Can I be a programmer without a degree? Do I need to go to college or university to learn programming or should I learn online on my own?
You can literally see hundreds of versions of these questions on Q&A websites like Quora, message boards, and social media. People of different ages all around the world are looking to become programmers because coding in today’s world is a demanded, well-paid, and respected profession.
They are wondering, quite naturally, if studying in a college or university is the only way to go if you want to learn programming on a professional level to get a job and potentially have a long and productive career.
The short answer is: no, it is totally possible to learn programming and become a serious coder online, without going to a college or getting a computer sciences degree in a uni. In fact, we can even go as far as stating that today, in 2020, studying online is the way to go if you really are looking for applicable skills and solid knowledge.
Why? How studying online, at home, can be better and more effective in teaching a person programming than colleges and universities, even the most respectable ones? Well, being an online-only Java course, we are obviously just a little bit biased here, but let’s see.![Student Loan? No Thanks. How to Learn Java Without Paying for College - 2]()
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Why learning to program online instead of getting a college degree is the way to go
- Computer programming and tech in general are changing and evolving too fast for the conventional educational institutions, especially large ones, to adjust in a timely manner.
- Coding is all about practice, while colleges and universities always put theory first.
- You don’t really need a diploma to get a coding job these days.
- You don’t really need to spend all that time and money on a college or university to get your first coding job.
- Java is a (relatively) simple and commonly applied language, which is easy to learn outside of college or uni.
How to become a programmer without a degree? Here are the best ways to learn Java online
Let’s take a quick look at the ways you can actually learn Java online and get a job without a degree of any kind.
- Textbooks and guides for Java beginners.
- YouTube channels for Java learners.
- CodeGym course to learn Java theory and cement your coding skills with lots of practical tasks.
- Message boards and Q&A websites to ask questions and get help.
- Additional websites and tools to study faster and more effectively.
Summary
As you can see, learning Java online is just so much more flexible and diverse compared to the college approach. And, goes without mentioning, much cheaper. Don’t get us wrong, we are not saying college education is entirely not effective when it comes to learning programming or Java language in particular. All we are trying to say is — you don’t need to get a student loan and waste years of life going to a college to become a Java programmer. You can learn Java theory combined with basic skills on CodeGym, get a Java junior developer job, and keep learning while making money in the process. The choice is always yours though.
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