Author: Sylvia Fronczak

As programmers or aspiring programmers, we often focus on the technical skills we need to build software. We work on improving our programming skills, picking up new frameworks, or reading technical books to improve our knowledge of computer science.

However, those technical skills will only get us so far. As with most careers, we need to expand our learning and also focus on professional skills. And actually, these skills will make the technical side easier, as we’ll have more clarity on what we need to do to solve problems.

In this post, we’ll go over what non-programming skills programmers need to use in our jobs.

1. Communication

First and foremost, we need to be able to communicate with our fellow programmers, analysts, product managers, and customers. Without clear communication skills, requirements get lost or misunderstood. As a result of poor communication, programmers might build the wrong solution to the problem. Or their solution might make things difficult or clunky for the user because the programmer didn’t understand the problem correctly.

A lot can go wrong with communication. And since communication is the most important skill that we’ll cover, let’s break it down further.
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In today’s job market, many of you look for ways to improve your employability and earnings potential. And you may have noticed articles pointing out the apparent shortage of programmers, along with information on the amazing salaries and benefits they receive. Combining all these things, you may be one of the many people who are now trying to break into programming.

And for those of you who are trying to break in, one of the most popular questions revolves around degree requirements. Mainly, you want to know if degrees are required. And you want to know if the degree has to be in a specific field of study.

Today we’ll answer your questions and give you some things to think about. Because as you’re about to see, the answer to whether programmers need a degree isn’t always simple.

Some Say No, You Don’t Need a Degree

First, many programmers don’t have a degree. Others do have a degree, but not in computer science (CS) or software engineering. For example, my degree is in business administration. Also, I’ve worked with developers that have degrees in music, physics, graphic design, math, education, and even dietetics!

But are these just an example of survivorship bias? Maybe.

Do you mere mortals still have a chance at a lucrative programming career? Definitely.

Continue reading “Do Programmers Need a Degree?” →