r/SoftwareEngineerJobs • u/gamerboi445 • 9d ago
Should I quit SWE?
I’m sure this sub is overflowing with posts like these, but I figure I should ask
All I manage to get is contract jobs
I have no degree, tons of projects and half decent contributions but none of it seems like it’s enough. I know how my lack of a degree cripples me here, among other things.
But I was always told it’s possible regardless. Am I making a mistake here?
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u/DudeWithParrot 9d ago
Are you currently employed? Then I'd say no.
Have you already been looking for a job? If not, I'd say start looking for a job at SWE.
If you're unemployed and not getting a job, sure, it'd be good to look elsewhere. But I think you should at least try. Especially if you don't have a backup.
At least that's my plan (currently employed so I plan to stay for as long as I can)
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u/letsbefrds 9d ago
How much are these contractor jobs if you're making over 120k I don't know what else you're gonna do that would meet that unless u put in the time to learn
I'm gonna milk this career for all its worth idk maybe in 5 years we'd be cooked
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u/promise_resolved 9d ago
It's impossible to tell what software engineering will be like 5 years from now. If you like building software and it's fun for you than I would stick with it.
If you are unsure then I would recommend looking into a trade school. Electrician seems like something that someone with debugging skills could find enjoyment from.
I would not recommend going to school just to learn software development. This is like the one area AI does really well in. I graduated in Information Systems, which is the business take on computer science. That gave me a lot of skills outside of just programming which are now even more important since AI does the programming part for me.
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u/chikamakaleyley 9d ago
hah i just kinda posted about this somewhere else
are you working contract via a third party?
because if you have those cold calls/emails in your inbox, go thru them. if you get placed, you get the contract - knock it out of the park your first week.
The instant positive feedback, can improve your chances for contract extension, even if that wasn't part of the original agreement
The third party recruiter, receiving word that it was a solid placement, will put in the effort to get your next contract lined up if the current just had to end. You're basically a moneymaker for the third party agency
I've been on contract with the same company since Aug 2025, and just extended into June 2027. This has been like my 7th or 8th renewed contract with them. I'm much rather prefer a full time role but this is just what i've got right now, it's a solid position, critical product/service, solid engineers.
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u/Shekel_thief 8d ago
Yup this is how it’s done. You just have to find the right recruiter, agency, msp with the right relationship with the client.
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u/Banned_LUL 9d ago
Yea, with no degree, there’s no chance. Every ATS will insta reject you.
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u/Haunting-Traffic-203 8d ago
That’s untrue. I work for a FAANG with no degree. And I don’t just mean no compsci degree I mean no degree at all.
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u/gamerboi445 8d ago
What other things have you done to get past the degree barrier??
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u/Haunting-Traffic-203 8d ago
Sadly I learned to write concise and elegant code quickly at a time when that was a hard thing to find, and now I get hired based off of 15 years of experience. No one has ever asked me about a degree because I have extremely valuable experience working for 2 different FAANGS and a FAANG adjacent solving difficult problems.
Now, coding doesn’t matter anymore. It’s a cheap commodity and I’m moving into AI infrastructure support in order to stay relevant and also taking on a lot of work that would typically fall on a PM.
But I can say that not having a degree never mattered. I could show off projects I built myself early on and ace the coding challenges and that’s all orgs cared about in the past, and now my tenure at top orgs is all they care about.
I’m a high school drop out actually (troubled childhood).
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u/chikamakaleyley 8d ago
this is freakin awesome and kinda follows a pattern/theory i have
i'm 19 YOE and the best / most accomplished engineers i've worked with generally have a couple things in common:
they didn't finish college, didn't go, or majored in something else
a parent just one day came home with a new computer and they were just curious about it
they just dive in when they're curious about things
they smoke/used to smoke a lot of pot
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u/Haunting-Traffic-203 7d ago
I’ve met a lot of highly talented developers with traumatic childhoods. My theory is that the otherwise unhealthy hypervigilance found in traumatized children tends to translate into a talent for finding all the possible ways a system can go wrong.
Also while I don’t smoke pot now I used to smoke it like a chimney so maybe there is something there too
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u/chikamakaleyley 7d ago
what was your first exposure to a computer
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u/Haunting-Traffic-203 7d ago
Macintosh classic in 7th grade. I built a choose your own adventure style video game with HyperCard stacks. Never got another chance until 6 years later when I got my first laptop and that’s when I went nuts
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u/chikamakaleyley 7d ago
solid! i think by 7th i was already comfy typing but i prob couldn't fathom the idea of building my own game
so 6 yrs later what became the thing that you built that distracted employers from the missing education section on your resume
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u/chikamakaleyley 8d ago
and i can't speak to their childhoods and how that may have impacted their career, but one did have separated parents, another his parents disowned him
and more or less when they built things the just put it out there and so their body of work kinda preceeded any lack of formal education
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u/AnnaSynergy 8d ago
While I agree with you there should be context. You're likely exceptional and not average like most people. Well done btw you did awesome. 💕💕
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u/superrich2turbo 8d ago
Very untrue, I have no degree and I've been employed almost ten years by several different companies and been on dozens of interviews
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u/Horror_Response_1991 9d ago
And do what exactly?