Ask HN: Can a liberal arts BA who can write code break into the tech industry? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Can a liberal arts BA who can write code break into the tech industry?

9 pointsavnit17 comments

I have very limited experience in the industry, but I'm confident in the skills I have and my ability to learn. I've been programming since I was 12 or so, and have always planned to try to make a career out of it. I have been working as the "webmaster" (i.e. updating static content and sometimes coding new pages) for the health services provider at my university for over a year, so I do have some applicable work experience.

I want to break into the tech industry, but I'm not sure exactly how to go about it without the requisite degree or industry experience. I have a github and a website (http://avivnitsan.com), but what else can I do to make myself employable? More broadly, my question is: can a liberal arts degree combined with some technical skills and ambition lead to gainful employment in the tech industry?

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I don't have a bachelor's degree at all (I have an associate's) and I am working as a professional software developer for a startup, so yes.

I recommend you do some freelancing as it's potentially the easiest way to break into the industry in your situation. Look at markets like http://guru.com/ and see if you can find projects that match your skillset.

Build up a bunch of five star feedback, and then start applying for full time positions (if that's what you want) with your freelancing profile as your portfolio. Worked for me!

(Note as some others have mentioned, however, that you will not be able to work for a top software company like Google or Microsoft as you will be instantly filtered out for lack of academic qualifications. Your only real path into one of them is through an acquisition.)

I disagree. I'm employed by Amazon, and have gotten interviews with Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft without a degree of any kind. If you can prove you can keep up and have a body of work behind you, credentials matter much less.

You could be right. I've had internal recruiters at Amazon try to get me on a phone interview; I always assumed that I'd be filtered out once I did the interview though. I've read a lot of anecdotal evidence that Google and the like have high academic requirements but maybe they're more flexible than I thought.

I believe that Google is changing as I read somewhere that they found no correlation between a good degree and good gpa after a few years of work experience. In general, most places have figured out that you don't need a college degree, but you will need to have work experience to show that you have the skills needed.

I graduated from college in 1999 with a BA in Communication but I had been making web pages with static HTML for four years and had done some small freelance sites for companies in my home town during my summer breaks. I found my first few jobs very quickly, trained myself in some new skills, and was offered a promotion into the "engineering" (aka "real programming") department very early on. It is definitely possible!

At the time, I made a "portfolio" with color printouts of the web sites I had designed and built, and attached it to my resume. I believe that was the strongest element in getting hired: I had already shown them that I could do the job. Maybe your github account is the 2014 equivalent of my portfolio. It depends what you have on there, and who's reading it. I would also consider providing them with compiled, working applications, because the gatekeeper might be an HR person who doesn't know how to evaluate source code.

I don't even have a college degree and I'm a software developer. It's been a stumbling point in a couple of interviews, but some interviewers have never even asked about my education level and are just concerned about what I can do. My first gig only paid $20/hr (and I didn't haggle at all) but the experience I got has allowed me to move on to higher rates/salaries.

For me the important thing was to network with people in the industry.

I wouldn't worry so much about labels... rather start working on things like personal and open source projects and let them do the talking.

I'm assuming for a moment that you don't want to do research at Google or be a Senior Software Architect at a Fortune 10 company (both of which are still possible, though). For the majority of rote day-to-day programming gigs, even having a Bachelor's doesn't get you much over those who don't. Experience almost always trumps education in this field except for a few exceptions like those mentioned above. But you've got a leg up on those who don't have a degree - you've got one, it just doesn't happen to be in a relevant field. I was in your boat several years ago. My Political Science degree made it extremely hard to find a hiring manager/owner who was willing to take a chance. I did not have a github profile at the time (it was not that long ago) but I did have a website with some code on it (that my future employer did look at).

Just keep in mind that you will not command the same salary as someone with a relevant degree, at least until you have a portfolio of work comparable to theirs.

I've got a liberal arts BA (Religious Studies) and was hired for an entry-level job at a software company based simply on my existing experience from doing hardware repair/helpdesk support/webpage maintenance jobs part-time while I was in college. My initial position was strictly application support and did no coding outside of some shell scripts, but within a year or so they started giving me other responsibilities. My smaller company was then acquired by a larger company, which made the position and experience look much better on my resume, and I was able to interview with other places much more easily.

For what it's worth, once your foot is in the door, in my experience most employers don't seem to care that much about the degree. I'll still get the "Religious Studies, huh?" comment from the recruiters/headhunters, but once I talk to someone who actually knows what they're doing and we get to the technical interviews, that stops being a concern.

Yes.

The trick is to frame your skill set in more generic terms. For instance, imagine an actor. Actors don't just play around on stage and quote Shakespeare all the time. More broadly, actors must:

    * Learn vast amounts of material in a short period of time
    * Work independently
    * Work as a team
    * Accept criticism
    * Show up on time
    * Meet deadlines (the show must go on)
    * Adhere to a strict schedule
    * Speak comfortably in public
    * Have good communication skills
    * Basic improvisational skills
    * Empathy

How many of those do you think would be useful in a tech job? (Hint: all of them)

Take what you know. Broaden the scope. Mix in some code and a basic portfolio. Get a junior position somewhere. It's possible.

Good luck.

Source: Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, Masters in Secondary Education, currently lead developer of large startup in SF

Make a portfolio of your work. Use that portfolio in your resume/CV and give links so perspective employers can access your sites and play with them.

Also doesn't hurt to publish on something like Github (open source software) since that gives even more access to your work (and shows that you can get far enough to publish something useful).

There are definitely companies who will hire someone with a proven track record but no academic qualifications. You won't get hired by Google or Microsoft Research since they're super academically obsessed, but a lot of medium-small businesses would love to have you.

Yes. According to my friends who hire and manage a lot of programmers in silicon valley, it's not totally uncommon to see a self-taught dropout hired over an MIT grad. You can be self-taught and very successful on the software side of startups. And, as hard as it might be for you to believe now, not everyone with a CS degree knows what they are doing.

Are you looking for Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook? A start-up? Are you willing to relocate?

I'm mostly looking for a startup but I'm open to anything really; I wish I could relocate, but I'm committed to living in Boulder, CO for the next year.

If that's the case, then you have pretty much a 30 mile radius of companies you are looking at. Determine what the bar is to get an entry level position at those companies, and make your skills match them.

Go where the jobs are. Interview a lot. Study up. Interview more. Take any job that gets you closer to your goal. E.g., QA can be a good place to start.

Put your experience on your resume, try to get interviews. Same as someone who does have a degree.

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