Software Developer Jobs That Don’t Require a Computer Science Degree Do Exist
July 11th, 2018 — Revature
There’s no rule or regulation that says software developer jobs can only go to college graduates with computer science degrees. If you’re serious about pursuing a career in technology, it doesn’t matter much whether you earn a degree in math, philosophy, English, business or some other major. There are still many paths open to you. In fact, not having a computer science major could be your secret weapon, the thing that makes you stand apart.
There are compelling reasons why employers want to offer software developer jobs to graduates with diverse educational backgrounds. The first is a concept called ‘diversity of thought.’ It’s the idea that innovation is more likely when groups of people attack a problem from different perspectives. If software developer jobs went exclusively to computer science majors, then the team-members would be drawing on the same concepts and methodologies they were exposed to in college. By hiring software developers from different academic disciplines, teams have an opportunity to go beyond artificial boundaries.
There’s another reason software developer jobs exist for graduates with different majors. While having any degree is important, it doesn’t set you apart. The ability to work with other people is crucial and matters more than what you studied in college. Graduates who demonstrate flexibility, adaptability and superior communication skills are extremely valuable to employers. When graduates can’t function effectively within a team or interact with other stakeholders, it doesn’t matter how good they are at engineering and programming. If you have an aptitude for ‘soft skills,’ you can learn the technical skills necessary to obtain a software developer job.
Finally, there are more software developer jobs right now than there are qualified workers to fill them. So even if you don’t have a background in computer science, a career in technology is still open to you. It may require additional legwork to acquire the technical skills, but if you put in the time, exciting opportunities in a dynamic profession are the reward.
Acquiring Technical Skills for Software Developer Jobs
Assuming you have an interest in technology and an aptitude for the ‘soft skills’ that employers desire, the next step is to learn the fundamental technologies that you would use on the job. Technologies change so rapidly that even graduates with computer science degrees don’t always have the relevant technical skills. Once again, majoring in something other than computer science isn’t a disadvantage.
There are numerous educational outlets for learning to code and developing programming skills, but many of them require you to pay. At Revature, we follow a different model. As a leader in the development of emerging talent, we pay for our recruits to go through an intensive and customized 12-week program, where you’ll learn and practice the technologies required for software development jobs.
By the time you finish, you’ll have a feel for the real-world, enterprise-level environment in which software developers work. When your training is complete, we’ll place you in a job with one of our many clients.