Hello, I already have a bachelor’s degree in health IT. I was originally a biology major, but I realized too late in my college career that I was better suited for technology. So I changed to health IT because it allowed me to take IT courses while transferring my biology credits.
Unfortunately for me, the job market wasn’t willing to hire me, since I hardly have any connections and experience. I later decided that I wanted to learn more about computer science, so I’m back in school at the age of 25, attempting to take undergraduate courses for a Master’s in computer science. But I have also eyed the possibility of an associate’s degree at my local community college in Computer Programming and Analysis. Or certifications.
My goal is to eventually become a programmer, so what should I do? Should I keep doing the prereqs for the Master’s degree? Or if it’s too hard for me, would the associates work or the certifications?
It’s a little hard to answer without knowing what kind of classes you can leverage from your health IT degree. Did you take any programming classes?
I’ve worked with lots of programmers who had degrees other than CS, but were able to get software development jobs because they took three or four programming classes in college. I generally find some kind of STEM degree, along with a few programming classes, is enough to get someone a programming job.
Also, you may need to move to where the jobs are. I live just south of San Francisco, and there’s a huge biotech cluster here where someone who knew about health care and could program would be in demand. At my previous job, the health care company I was working at had big software departments in San Francisco, Houston and Dallas.
IMO, it’s not really so much what your bachelor’s degree in the software industry is that gets you the job, it’s the skills you possess. So, speaking strictly for software, I don’t think a degree is even a requirement. A lot of very good programmers at my company have no degree at all. Our superstar programmer also had no degree.
That being said, a lot of people did have a degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, or something else IT/STEM related.
I came in with a bachelor’s in mathematics with very minimal programming experience. I think it depends on how well you sell yourself and that you will be able to learn what they’ll throw at you.
Also, good luck to you. I am not happy in the software industry and going back to school to do mechanical engineering. Programming is a valuable skill, but it’s not something I personally would do forever if you’re not interested in what you’re doing. Make sure you love programming.