 One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, do you need a CS degree to become a software engineer or what degree should you get to become a software engineer? The short answer to this question is no, you don't need a CS degree to become a developer or software engineer. However, I think this answer varies depending on where you are in life. I wanna thank Skillshare for sponsoring this series of videos where I talk about computer science and different career paths in tech. So make sure you subscribe and stay tuned for more videos. Remember that this is my perspective and opinion on the topic and you should choose what path works best for you. It really comes down to what you feel comfortable doing and your relative work experience. Before we start, I'd like to just highlight some computer science statistics from the engineering college or department that I graduated from. Computer science students had the second highest internship wages behind chemical engineers with an average wage in 2018 and 2019 of $21.97. In the 2019 NAIS survey found that the average starting salary for computer science graduates was north of $83,000 in 2018. Yes, I took the traditional path by going to college and I received a degree in computer science in May of 2018. So I can't directly speak to the untraditional path of learning on your own or by going through a bootcamp and then transitioning into tech. However, most of my coworkers in software development did not major in computer science. Over the past few years, I noticed that most software developers that have computer science degrees or software engineering degrees were younger compared to those who didn't in industry. I think the reason behind this is because once you start working in industry or at a company, it's easier to transition into tech, especially if you know the company in and out and understand the product. This makes sense because it's much harder to convince a company to hire you as a software engineer with no degree and no experience opposed to hiring someone who already has proven work experience that's trying to make a career change. For example, on a team I was on, I was working as a full stack developer. The only person who had a computer science degree were me and my manager out of the four developers on my team. The developers that didn't have degrees either had a degree in something else, went to undergrad and maybe didn't finish or completed a bootcamp. So for those of you all who have work experience, especially those of you all who have work experience in technology or engineering, I don't think it's necessary to get a degree in computer science unless you really enjoy computation and want to get a degree. If you work at a company that has positions for software development and software engineering, your best bet is to talk with hiring managers and figure out what skill sets you need to become successful and do well in your interview. Getting the degree can open up more opportunities because there are a lot of companies who have a computer science degree as a basic qualification and it at least guarantees that you won't get overlooked because of your education. There have been multiple companies that I was interviewing with and they wanted clarification that I graduated with a computer science degree. Like I said, most of the people that I've met as software developers don't have CS degrees but they major in something else or did a bootcamp. However, I've met way more people who have a degree in something else and leverage their experience along with learning a code to get a job as a developer opposed to going through a bootcamp. Now, this is just my experience. Maybe you have a different experience if you are in software development and have coworkers who went through bootcamps opposed to getting a degree in anything. I do think that my coworkers probably would have majored in computer science if they knew that they liked programming and if they could have done it all over again opposed to working in jobs that they really didn't like or didn't pay as well. If you find yourself as someone who has no desire to attain a computer science degree, no need to worry, you can definitely become a software engineer. To execute a successful transition into tech, start working on your programming skills. Work on personal projects that challenge you so you can see if you enjoy programming opposed to the idea of programming. Start figuring out what type of software engineer you would like to be and then figure out which skill sets you need to be successful. So if you wanna do web and front end development, you should learn HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. If you're interested in being a backend or full stack developer, learn languages like C-Sharp, Python, and C++. Or if you wanna be a mobile developer, figure out if you wanna build Android or iOS apps and learn the languages native to those operating systems. So you need to learn Swift for iOS and Java or Kotlin for Android. And of course, there's React.js amongst other JavaScript frameworks that allow you to be a mobile developer, but it doesn't hurt to know the native languages. Since we are discussing ways to become a software engineer without a degree, let's hear a word from our sponsor Skillshare and how Skillshare's online learning community where millions come together to take the next step in their creative journey with thousands of inspiring classes for creative and curious people on topics like including design and software development can help you successfully transition into tech. Skillshare classes include a combination of video lessons and a class project. This is a great way to learn how to code if you don't wanna get a C-S degree because you'll be able to visually learn from an industry leader and put what you've learned to work by working on the class project and adding it to your personal portfolio. For those of you who are working full-time jobs but still want to learn how to code, Skillshare has classes to fit your schedule and skill level and most classes are under 60 minutes with short lessons to fit any schedule. Skillshare offers creative classes designed for real life and all the circumstances that come with it. These lessons can help you stay inspired, express yourself and even help you successfully transition into a new career like software engineering. The first 1000 people that select this link in the description box will get two free months of Skillshare premium. Annual membership is less than $10 a month. Once again, thank you Skillshare for sponsoring this video. I always recommend studying job postings so you can find patterns and basic qualifications. You'll see a lot of job postings require that you have an understanding and object or into programming, software development, life cycle, communication skills, C++, Python, HTML and JavaScript. Observing these basic qualifications and job postings will help you figure out what skill sets you need during tech job. Ultimately it comes down to what you feel comfortable pursuing. If you are a high school student and know that you wanna go to college, then I would highly recommend getting a degree in computer science. If you're someone who is already in the workforce and don't have time to pursue a CS degree, that's okay because there are a plethora of opportunities to learn how to code. You can of course learn on your own, you can also register for a bootcamp, which is a great way to learn how to program in relevant languages along with building projects and networking with local companies. Some of the brightest software engineers I've ever met went to a bootcamp. If you find yourself on the fence, my recommendation is to go to school. Having a computer science degree will open up a lot of doors and not just software engineering doors. Also attending college is something I will always recommend, especially because I'm a minority and my ancestors fought for people like myself to get an education. Getting an engineering degree will also make it a lot easier for you to find a job. Engineering colleges, AKA a department within the university have an extensive list of companies that regularly network with university students. We had our own career fairs and when we would go to university wide career fairs, companies would practically hand jobs to us because they need a programming talent. So that concludes this video. Once again, thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring this video and series. I hope you enjoyed this video. Comment down below your thoughts and experiences. I love hearing what you all have to say. Give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it and subscribe for more content. Praying you and your families and friends are staying safe and healthy. And as always, stay blessed. See you soon.