How To Begin A Computer Programmer Career Without A College Degree

You can become a computer programmer by going to college to study computer science and beginning an entry level computer programmer job after college. However if you cannot afford to spend two or fours years in college, studying computer science before you begin your programming career, you can learn programming from experienced developers or teach yourself computer programming from scratch using whatever textbooks, training classes, courses and coaching programs you can afford. In this article I will show you how to become a computer programmer without going to college or studying computer science.

Not having a computer science degree or entering the programming job market with a high school degree is not as difficult as you may think. This is because when it comes to programming, employers put more emphasis on your ability to write good quality code than your educational credentials. Many programmers have taken advantage of this to forgo college and focus on developing their programming skills to the best of their ability.



What Do Employers Want?
Employers want to see good competent software developers more than anything else. Whether you taught yourself programming at home or you enrolled in college or get some computer programming training or studied from reading books or you bought a home distance or correspondence course, you still have to make over your resume, prepare for your programming interviews, find programming jobs, send your resume in and write code. And employers expect you to write good quality code, design your applications, document your applications etc. regardless of how you learnt computer programming.



What Do You Really Need To Become A Computer Programmer
In other to learn programming and become a computer programmer, all you need is a reasonably fast computer, an internet connection (preferably a high speed internet connection), a study guide, a learning plan that specifies what programming languages you need to learn and in what order and some free time. The most important decision you have to make is what programming languages you will elarn and where you will get the information you need to study (online courses, home study courses, training programs, textbooks, software developer coaching etc.) If you set your mind on it, you can literally start to learn computer programming today and be working as a full-time software developer or contract programmer in as little as 4 to 6 months. The critical difference between those people who seem to have learnt programming in a few months and gotten lucrative jobs and those who seem to be spinning their wheels is the quality of information or study plan they adopted and followed.



Yes, You Can Get A Computer Programming Job Without A College Degree
After more than 10 years, spent working several software development jobs, I have a lot of personal, intimate knowledge of how the industry works. I have worked with talented software programmers who got into programming with a high school education or dropped out of college to begin a programming career. So, I am always a bit surprised when someone that I am coaching or someone who runts into me on my blog at www.IT-CAREER-COACH.NET tells me they can not start their programming career because they do not have a college education or a computer science degree.
If you are saying this to yourself, then you are just making excuses for not taking action. Let me tell you that from my experience as a software developer mentor, I have discovered that people make excuses to themselves because they are not ready to hold themselves accountable to results. So, they either complain about how old they are or how poor they are or they complain about the time it will take them to learn programming or complain that they cannot afford to go to college and study computer science or complain that programming textbooks are too expensive and they go on like that. Okay, I am telling you now that there is nothing stopping you from beginning your programming career if you really want to and it's not as hard as you think it is.



Now Is The Best Time To Become A Computer Programmer
I have answered your quest on how to become computer programmer without going to college and it is now your turn to act on all the information you just received on how to succeed in programming. On my blog at www.IT-Career-Coach.NET, I coach, mentor and train individuals from all over the world who want to transition to a software developer career or become an expert computer programmer. MY experience has shown me people do not achieve their goals when they are too scared to act. People are usually scared to act when they are misinformed and do not have enough information or accurate information. But by raising the level of awareness of how possible and easy it is to start a programming career and succeed at it on my www.IT-CAREER-COACH.NET blog, I have been successful at helping people transition into and succeed at computer programming.
If you want to learn programming or become an expert computer programmer, I recommend you read "the street smart guide to computer programmer careers" book which shows you how to learn computer programming in as little as 4 months. The book will shave years off your learning curve by showing you how to learn programming fast, how to improve your resume, how to ace programming job interviews and how to gain the programming experience that helps you succeed easily.

College Loan Consolidation - Advantages and Disadvantages

College tuition is on the rise and students and parents alike are seeking additional methods to help pay for the soaring costs. Student loans, grants, scholarships and work-study are common ways to supplement or completely pay for the cost of college.

Student loans are probably the most popular of financial aid sources. It's quite usual for a single student to take out multiple loans to cover the many expenses of a college education - tuition, transportation, dorm, books, etc.

At the end of a college student's career, they often find themselves facing a hefty sum of financial payments which start after a six to nine month grace period post graduation.

Many students turn to College Loan Consolidation to reduce the stress of multiple, high payments, opting for the lower payments and extended terms of a student consolidation loan. While there are advantages to student loan consolidation, students should fully research and analyze all of the aspects of loan consolidation.

College Loan Consolidation - Federal vs Private

Federal loans are more popular than private loans for a few reasons. Federal loans have lower and fixed interest rates and additional benefits such as grace periods. Private loans usually have higher interest rates, and no grace periods.

When consolidating, keep the types of loans separate in order to retain the benefits of the Federal loans. Federal loans provide a cap on the interest rate, along with fixed interest rates.

College Loan Consolidation - Advantages and Disadvantages

It is important to consider both the advantages and disadvantages before applying for a student consolidation loan.

Advantages include:
# A lower monthly re-payment amount
# Lower interest rate, which may save you money in the long run
# Organization of loans - make a single monthly payment

Disadvantages include:
# Possibly paying more money over the life of the loan
# Most likely paying on the loan for a longer amount of time - 10 to 30 years
# There are few options to consolidate this loan later

If you decide that college student loan consolidation is for you, start by conducting extensive research. Begin with federal student loan consolidation programs such as Federal Family Education Loan Program and Direct Loan Consolidation. They offer fixed interest rates capped at 8.50%. There are also other free resources to help you choose. It is important to shop around and gather as much information as possible in order to make the best decision.

For private student loan consolidation, inquire with various lenders both offline and online. Many times, online vendors provide a lower interest rate and quick approval times.

Perform exhaustive research until you are completely comfortable making a decision, as this decision will make quite an impact on your financial future for a number of years.