In this article You will learn exactly how long does it take to become a software engineer like how much and how many years does it take to learn software engineering, become software developer and start making money.
This is the most comprehensive article you can find online on this topic so I would recommend you to bookmark the article and also share the article with your friends to let them know about software engineering as a career option
So without further ado let’s get started
Table of Contents
How long does it take to become a software engineer with a degree?
In short words, it can take at least 4 years or even more if you want to become a software engineer in a traditional manner by getting a degree from the college and university.
Undergraduate Courses usually include programming, algorithms and data structures, computer architecture, OS, parallel computing, embedded systems, algorithms design, etc
The main difference between becoming a software engineer from getting a degree in college compared to without the college degree is that students with a degree have a better foundation and more knowledge of software engineering,programming because they learn a lot of things related to coding like data structures and
algorithms computer networks and many more as I already mentioned earlier as compared to a student who just got the knowledge of programming through boot camps and online coding courses so these students will not have much knowledge and clarity about programming.
Because of this reason & also during this under graduation program the student will also have to write and present many assignments, projects and internships, semester exams so it comes no surprise that it takes a lot of time to become a software engineer through a traditional degree.
There are two main problems with traditional approach which is time and money and as i already talked about the time, and getting a degree of computer science is really expensive in many colleges but thankfully colleges which are accredited like Harvard and Stanford offer scholarships to the students so those whose family income is less can apply for financial aid and get scholarship for education but it is not for everyone and scholarships are need based.
This is the normal method of how you can become a software engineer.
Now let’s take a look at how much time does it take to become a software engineer without a college degree either by learning programming by yourself or using external sources and guidance.
How long does it take to become a software engineer without a degree?
Now to become a software engineer without a college degree it could take you anywhere between 4 months to 1.5 years on average.
And apart from learning programming you also need to work on many projects and internship programs to gain some experience and implement what you have learnt practically in real world so that you can have something to show to the employer in your portfolio while applying for a job which also takes a lot of time so it is also a reason why it takes a lot of time to become a software engineer.
Now because you are trying to become a software engineer without having a college degree then the amount of time it takes will depend upon which path you choose other than having a college degree like do you want to learn programming and software development through online coding courses on platforms like Udemy and Coursera or you want to learn programming by yourself reading articles, watching videos online and interacting with developers on forums like stack overflow or do you want to attend boot camps and get the certificates.
Let’s take a look at each scenario and see how much time does it take to become a software developer.
First of all if you want to become a software engineer by yourself without getting a college degree by learning programming languages online through reading articles watching videos and interacting with other developers on forums then it can take you around 6 months or even 1 year because it depends upon individuals learning capabilities.
First of all if you want to learn coding for free online then because there is no step by step structure and guidance it can take you a lot of time to get all the study materials required because all the resources are scattered online and you will also have to practise a lot of things for example Java is one of the best programming languages out there and for a complete beginner it can take around 1 year to start learning and become good at Java language.
It is also important to consider coding requires a lot of things including a good computer and internet connection and also a lot of patience, concentration, perseverance and consistency and also requires a lot of problem solving skills and logical thinking which some people may have naturally and others might struggle to develop.
Likewise if you want to learn software development through attending a boot camp then you can easily become a software developer and learn programming languages in less than 6 months because boot camps have clear cut structure and guidance and they also help you solve all your doubts and also give you a certificate at the end, the only problem with boot camps is they are not accredited so they may not help you much when it comes to getting a job professionally and you can check out all the pros and cons of attending a boot camp in detail here.
On the other hand, if you want to learn software development through online coding courses from platforms like Udemy and Coursera then there are many courses like this on Udemy and this on Coursera which can help you learn programming in less than 6 months.
- You can read my article about six reasons why you should take online coding courses in detail here.
In my opinion the problem with trying to become a software engineer and developer without getting a college degree is that you might not have complete foundation of computer science and software development as compared to a student with a college degree because in alternative methods like attending a boot camp or online coding course they will only teach you how to code and programming languages but not other things like computer networks and
they will not give you a good proper foundation of computer science and also if you want to get into higher positions In any company like in the management and senior executive positions then you will need a computer science degree to get there which is very hard to get without having a college degree and also it is hard to get a job through a boot camp and online coding course as compared to a student with a degree in hand but of course you can start working as a freelancer, get entry level jobs and grow from there.
With that said let’s end the article.
Conclusion
These are all the things you need to know about how much time does it take to become a software engineer.
Do comment down what are your thoughts about how long does it take to become a software engineer and is it really worth it.
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