Which tech jobs can you realistically get by learning online without a degree?

3 med97 2 6/3/2025, 5:56:15 PM
I'm 28 years old, and to be honest, I haven’t done much with my life so far. Recently, I stumbled across programming and cybersecurity online, and the positive aspects of both fields really caught my attention. I’ve always been patient with solving problems, and I actually enjoy figuring things out. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. I'm also fairly tech-savvy, and for the first time in a while, I feel like I might have found something I could be genuinely good at.

The thing is, I’m not in a position to go to college or attend any formal institution. I’ve seen stories about people learning online and breaking into tech, but I’ve also read a lot of negative takes. Even graduates sometimes struggle to land jobs.

So I’m genuinely curious: if I commit to learning and work really hard, do I realistically have a chance to turn my life around and get into programming or cybersecurity without a degree?

Comments (2)

klingenm · 17h ago
I think it may vary alot depending on the job market where you live.

I have personally worked with and even hired people without any formal computer engineering education to software developer positions.

Have you heard of https://ossu.firebaseapp.com/#/ ? If you are starting from scratch, you have a lot of learning to do, and following a curriculum can help you to at least get started and give you a framework of base skills to stary from. Good luck!

pvg · 17h ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44090589 and other comments around it. The answer is 'very nearly all of them', in terms of 'what tech jobs'.