Possibilities of getting hired to program without programming experience?

[Chris2wire]

Ok... as I said in another post, im coming up on my bachelor degree in IT finally being finished.

An IT degree gets you into a helpdesk position or something... Yuck. Like what im in now. Maybe a networking technician job and ten years down the line a network admin job.

As noted in another post, I plan to study databases in my spare time to open up the opportunities in databases.

But for the past two years I've been studying programming, more specifically c++, PERL and c++ .net

Is there any chance of getting hired as a programmer with an IT degree and personal studies? Or must one have a computer science degree?

This stinks. It seems IT is just plain that, IT and nothing more to these people.

 

[tfinch2]

An easy way to get experience in programming with no job is to jump into the open source scene and contribute to something meaningful.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Did you get a minor in CS? Then maybe if no one with a CS/CE/CSE degree is applying for the job.

I've been involved with hiring experienced developers rather than entry-level but if I were reading IT degree on your resume without work experience, you'd rank lower than even a 2-year CS degree.

Aside from joining some open-source project, getting some (good) articles published at CodeProject.com would show you know something.

 

[XZeroII]

Go to local businesses and see if they have any programming needs. Offer them some great prices for custom software and do it in your spare time. There are lots of businesses who are struggling with systems that do not meet their needs and if you offer to write something for like $5k and you do it well over the course of a year or so, then you will have something to put on your resume.

 

[clamum]

As far as joining an open-source project, where is a good place for that? SourceForge.net?

 

[richardycc]

yes, I was a chemist and will be starting my mainframe programming trainee job in a week, so yes, one can get a programming job without any formal computer training. I did have to pass a computer aptitude test and apprentice like interview to get the job thou.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: clamum
As far as joining an open-source project, where is a good place for that? SourceForge.net?

find something that interestes you....

 

[Descartes]

I started working as a developer when I was 17, so it certainly is possible.

IMO, the open source route isn't the way to go. I actually used to recommend this, but if all I saw were a bunch of open source projects on a resume it would hold little more credibility than having nothing at all.

There are exceptions of course, so if you were able to work on a notable open source project it would be an entirely different situation, but the more popular a project is the more difficult it is to get on; in other words, you have the exact same problem you have now.

What I would do is use the entry-level position, any position, to find a way to demonstrate your aptitude. If you start in helpdesk then seek out the development team, make friends and start talking. If you have ability and have demonstrated knowledge you will find a way in. It takes effort and persistence on your part.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: clamum
As far as joining an open-source project, where is a good place for that? SourceForge.net?

find something that interests you on sourceforge.net, in particular here:

http://sourceforge.net/people/

Fixed

 

[Chris2wire]

Thanks for your replies guys...

Ill definately just study and do my own programming and try the open source thing... In the mean time Ill keep applying for any low level developer or programmer job, maybe Ill get lucky.