Can you get into IT without a bachelor's degree?

Mostly not, in the data we have, and the exceptions are support jobs. BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical way in for 7 [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), counted by HighPathways, United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] of the nine IT jobs we cover. The other two are computer user support specialists and computer network support specialists.

For user support specialists, BLS describes the typical way in as: Some college, no degree · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]. They earn a median $61,860 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year. Network support specialists earn $76,220 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025].

Pay is the median annual wage for the whole United States. Figures last pulled October 2, 2026. Each number is followed, in brackets, by its publisher and date.

What people in these jobs actually hold

A job's typical entry level is one measure. Another is who is already doing it. Among people working as computer user support specialists, 36.9% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] hold a bachelor's degree, 23.8% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] have some college, 14.7% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] an associate's degree and 10.7% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] a high school diploma.

Among software developers, 51.9% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] hold a bachelor's degree and 30.1% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] a master's, while 7.4% [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), United States, retrieved 2026-09-28] stopped at some college. These describe the workforce today. They are not what an employer will ask of you.

The way in is a support job, and support jobs are growing slowly or not at all

BLS projects employment for user support specialists to change −3.5% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] over ten years. There are still 39,700 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year, because BLS counts the people who leave a job along with new jobs. Network support specialists are projected to change +1.2% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] with 9,000 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year. Network and computer systems administrators, who list a bachelor's degree, are projected to change −4.1% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035].

Where the pay and the growth are

Software developers earn $135,980 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] a year, with 95,300 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035] openings a year and projected growth of +10.2% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]. Information security analysts earn $129,180 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025] and are projected to grow +21% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035], the fastest of the nine. For analysts, BLS describes the typical way in as: Bachelor's degree · Less than 5 years work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28].

Information technology jobs, side by side

Median pay is the national median annual wage: half the people in the job earn more, half less. Openings a year is a BLS projection that counts people leaving the job as well as new jobs, so it measures turnover, not positions open today. Where we hold no verified figure it says Provisional, never an estimate.

Software Developer
Design, write, and test software; collaborate with a team to ship features users rely on.
Median pay
$135,980 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
95,300 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+10.2% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Information Security Analysts
You watch security alerts, investigate suspicious logins, run vulnerability scans, patch weaknesses, and write up incidents so the organization stays protected from attacks.
Median pay
$129,180 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
14,100 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+21% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Bachelor's degree · Less than 5 years work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Network and Computer Systems Administrators
You manage servers and user accounts, apply patches and backups, monitor system health, and respond when networks, email, or shared drives go down.
Median pay
$99,130 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
13,400 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
−4.1% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer Network Support Specialists
You troubleshoot network connectivity, test cables and switches, monitor performance dashboards, and help users restore access when routers, VPNs, or LAN links fail.
Median pay
$76,220 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
9,000 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+1.2% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Associate's degree · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer User Support Specialists
You answer help-desk tickets, reset passwords, walk users through software fixes over phone and chat, and document each issue in a tracking system.
Median pay
$61,860 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
39,700 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
−3.5% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Some college, no degree · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Web Developer
Build and maintain websites and web apps, balancing design, performance, and functionality.
Median pay
$92,650 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]
Openings a year
5,300 [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Projected change in jobs, ten years
+3.8% [BLS Employment Projections, United States, 2025–2035]
Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]

Verification required

Licences and credentials

Some employers ask for industry certifications, and some security and government work asks for clearances or specific credentials. We do not list them, and nothing on this page certifies that a course or a credential qualifies you. Check the requirements in the job listing before you pay for training.

CareerOneStop's License Finder lists licensing requirements by state.

What this page cannot tell you

These are nine jobs, and one of them, other computer and IT roles, is BLS's catch-all group for jobs that fit nowhere else, not a single job. Data scientists and statisticians sit in the same federal group but are not among our nine.

We hold nothing on coding bootcamps, vendor certifications or teaching yourself. BLS records the formal education that is typical, and that is not the same as who gets hired. So this data cannot tell you how far you can get without a degree. It can only tell you what people in the job hold. It does not include what training costs, or pay in your state or city.

All 9 information technology jobs we cover

Ordered by median annual pay, highest first. Pay is national.
Job	Median pay	Typical way in, as BLS lists it
Software Developer	$135,980 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Information Security Analysts	$129,180 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Bachelor's degree · Less than 5 years work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Other Computer & IT Roles	$116,580 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Web and Digital Interface Designers	$104,000 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer Programmers	$100,390 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$99,130 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Web Developer	$92,650 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Bachelor's degree · No work experience · No on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer Network Support Specialists	$76,220 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Associate's degree · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]
Computer User Support Specialists	$61,860 [CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), United States, 2025]	Some college, no degree · No work experience · 1 to 12 months on-the-job training [CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28]

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page was published by someone other than us and is shown as published. Figures last pulled October 2, 2026. A figure we cannot source is marked Provisional, and one the publisher does not measure says so. Both appear on the page itself, not behind a tap.

Median pay CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS), 2025. About this source
Projected change in jobs over ten years BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035. About this source
Openings a year BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035. About this source
Typical way in CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28. About this source
Education people in the job hold CareerOneStop (BLS Employment Projections), retrieved 2026-09-28. About this source

The provisional flag and every publisher's terms are explained on Where our numbers come from.

Found something wrong? Email hello@highpathways.com and name the page and the figure. It goes to a person at HighPathways.

Wages, time-to-entry, education levels, state licensing and local training programs sourced via CareerOneStop (BLS OEWS; BLS Employment Projections; License Finder; Local Training Finder: NCES IPEDS and US DOL ETP/WIOA), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration and operated by the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development. Shown as published.

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. HighPathways has modified some of this information: we shorten O*NET’s official occupation titles so they read the way people say them; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay and cost figures are sourced separately and listed on the Data sources page.

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