How would you like to start your career as a Software Engineer earning as much as $65K per year. As you gain experience, your earning potential could reach as high as $105K at mid-career according to payscale.com. Of course, you could also keep being a dog shampooer if that’s what makes you happy.
| Degree | Starting Salary | Mid-Career Salary |
| Software Engineer | $65,200 | $105,700 |
| Web Developer | $58,900 | $86,800 |
| Network Engineer | $58,500 | $93,600 |
You really can have a great paying career with a two-year degree and dare I say even a one-year degree. Employers are so eager for workers with technical skills they will hire folks who show an aptitude, professionalism, and an eagerness to learn, and they will train them. You get to earn while you learn. You could still do your freelance shampooing on the side for those who are interested. (This author does not condone forcible shampooing.)
The inscription on the statue of the fictional founder of Faber College named Emil Faber that is shown during the opening of the late 70s classic movie Animal House states, “Knowledge is Good.” Yes, knowledge is good. Duh! Also, having knowledge gives human beings the ability to earn money and then hopefully it allows you to add to your rubber ducky collection.
One of the best ways to acquire technical knowledge is to take one or more classes where you absorb fun technical concepts and then apply those concepts to solve business problems. Such problems may include helping a small business track their inventory or increase the sales for a large corporation by helping them understand and consolidate their data. The possibilities are endless as your technical skills can be used in any industry like business, manufacturing, healthcare, and education.
Freelance Work
Maybe you do volunteer work, and the organization needs help with their website. For new developers this is a fantastic way to gain experience and help a good cause. Over the years I’ve been involved with dog rescue, and I’m thankful I’ve been able to use my technical skills to help them build and maintain their websites. It’s amazing to watch these dogs build their own websites. Some of them barely passed obedience school.
You can use your web development knowledge to help maintain the millions of websites out there or think about starting your own business. Many web developers do a lot of freelance work to earn extra money. According to ZipRecruiter a Freelance Web Developer salary averages $45/hour or $93K year. As a freelance developer you have more freedom with your schedule and earning potential. However, you are also responsible for finding your own work.
If you’re interested in the more traditional job a Web Developer’s salary can range from $58K to $86K with a two-year degree. You can typically build some powerful websites with as little as two or three courses so you can finally create that website about your goldfish and their mating habits.
By now you’ve hopefully gotten the message of how much money you can earn with a two-year degree. However, you still need to take some classes and earn that degree. Yes, I know…college costs LOTS of money, but it doesn’t need to drain your savings. You can save many of those dollars and still buy that pig farm you always dreamed about. Or was it an alpaca farm?
College Costs
According to many reports that track college expenses including US News & World Report the average cost of college ranges from about $5K per year for a public technical college to $10K per year for a public college in your home state to almost $42K per year for a private college where you might learn a secret handshake. For the cost of those private colleges my hope would be that you would learn many secret handshakes. In my home state of Wisconsin, you could attend one of the areas technical colleges for as low as $4,200 for the year.
On a more serious note, a two-year degree at a technical college can be just as valuable as a four-year degree. Shush! Don’t tell those four-year students. We don’t want them to feel bad. For example, at a two-year technical college, students who take programming classes learn how to program on day one. In fact, most technical colleges are structured similarly so you’re learning new skills on the first day of class. Networking students learn how computers communicate with each other, but then start connecting cables, switches, and routers. Oh my! Computer support students tear apart computers and then reassemble them. It’s complete madness! Actually…it’s a lot of fun and a great learning experience.
Next Steps
My recommendation would be for you to consider taking one or two courses at a technical college to see if you like it. These days you can take courses fully online (asynchronous) where you work independently, read the textbook, and watch videos at your own pace. Yes, you can still watch those funny cat videos. No judgement here.
In a hybrid (synchronous) class students and the Instructor are live online using software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. The hybrid mode has become increasingly popular especially during the past few years as it offers the flexibility of attending remotely, but still giving students the full experience of being with other students and the instructor live. The instructor can share their screen to show coding examples and students can do the same when they get stuck debugging code.
Finally, in a traditional classroom, students and the instructor are physically in the same classroom. Try a style of learning and go for it. As a side note, most schools allow you to be a student-at-large, which means you can take one or two courses without having to formally declare a major. Keep it simple. Or you could complicate things by paying more money to stay in school longer and still earn the same amount of money.
Summary
As Ferris Bueller from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off says, “Life moves pretty fast…”. While this is only part of the quote, the idea is that you should take a look around and assess your situation. I say you should stop waiting and take action to control your future. If you’ve always been interested in working in a technical field like programming, networking, or technical support it’s a great time to get started. We all know that knowledge is good and acquiring some of that knowledge at a technical college gives you an opportunity to begin a career that earns a high salary. Or…you could go back to shampooing dogs. If you do that, then I’d suggest expanding your client base with cats and possibly birds.
You can also get started by learning how to code!