Learned Fortran on an old TI-99; forgot Fortran; learned to draw, paint, sculpt, and play violin; learned how to merge code and art, turned it into my UX/Front-end dev Frankenthing.
I'd say it depends. For example, I am nowhere near any city with a reputation for having any major tech companies. I have no access to mentors who could help me learn more code, with the notable exception of dev.to. I live in an area where women are generally regarded as baby factories and house-cleaners who require men to control them. When I mention that I can code to the locals, they tend to look confused, and a few have asked if I mean that I do crossword and find-a-word puzzles.
I've tried looking for a job in tech since shortly after finishing my time in the military, but the fact that I am a self-taught woman with no degree, no experience working for any major tech companies (Google, Microsoft, Adobe, etc.), no mentor to vouch for me, and I have not attended any code camps or participated in any company sponsored hack-a-thons has left me with the same answer every time. We're sorry, we were looking for someone with more education or experience.
The experience may very well be different if I lived in the right location or had the right contacts, but I honestly can't say whether or not I'd get hired even then. Until the situation changes, I'm most likely going to just keep working on my own solo projects. After all, if 15+ years of job searching hasn't gotten me anywhere but stocking shelves and scrubbing toilets, I'm quite possibly the only person willing to give me a chance to create, well, anything with code.
I'd say not having a degree has been my greatest barrier to finding a job, with my location, my lack of a mentor, and my gender coming in as close second, third, and fourth barriers.
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I'd say it depends. For example, I am nowhere near any city with a reputation for having any major tech companies. I have no access to mentors who could help me learn more code, with the notable exception of dev.to. I live in an area where women are generally regarded as baby factories and house-cleaners who require men to control them. When I mention that I can code to the locals, they tend to look confused, and a few have asked if I mean that I do crossword and find-a-word puzzles.
I've tried looking for a job in tech since shortly after finishing my time in the military, but the fact that I am a self-taught woman with no degree, no experience working for any major tech companies (Google, Microsoft, Adobe, etc.), no mentor to vouch for me, and I have not attended any code camps or participated in any company sponsored hack-a-thons has left me with the same answer every time. We're sorry, we were looking for someone with more education or experience.
The experience may very well be different if I lived in the right location or had the right contacts, but I honestly can't say whether or not I'd get hired even then. Until the situation changes, I'm most likely going to just keep working on my own solo projects. After all, if 15+ years of job searching hasn't gotten me anywhere but stocking shelves and scrubbing toilets, I'm quite possibly the only person willing to give me a chance to create, well, anything with code.
I'd say not having a degree has been my greatest barrier to finding a job, with my location, my lack of a mentor, and my gender coming in as close second, third, and fourth barriers.