-stack engineer, Desiree loves that her new career sets a good example for her family.
Industry demand and career outlook
While 2023 brought heightened volatility to the industry, software engineer positions remain some of the safest in tech. In fact, it continues to place on lists of in-demand tech jobs year after year, alongside other specializations such as data science and DevOps. Best of all, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that software developer employment will grow 16% by 2034, over five times more than the economy-wide average.
Add in new, emerging technologies and the need for digital transformation across industries, and you can see why there’s so much opportunity in the field.
The salary reality: what entry-level positions actually pay without a degree
Pay varies depending on where you're working, what you specialize in, and how big the company is.
National averages as of November 2025 (sourced from Glassdoor as of the time of this writing):
- Entry-level software engineers make between $70,000 and $111,500 per year in base salary
- Including bonuses and other variable pay, software developers with no experience earn a median of $117,000
- Entry-level positions at MAANG companies range from $97,500 to $183,500 or more in total compensation, including equity and bonuses
Become a software engineer with TripleTen
Learning to code gets a whole lot easier with support from tutors who’ve been in your shoes. Our Software Engineering Bootcamp provides regular one-on-ones and the opportunity to attend daily office hours with experienced professionals. It’s just one of the many reasons why graduates have trusted us with their training, with 82% finding tech jobs within six months!
FAQ
Will companies actually hire people without degrees for software engineering roles?
Yes companies hire people without degrees for software engineering roles, and it's happening more and more. Companies like Google, IBM, and Meta have dropped their degree requirements. Smaller tech companies have been hiring people without degrees for years now. It's definitely easier to break in than it was five to 10 years ago, but you still need to prove you've got real technical skills.
How do I explain bootcamp education on my resume?
To explain your bootcamp education on your resume, put your bootcamp completion under the education section, and include the bootcamp name, when you finished, and what you specialized in (like "Coding Bootcamp in Full-Stack Web Development – TripleTen 2025"). But here's the thing: emphasize your actual projects and technical skills more than the credential itself. Your resume should showcase what you can do, not just where you learned your skills.
What if I'm starting completely from scratch?
Starting from scratch doesn't disqualify you. Plenty of successful developers were in your exact position. Plan on giving yourself 18 to 24 months and commit to learning consistently. The first two to three months are going to be tough, but by six months in, you'll be able to build projects that you're proud of.
Should I go for a bootcamp or teach myself?
Go with a bootcamp if you thrive with structure, don't have a ton of time, want networking and career support built in, and can afford the $10-15K investment. Teach yourself if you've got solid self-discipline, you're on a tight budget, your schedule is flexible, and you're okay with a longer timeline. A lot of successful developers have actually done both. Some started teaching themselves and then accelerated their learning at a bootcamp.
Do I need cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) right away?
You don’t need cloud certifications for entry-level web development roles, though they're definitely valuable if you're going into DevOps or cloud engineering. If you're aiming for general software engineering jobs, focus on building your portfolio and nailing down programming fundamentals first. You can pick up certifications after you land that first job.
Is it harder to get your first job without a degree?
It can be a bit harder to get a first job in coding without a degree. You'll face some extra skepticism that a degree might have deflected. But once you've got a solid portfolio and real technical skills, whether you have a degree stops mattering. Landing that first job is the real challenge.
How much coding practice do I actually need?
How much coding practice you need depends on the path you choose. If you go for a part-time bootcamp, aim to spend around 20 hours a week practicing over nine months to get job-ready. If you’re teaching yourself, expect to spend 12 to 18 months practicing 15 hours a week for similar prep.
Should I focus on a specific technology stack or stay general?
You should specialize. Pick something such as web development (front-end or back-end), cloud engineering, or mobile development and go deep on it. Junior developers who are generalists are tough to evaluate; specialists with clear, deep skills are much easier to interview and hire.
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