Do You Need a Degree to be a Web Developer?

No, you do not need a degree to find work as a Web Developer, and in fact, there is no specific college or university degree for a career in web development. A bachelor’s degree in computer science has traditionally been the starting point for many aspiring Web Developers, with the most common minimum educational requirement, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, being an associate degree.

That said, there is increasing evidence that both employers and professionals alike are no longer seeing the return on investment in a four-year college degree. According to Stack Overflow, less than half of all Developers have a degree in computer science or a related field. In fact, almost 70 percent of all Developers are at least partly self-taught, with 13 percent of respondents saying they are exclusively self-taught.

Certainly, there are plenty of great reasons to pursue a college education. But getting a degree to land a job in web development is not one.

It’s important to note that development is a highly technical field, and no matter what educational path you choose, a command of relevant programming languages is required. In fact, professionals in this field – more than many other fields – must be committed to ongoing learning to stay on top of changes and updates to languages, tools, and trends.