How to have a career in IT without a university degree

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably wondered how to have a career in IT without a university degree.

We get it: the cost of tuition is sky-high, and the idea of taking out tens of thousands of dollars in loans makes you want to curl up into a ball and cry.

But here’s the thing: having a degree is only sometimes necessary to get a job in IT. In fact, there are tons of companies out there that are looking for people with IT skills who need formal education. They’d much instead hire someone with real-world experience than someone just going through the motions at school. So how do you get your foot in the door without formal education?

How to have a career in IT without a college degree

Try Apprenticeship

Learning a trade is an excellent way to enter the job market, especially if you don’t have the time or money to pursue a four-year degree. If you’re interested in working in Information Technology (IT), taking on an apprenticeship might be the best way to build your skills and launch your career.

IT apprenticeships are offered by many IT companies, including Microsoft and Amazon. These programs provide paid training and hands-on experience.

 The time varies from six months to two years, depending on the company. In addition to gaining valuable skills, you’ll also earn while you learn through receiving an hourly wage during training.

Suppose you successfully complete an IT apprenticeship program. In that case, there’s a good chance that your employer will offer you full-time employment after graduation—no matter your education level before entering the program!

Certification Programs

If you’re looking for a job as an IT professional, you don’t need a college degree. However, it’s always helpful to have some certification if you want to advance your career or get hired by companies that place a high value on certifications.

Colleges and universities typically offer certification programs, but they can also be found online through learning platforms like Coursera, Skillshare, and edX. These programs are usually less expensive than classes at a traditional college or university. They also allow students to work on their schedule, another advantage of distance learning programs.

Get informal training by shadowing people on the job

You can get a job in IT even if you don’t have a college degree—you need to get some other training first.

One way to do this is by shadowing people on the job. This means that someone who has been working in the field (and who has been trained to do so) will let you watch them and learn how they do their job. You can also learn from books and online courses, but shadowing someone would give you a different hands-on experience than these.

It’s also important to remember that most jobs in IT are entry-level positions, which means that there aren’t many requirements for them beyond having some basic technical knowledge and being able to demonstrate it through tests or projects like coding or building websites or apps from scratch using tools like Google’s App Maker toolkit. 

Become a freelancer/entrepreneur

The key to being a successful freelancer is having an intimate understanding of your field—and can only be acquired by doing it. For example, if you want to become a successful freelance graphic designer and have no experience in that field, then start by doing things like:

1. Designing headers for your friend’s Instagram accounts
2.  Creating logos for small businesses in your area
3.  Learning how to use Adobe Illustrator from YouTube tutorials on how to draw animals or flowers
4.  Using Canva or similar tools to make flyers for local events
5.  Creating mockups for websites (like yours!) using Photoshop or Gimp. 

So, you want to be an IT professional but wondering how to have a career in IT without a college degree. No problem. You can still get the job you want. If you’re looking for a career in IT without a college degree, there are plenty of options out there for you. From online training programs to on-the-job experience, there’s no reason why you should let your lack of formal education stand between you and your dream career.