<p>Let's say you have a degree in chemistry, or maybe even biology. Can you still get hired as a software developer if you come from a good school with a good GPA?</p>
<p>Not if you don’t know how to write software…that should be obvious.</p>
<p>well, ok, i have some programming experience: got a 5 on AP Comp Sci A, took the class for Comp Sci AB, and have been doing research (as a high school student) at a nearby university, which requires a lot of knowledge in Matlab. I also used to program in Java/C++ in my free time.</p>
<p>but no cs/engineering degree</p>
<p>however, i barely passed the AP Comp Sci AB exam. (i had other AP exam priorities to take care of)</p>
<p>do you think job recruiters, 10 years out from now, would possibly ask for this info?</p>
<p>It’s possible to become a software developer (or most other professions) without having any degree at all - it just makes it much less likely and usually more difficult to do.</p>
<p>You could also take a job related to your degree in chem, bio, or whatever, and then once at the job, work your way into some software development area and ultimately do that all the time assuming you;re good enough at it for your employer to allow it. But this is also the more difficult way.</p>
<p>It’d be difficult to get employed as a software developer as a new college grad with the chem/bio/etc. degree. I know I wouldn’t hire someone without the degree I’m looking for. That’s what the first cut is - the degree and the school.</p>
<p>The easiest way to get a job as a software engineer is to get a CS degree.</p>
<p>A recruiter won’t care about your HS AP CS class. What’s done in that course is nothing compared to a CS degree and employers will care most about your college degree. If one can manage a CS degree, especially at a college with a rigorous program, the HS experience doesn’t enter the equation.</p>
<p>This is an off the wall question you’re asking. If you’re interested in software development why talk about all these other degrees? Just do it right.</p>
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<p>That’s true. However, in the case that the CS degree is not there, they will probably look for other indicating factors of ability…</p>
<p>^^ Actually, they probably won’t look at you at all - i.e. you’d never get an interview if you didn’t have the basic credentials. What’s the point of your questions? You want to be a software developer but don’t want a CS degree but rather some unrelated one? Are you in college pursuing a degree now or are you in HS trying to figure out what to do?</p>
<p>the latter -_-</p>
<p>Okay then - maybe some of the info I gave will help. If you want to be a software developer, consider getting a CS degree. If you want to be a chemist, get a chem degree. If you want to be an accountant, get an accounting degree, etc.</p>