High School

In high school you should take any computer programming, software design or engineering, computer science, and mathematics courses available since these subjects directly prepare students for careers in computer programming. English and speech classes will help you to develop your communication skills.

Postsecondary Training

A bachelor’s degree is often required by employers, but some companies may only require programmers to have an associate’s degree. Most programmers have a degree in computer science, programming, or related areas, and learn a few popular programming languages while in school.

Some employers whose work is highly technical require that programmers be qualified in the area in which the firm or agency operates. Engineering firms, for example, prefer young people with an engineering background and are willing to train them in some programming techniques. For other firms, such as banks, consumer-level knowledge of the services that banks offer may be sufficient background for incoming programmers.

Other Education or Training

Student and professional members of the Association for Computing Machinery can access online computing and business courses via the association’s Learning Center. Visit http://learning.acm.org for more information. The IEEE Computer Society offers career planning webinars and continuing education courses to its members. Visit https://www.computer.org/education for more information.

Certification or Licensing

Programmers may choose to become certified by the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals. Certification is also provided by various product vendors and software companies. Although it is not required, certification may boost an individual's attractiveness to employers during the job search.

Familiarity with programming languages and completion of an internship and on-the-job experience in an entry-level position will be useful for aspiring programmers.

Some employers whose work is highly technical require that programmers be qualified in the area in which the firm or agency operates. Engineering firms, for example, prefer young people with an engineering background and are willing to train them in some programming techniques. For other firms, such as banks, consumer-level knowledge of the services that banks offer may be sufficient background for incoming programmers.

Personal qualifications such as a high degree of reasoning ability, patience, and persistence, as well as an aptitude for mathematics, are important for computer programmers. Other important traits include good problem-solving skills; creativity; the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines; and strong communication skills.