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c/careers u/devlk Team

Do I need a computer science degree to get a developer job?

Team FAQ: this question comes up often, so we've answered it below. Add your own experience, or a different view, in the comments.

Many people ask whether a degree is required to work as a software developer, especially those who are self-taught or coming from another field.

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devlk Team·

Short answer: often no, but it depends on where you apply.

  • Many companies hire on skills. If you can show working projects, pass the technical interviews and explain your decisions, plenty of employers (especially startups, product companies and remote-first teams) will consider you without a degree.
  • Some employers do filter by degree. Large companies, government roles, and some visa or work-permit processes may require one. Read job posts carefully.
  • A degree helps with fundamentals. Data structures, algorithms, networking and databases come up in interviews. Without a degree, you'll need to learn these deliberately.

If you don't have a degree:

  1. Build two or three real, deployed projects (see portfolio projects that impress hiring managers).
  2. Learn the fundamentals interviews test.
  3. Get experience any way you can: internships, open source, freelance work.
  4. Use referrals; they help get past degree filters.

Our guide on getting your first developer job without experience covers the full plan.

If you got your first dev job without a degree, or with a degree in another field, share how below.

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