Hi Steve.  I know where you're coming from, and I agree with it in principle.  I think the PDL is a great roadmap for professional development for those already doing programming jobs.  But for people who want to "break into" programming as the title of the post implies, the cold hard truth is that they will not even be considered for the vast, vast majority of positions without either a degree or the demonstration of *specific* technology skills.  I almost hate to recommend the various "technology certification" programs -- especially since I'm not currently certified myself -- but combining PDL-based self-education with a Sun Certified Java Programmer or MCP status might actually do the trick and land an interview.

In my experience, traditional career development for software professionals almost always attempts to hoist people up into management.  More recently, some companies I'm familiar with are recognizing that not everyone is interested in management and are creating "principal" or "distinguished" engineer positions for those folks to work toward.  And other companies seem to be (mis)using the "architect" title for the same purpose.  But at least the need is being recognized as the industry matures.

I'm afraid I have to echo the disconnect between skill set and marketability.  IME, there are an awful lot of people who are hired based on a degree and job experience, and they can't code their way out of a paper bag.

Ok, that was harsh.  What I really mean, is that even though they may be syntactically proficient, a lot of people struggle with "what's the *right* way to do this?"  I believe that your PDP is likely to help with that for people who take it seriously.

First catch-22:  How does someone who doesn't know programming find out that Steve McConnell knows what he's talking about?  (how is someone going to pick your program over a "learn to program in 21 days" book?)

Next problem: Scott's right about having a hard time getting hired without a programming degree.  One of the keys to maximizing your chances is to make a smart transition.

If I wanted to make that transition, I'd look for a departmental job where you can become a "power user" and leverage that to more and more technical positions.  There are quite a few roles that aren't viewed as highly technical (business analyst, technical writer, data analyst, etc.), but a transition from a job like this into a development position is more credible than trying to make the leap all at once.

There are some missing accredited software engineering programs in your list.  Software engineering is "Génie Logiciel" in french.  Refer to that list for the missing ones:

www.engineerscanada.ca/.../acc_programs_2.cfm

I've graduated from Laval University (Québec city, Canada) in software engineering (Génie Logiciel).

Steve, I've really liked the approach you've taken for some time now and have published a career development model partly inspired by it. It's called META and it covers not just (Software) Engineering, but also self/team Management, Technology and Applications. See ianclatworthy.wordpress.com/.../meta-career-development.

Like the PDP though, I see this as a useful framework for ongoing development as opposed to getting started in IT. Without a qualification, certification or experience behind you, breaking in will remain very challenging for self starters simply because most employers don't like to take on the costs involved and risks inherent in employing someone with next-to-no experience. I recommend getting involved in an open source project for a 6-12 months while self-studying to help overcome that barrier. Having shown you can work with others and produce good code will buy credibility in many places.

Here's my (admittedly hypothetical) question, Steve:

If an applicant submitted a resume that listed "books read" and covered the outline you laid out, would you give him a job? An interview? Of course, this resume would have no CS or equivalent degree, but a classic liberal arts education.

Let me make my question a bit more specific. Would a list of books read be sufficient to replace a CS degree on making initial cuts through resumes?

As I look at it, this is a case of short-term and long-term gains. When a resume has a CS degree, I assume a moderate level of familiarity with IDE's, syntax, debugging, etc., but have no idea how they might approach problem solving, analysis of information, and other related problems that lead to long-term success. If a resume has a liberal arts education and lists books read, I would assume more facility with the latter skills and little direct technology knowledge.

So the question comes, can I accept the hit of a lot of short-term training to get them useful now in the hopes of greater success later? Tough question.

Our situation might be different han a lot of companies in that we don't put any weight on a CS degree, so the reading list wouldn't substitute for it. Most CS degrees wouldn't cover most of the reading on our list. So I think our list and a CS degree are an apples to oranges comparison.

I wouldn't assume that LotsOfReading + LiberalArtsDegree = little direct technology knowledge. Typically people don't become interested in the more general books like the ones on our list unless they've been pretty deep in the technology at some point.

Fair enough. I had meant to add SE degree along with CS (which would cover at some of the reading), but the point is well taken. I should also have been clear that my assumption wasn't universal, but a starting point.

I would very much like to find a way to make this a viable way of culling resumes. My own background started with a liberal arts degree, but I couldn't get in the front door for an interview until I went back to school and got the CS paper. Since then, to be blunt, the liberal arts education has served me better than the technical one.

Actually books read doesnt do much to show the aptitude of a programmer.  I think the *BEST* example of programmers given talents is to ask for a portfolio of works that person has done in the past, wether that be for a pro bono project, freelanced for people or did work in a school or at a work environment.

To base a person's aptitude on the books that person has read in gaging his programming skills is as even more suspect than basing that person programming level skills on a university or college level degree in the field.

Peter,

I agree that as part of the hiring process your method of judging aptitude is excellent. What I am trying to get at is "Can books read be used as a valid first-pass screen."

Once past that screen, a portfolio of works has greater validity. But you can't ask for a portfolio submission with every resume, you'd be swamped.

Here's a question for all: Would a "Self-Education" section on a resume hold any water with people? From Steve's comments earlier, it would show some self-motivation and some hints about cultural fit. Personally, I like the idea for those reasons alone. However, there is a strong bias toward seminars and certification classes.

There's another reason I am interested in this topic. My wife's cousin's boyfriends' brother (how's that for degrees of separation) is graduating with degrees in philosophy and political science. He would be an outstanding software developer. How can I outline a career path for him that will save him from going to law school because he can't think of where else to apply his skills?

Steve, there was no career guidance provided by the companies I've worked for. Furthermore, in one company I was blamed because want to read the book\articles about technology I never used to work with. The "right" was "cut and try method".

Another "career guidance" was to read "Thinking in Java" book (it has 1000+ pages) in 3 days to learn Java (at very first time)...

Maximum that seen was when company does not prevent employees to guide themselfs in learning. One company had a library with books and magazines. One time there was presentation of MS Windows Vista and MS Office 2007 by MS's regional manager.

The most care about I've know - an employee was send in business trip to Sun's JavaOne 2007 conference.

By the way, I find Programmer's PDP very useful.

About  "Can books read be used as a valid first-pass screen." - I think can. Because you can see from whom the person learns. Because, to become a master you need to learn from masters.

<em>My own background started with a liberal arts degree, but I couldn't get in the front door for an interview until I went back to school and got the CS paper.</em>

Kevin, sorry to hear that. But your experience isn't universal. I've managed to do very well in the past 12 years with no degree to speak of, liberal arts or otherwise. (This includes a 6-year stint at Microsoft.) I do admit, though, that those first few years of no degree/no experience were what you might call..."choppy." Since that bootstrap period, however, I've had no problems.

As for books vs. aptitude, I would take the books a person has read as a very positive sign. How many programmers do YOU know will brag that they've read SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS by Wiegers, or even CODE COMPLETE? That a programmer even evinces an interest in the greater issues of software development beyond just churning out code is a plus mark, in my book.

This post hits close to home, because I'm currently 'bootstrapping' myself into a software development, mostly through self study.  My plan of attack has three fronts: reading, home projects, and a job where I do get to write at least some code.  

I cobbled together my reading lists from Amazon.com, personal reading lists published by random developers, and friend's recommendations.  I found it wasn't hard to find the classics (like Code Complete) and these made it a lot easier to find other good texts.  (I don't know about putting the books on your resume though; it seems there are better ways to *prove* you've done the work.)

Home projects, with free tools and libraries, were very helpful, although by no means a substitute for professional experience.  You can do far more interesting things than a novice programmer is usually asked to do, and you learn to plan and complete projects from start to finish, long before you will by given ownership of a professional project.

But neither the home projects or the reading would have been worth anything if I hadn't had daily professional exposure to real software development.  Watching projects flounder because of 'classic mistakes' or struggling to re-use a badly designed piece of code (or succeed by following best practices) gives perspective and context to self-learning.  Speaking only for myself, I would have had a very inaccurate conception of software development without that feedback.  I do think the industry is different now than it was even 10 years ago, and I think there's less willingness to hire someone 'smart' who will 'learn quickly.'  

So, I think the balance of real software development activities and theoretical study found on the PDP is pretty much ideal for a well-rounded software engineer/developer.  It seems to be working for me, at least in my own opinion.

Thanks for making this available!

This hits close to home for me as well -- I do not have a college degree at all.  I was always interested in technology though,  and, while engaged in a particular project, made a suggestion about how a task could be better performed if computerized.  The manager told me to go get access to a computer and come back when I'd implemented the suggestion.  I've spent the last 23+ years working in the field starting from that simple directive.

It does help if you read voraciously (I've read a good percentage of the books on the list, for instance), and it helps if you have someone who sees that you are  making the effort to learn and helps out (thanks, Jim!).

As for my current company, I have to say that they have provided next to no career guidance and, frankly, lied to me.  I was told that there were parallel tracks in technology, business, and management - that one could be promoted up any of the career paths.  This was largely a fiction from day one and, with cost-cutting, has become even more so over the years -- if one is seen primarily as a technologist, the chances for promotion (other than managing other techies) is virtually nil.

The company I work for has no guidance for me as a developer at all. This and the fact that I am not satisfied with my work, even if the customer is satisfied, has persuaded me to search for another job. There are two options for me. Number one, search for a company which helps employees to develop better skills. Number two, leave the software industry because to many companies don't know what they are doing. Well, that is my opinion.