While you might have heard otherwise, you don’t need a degree to work in IT. Of course, it depends on the role, but in IT, college degrees are becoming much less important to hiring managers.
For instance, even the US government is now pushing to hire tech talent based on skills rather than formal education. This should reassure you that practical skills and experience—not university qualifications—are what’s really important for these roles.
Browse the tech job market, and you’ll find further proof that you don’t need an associate’s or bachelor’s degree to land an IT role. The qualifications many job listings include are:
- A college degree in information technology, computer science, or a related field, or
- Equivalent training and IT certifications.
In fact, we looked through 100 IT support positions and found that 88% of them didn’t require a college degree.
This is generally what you’ll see across the tech industry, from entry-level roles like help desk technician, IT field support, and computer programmer to more advanced roles like systems administrator, network engineer, and software developer.
So, if you don’t need a college degree to work in IT, what do you need?
That’s exactly what we’ll focus on in this article: how to land your first IT job without a degree, even if you’re starting from scratch with no IT skills or work experience.
At Climb Hire, this is our specialty. We’re a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping low-income working adults break into the tech industry. We offer training programs in various tech fields and help our students earn tech certifications, enabling them to find rewarding and well-paying jobs with the new skills they’ve gained.
Thanks to our generous donors, all of our programs are completely free for 2024.
On top of that, more than 80% of Climb Hire students secure jobs within six months of graduating, often making salaries of over $50k.
Before we get into the details of Climb Hire and our IT Support program—which feeds directly into many entry-level IT roles—we’ll walk you through exactly what you need to start working in IT.
If You Don’t Need a Degree to Work in IT, What Do You Need?
Anyone looking to work in IT without a degree will need to start with an entry-level job in either IT support or web/app development. Either way, you’ll need evidence that you have the technical skills required to land and excel at the job.
In the IT industry, you can show you’re technically qualified by earning professional certifications—either in IT support or web/app development. Here, we’ll explore these two paths one at a time and show you what you need for each.
1. IT Support Career Path
IT support involves assisting users with technical issues, maintaining hardware and software systems, and ensuring smooth IT operations within a company. To work in IT support, you’ll need a broad understanding of various IT areas, including networking, troubleshooting, cybersecurity, and cloud services, along with excellent problem-solving and people skills.
CompTIA A+ certification is the industry standard for anyone looking to work in IT. This is what hiring managers look for on resumes.
To earn CompTIA A+ certification, you’ll need to pass two exams:
Mastering the complex technical information on these exams usually requires dedicated time and energy to study the material thoroughly.
In IT support, “soft skills” are also essential, as you inevitably have to interact with people, both when applying for and during any role. These skills include things like effective communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. Not everyone has these skills naturally, but they can be learned.
Enter Climb Hire. Our IT Support training program not only covers the technical concepts and skills needed to earn CompTIA A+ certification. It also includes dedicated training in soft skills.
How Climb Hire Will Help You Start Your Tech Career without a Degree
Climb Hire’s IT Support program lasts for six months and fully prepares you to land your first IT job. That’s a lot shorter than the two to four years it takes to complete a degree.
Additionally, our program includes several other benefits:
- It’s completely free for all students in 2024. We have our generous donors to thank for that.
- You’ll learn all the technical skills to pass the CompTIA A+ exams from expert instructors in live, online classes. This ensures you thoroughly learn the material, as you can ask questions and get feedback in real-time.
- Climb Hire covers the cost of the CompTIA A+ exams (which is typically $500).
- In class, we teach you “soft skills,” like professional and interpersonal communication skills, writing great resumes and cover letters, and how to nail an interview. We can’t stress enough how important this is for landing a job and doing well in the role.
- You learn alongside like-minded peers, giving you support and encouragement along the way. This makes it easier and more enjoyable to learn. You also end up with an awesome community of peers who will be part of your personal and professional networks long after the program ends.
- After graduation, you’ll gain access to Climb Hire’s wide network of IT professionals and beyond, which will give you a huge advantage during your job search.
- Every Climb Hire student is assigned a dedicated Career Development Advisor who will support you throughout the process and while you’re looking for a job.
Because of all this, more than 80% of Climb Hire graduates secure employment within six months of graduating. That means when you sign up for our six-month IT Support program, you’ll likely be working in an IT role within a year.
For instance, previously working two jobs and struggling to pay her bills, Sisanda decided she wanted to transition to the tech industry. Climb Hire gave her a way to do this without the financial burden that often comes with going to college.
She’s now graduated and working a tech job that pays five times what she was making before. “I’ve earned that job through relationships that I built through Climb Hire,” she says.
2. Web or App Development Career Path
Web development involves coding and maintaining websites and web applications, including both the visual design (front-end) and server-side logic (back-end). Similarly, app developers create and maintain software applications for mobile devices, focusing on both user interface design and the underlying code that powers the app.
The coding languages are different for web versus app development, which means each branch has its own certifications.
For web development, some of the most popular certifications for beginners include:
- Certified Web Developer (CWD)
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
- PCEP™ – Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer
These certifications prove your skills in essential web development languages like HTML, CSS, Python, and JavaScript, as well as your ability to design and maintain web applications.
In app development, key certifications include:
- Apple’s Swift Certification for iOS developers
- Google’s Associate Android Developer Certification for Android developers
These certifications demonstrate your expertise in the respective programming languages and your ability to create and manage mobile applications.
To earn any of these certifications, you’ll need to study and diligently practice. In the next section, we’ll detail different ways to learn these skills and get certified.
3 Alternative Ways to Learn the IT Fundamentals
We understand that Climb Hire may not be everyone’s cup of tea, whether it’s because you’re more interested in in-person classes, you prefer learning on your own, or because you want to go the coding route. If that’s the case, here are some options to learn IT basics elsewhere:
- Coding courses or bootcamps: To earn certification in web or app development, you’ll have to thoroughly learn how to code. There are lots of ways you can do this aside from getting a degree. Many people learn web or app development through basic courses they find online—of which there are hundreds—and then spend lots of time practicing.Platforms like Codecademy offer more comprehensive online courses in programming languages, as do coding bootcamps. Local institutions in your area may also offer specific coding courses. Costs vary, ranging from free to a few hundred to several thousand dollars.
- In-person CompTIA A+ training: Local governments and corporations occasionally sponsor free IT education programs, such as the CUNY Upskilling Scholarship Program at Bronx Community College for New York residents or Goodwill’s program in Colorado for state residents.Check around your area to see if similar programs are available nearby. Otherwise, colleges sometimes offer specific CompTIA A+ training for a fee, and scholarships may be available.
- Other CompTIA A+ training courses: The internet is full of pre-made online courses where you essentially guide yourself through a curriculum. A perk of many of these is that they’re free or low-cost and can be done on your own schedule. However, it can be hard to hold yourself accountable to a learning schedule when you’re doing it on your own. Plus, learning complex technical concepts might be challenging without an expert there to guide you.
Most of the time, the programs and courses you’ll find to learn IT basics do not include training in soft skills. This is an important factor to consider. Soft skills can often be the difference between landing a job or not, as they can make your resume and cover letter stand out and help you ace interviews. Without these skills, even the most technically proficient may find it hard to get hired and thrive in their careers.
For these reasons, Climb Hire’s IT Support program incorporates soft skills training right into the coursework. Miguel Ruiz credits the soft skills he learned at Climb Hire for helping him land a great role in the tech industry. Knowing things like how to interact with interviewers and what to include in follow-up emails, he says, “really make a change when you’re looking for a job.”
Climb Hire Offers a Quick Route into the IT Industry
You don’t need a degree to work in IT. Still, any path you take will mean rolling up your sleeves and putting in the work to learn the IT fundamentals.
Enrolling in Climb Hire’s IT Support program means you’ll master the essential skills, earn your CompTIA A+ certification, and receive dedicated job support to jumpstart your IT career.
Here’s a recap of some of the great features with Climb Hire:
- It’s free for all of 2024, plus we cover the $500 in CompTIA A+ exam fees.
- Thorough training in soft skills will prepare you to get a job and excel in the role.
- You’ll learn alongside like-minded peers, building a supportive network that encourages and motivates you.
- Over 80% of Climb Hire graduates secure employment within six months of completing the program, earning salaries of over $50k.
Take advantage of this opportunity to start your IT journey with Climb Hire. Apply to our IT Support program today.