Do you need a degree to work as a developer? I would like feedback from professionals.

Thanks.

No, you just need interest, dedication and your should enjoy your work.

You don't, but it will help finding a good job if you don't have much experience.

I was just promoted to head of development and I don't have one. It can open doors but any company worth working for knows it's not all that important. :)

If degree is just for the sake of having degree then don't bother. I always support having degree where knowledge is important.

But now you first have to define professional 😜

No, if you have enough experience. If you don't, personal projects and/or open source contributions will help.

To be honest, I find those who started programming with a degree too constrained by theories.
I'd suggest starting as an empty vase: start low, gather as much knowledge from basic jobs as you can, and grow from there.
From my experience, people like that tend to be better prepared than people merely holding a degree.

Absolutely no and the people I have worked with who have degrees know less than people with a couple of months of commercial experience.

Loving the general consensus 💪🏻

No you don't, but it would be a better starting point in term of salary if you got a degree (not always though).

@namdq not sure I've ever seen that before. Commercial experience is always valued much more, even if it's only a few months.

No, though it usually doesn't hurt if you do.

The company I work at cares about how I work and learn, not about my degree (though they pay me more than some of my colleagues who don't have one..).
I've also interviewed once with a company who didn't accept my degree as good enough, but I knew very quickly that they were not a fit for me either.

I would try and get by without one, you'll get more practical and specific knowledge that way but they definitely do help find your first job. After a couple of years experience it doesn't matter.

*I have a degree but with a poor grade and I never get asked about it, I have a good job and my offer rate from interviews seems to be good.

In the present industry, the answer is rapidly changing from 'Yes' to 'No'

@rallport true, I was talking about a fresher, exp is not a factor for the point I was trying to make.

I'd hire a guy with one or two live projects or a demo than a guy with a Phd and no demo/project

@sylar hmm, tldr, it depends on the applicant. If the demo projects work but code isn't clean, well documented, best practice etc., then I would assume it's easier to mould someone fresh out of college (who also has proven they can persevere in pursuing a goal) into a good programmer, than someone who has experience but has been doing things 'wrong' for years.

@arminiae common misconception unfortunately that does not always apply

@arminiae Not all the time. I still would go for someone that has actually tried no matter the outcome.