For those of you who love computers, who love programming, I would like to share something that is vital for you to know if you would like to make these passions your career. I can help you learn exactly what you need to do to become a successful software engineer. I will give you five crucial steps that will allow you to be well on your way to a successful and lucrative programming career.

Where to start? How do you land that excellent job opportunity? First of all, the most critical piece in these five steps is obtaining your bachelor’s degree computer science and technology. Yes, as this field expands, a master’s degree or a Ph.D. is even better, but of course we have to begin with the bachelor’s degree. While this is often viewed as the most difficult, I would like to introduce you to an awesome resource that will make this possible from anywhere in the world and for almost no financial cost! Additionally, because software development was born in the west – specifically the United States – having a degree from there is also nice to have on a resume. Whether you are in the United States or not, a fantastic resource to get a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree is from The University of the People (http://www.uopeople.edu). Anyone from anywhere can apply to this accrediteduniversity – and believe it or not – it is free. There is a $100 exam fee, but all of your learning can be done online at no cost. That is the first step.

Next, as a way to build your career, the degree will get you started, but this is by no means the best jumping off point of a successful career. Many students think once the degree is in hand, the job offers will simply flow in, but do not sell yourself short in this way. The degree can open the doors for you, but it is definitely not the final step. The degree can give you a legitimate certificate that exemplifies what you know and you can easily discuss things like algorithms and asymptotic time with other professionals, but you still need to expand your credentials. The second step is to obtain certification from the corporations that provide such learning tools. These help you to be recognized as a valued professional. While I personally am a .NET developer and this is where my particular interests are, I will not be talking about PHP or Java, even though Oracle does provide Java certificates and W3C schools provide PHP certificates. Microsoft, however, offers a virtual academy Microsoft Docs that can kick-start to your learning. Each video guides your knowledge toward a specific exam. When you become Microsoft certified that increases the chance that you can land great jobs – even with Microsoft itself, or with Apple, Amazon, Google, and other highly recognized business entities.

Thus far, you have two steps toward an awesome career – one practical and one theoretical. The third step is to read. It is vital to keep expanding your knowledge base in order to keep up with the fast paced and quick changing dynamics of software development. Without this step, you risk becoming an ignorant programmer – and believe me – there are plenty of ignorant programmers out there. They just cannot or will not keep up and they continue to use outdated methods in their work. For example, they get stuck using 4-loops rather than using a Lambda or LINQ expressions Even if you do not understand these examples, you will in the future by following these steps.

So you have the degree, certifications from Microsoft Virtual Academy, and you are reading to keep up. If you are concerned about the cost of technical reading materials, you can check out www.freecomputerbooks.com or even find inexpensive books on Amazon. Understand that you do have to invest in your mind and the payoff will be phenomenal. Know too, that while you may not be making money right away, by investing in yourself for four or five years, you will soon be on your way to a more lucrative lifestyle. The beautiful thing about programming is that you do not have to begin with much. You need a computer and a keyboard and you are good to go! So up front, if you really want to make an impact in the technology world, you have to invest in your mind. All the technology we use today began as an idea. Windows began as an idea. Google began as an idea. Facebook, WhatsApp, and such, all began as an idea so by continuing to read and learn, you open your mind up to the possibilities that begin as your idea and allow you to contribute to the technology we will be using in the future.

The fourth step is to make sure you have the tools necessary to gain practical experience. The best way to access the tools you need is the free software available to students. MSDN is a great subscription service and Microsoft provides free software through DreamSpark (www.dreamspark.com) if you are enrolled in a university. Using your student ID from The University of the People (which is a Microsoft partner) you can get Visual Studio or Microsoft SQL Server or any other software you need for free.

The last step is for you to get involved in open source projects. You will learn from experience what you cannot learn from books, college, reading, or even from your certifications. Get involved by going to www.github.com and learn version control by downloading C# projects and contributing the genius you have to offer to the world. A little warning here, you may be criticized because people can be sharp and hurtful in their feedback, but keep in mind that this too can be used to enhance your learning. No one there is getting paid, there are no politics, no working hours, no bosses, so people tend to be frank and up front. Just keep in mind that your sole purpose there is to learn, not to make friends or secure a job – although some of the greatest companies like Amazon tend to look at your GitHub account rather than your resume to see how you actually solve problems and work through issues. If your code is very good, you will get to know some great people who don’t necessarily know how to express their knowledge through a resume, but through the proof of their excellent coding skills.

So by committing to these five steps for four or five years, your life can change dramatically. You need not view programming as proverbial “rocket science” – you just need to work the steps and you will be well on your way to an amazing career.