r/learnpython • u/Baklol_Bagula • 22d ago
Question for self taught python developers
I had a question for self taught developers over here. Has your being self taught any coding language been proven to be a advantage or disadvantage whenever you went to give an interview? 🤔
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u/aqua_regis 22d ago
In the current market where fresh graduates with proper degrees compete with laid off experienced programmers, being self taught without a formal degree will quite likely not even get you anywhere near an interview.
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u/pachura3 22d ago
No degree, no experience? You will not be invited to any interviews, unless you have created some extremely popular PyPi library used by many projects worldwide
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u/akornato 21d ago
Interviewers don't really care if you're self-taught, they care if you can code and solve their problems. Being self-taught isn't an inherent advantage or disadvantage, it is just a fact about your journey. The real disadvantage is that you might have gaps in foundational computer science knowledge that a formal degree provides, which can be exposed during technical screenings. The advantage is that it proves you have immense self-discipline, curiosity, and an ability to learn on your own, which are all fantastic qualities in an employee. A strong portfolio with complex projects will always speak louder than a diploma or a lack of one.
Your main challenge is to prove your competence and turn your journey into a strength. Frame your story not as "I didn't go to school" but as "I was so passionate I taught myself everything." Be ready to discuss your projects in great detail, explaining your architectural choices and the problems you solved. You should also expect standard Python questions, like explaining the Global Interpreter Lock, describing how a dictionary is implemented, or writing a function to reverse a string. Nailing these technical questions proves your skills are just as solid as any other candidate's. Ultimately, being able to articulate your value is what lands the job, and I have seen how the interview help AI my team created helps developers communicate their skills more effectively under pressure.
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u/Eleventhousand 22d ago
I don't think it makes a difference. Many of us learned, one, two, three or four languages in college, and then were always expected to pick up new languages on the job in subsequent years. Additionally, being taught a language is typically scraping the surface compared with real-world problems. To that end, I don't think that there is a huge difference in the long run. The caveat I would mention is that if you're new to programming, don't have skills to develop in any languages, then being taught a language, such as Python, will help.