Professional programming experience vs educational background

Artereis

I am going to be learning C# (possibly some complementary skills too like ASP.NET) as part of my developmental program for 2016 at my job. My degree is a BA in English. Looking at potential future job prospects, how confused am I going to make hiring managers? I am 10 years out of college at this point.

Enc

I came from an BA in English as well, picked up several types of programming, statistical modeling, graphic design, and GIS over the years. It's not uncommon!

Jasconius

It is not going to be confusing at all.

Not every programmer has a formal computer education.

Artereis

Okay, cool. I wasn't sure how common it was for people to come from non-CS backgrounds.

Tomanta

Actual job experience programming is going to mean more on a resume than a computer science degree unless you happen to have one from, say, MIT.

schuss

Yep, the key is if you've used it professionally to create or maintain applications. Half the great sysadmins/dba's/programmers I've worked with had liberal arts degrees.

mRahmani

It really depends on what you're trying for. I have a very good friend who has a BA in computer science and has been able to go very far with it. Some companies (typically smaller ones) are happy to look past a lack of formal experience if you can demonstrate that you have the skills and drive to succeed.

However, it's important to keep in mind that many, many companies will immediately ignore candidates that don't come from an engineering background. When you have to narrow down hundreds of resumes, it's an easy way of cutting down the pile. I don't say this to be discouraging, but I want to make sure you're aware that it will be an uphill battle to be accepted at the same level of a formally trained developer.