I am often asked to give my thoughts about what are the best ways to get into the tech industry.  I may be a little biased but in my opinion the best route is to earn an undergraduate degree in computer science from an accredited university.  While I understand this may not be an option for many because college can be very expensive.  In fact, without financial aid, it would not have been an option for me. With that being said, you should take the route that is best for you and today there are several options available to you than what was available to me in the early eighties.

If you can afford college I stand by my position that college is your best route.  Other options that are popular these days are certifications, boot camps, auto didactic, and on the job training.  If you are fortunate enough to land a paid internship or an on the job training program that in my opinion would be the next best thing to college.  It may even be better because you are learning from those who are actually doing the work and you are drawing a paycheck while you learn.  And more than likely if you do well you will be offered a position once the training is done.  It is a win-win.  It is hard to see a downside.

Earning a certification is another popular option.  I am a fan of tech certifications.  In fact, in my role as a technical trainer for Microsoft, a huge part of my job is to earn and maintain a healthy slate of certifications.  I have been earning certifications since 2005.  There is a huge opportunity here.  Because there is such a shortage of tech talent in the world right now, many companies give a great deal of respect to someone who has earned a certification. 

And because of that I do see it is a viable means to enter the tech industry.  In fact, there are those who have setup shop and are offering their services to help you to earn your certification, a kind of certification preparation if you will.  You go through their program and they help you to pass the certification.  You can then use that certification to apply and possibly land a job in the tech industry. 

My least favorite method is attending a boot camp.  The duration of most of these boot camps are 6 months or less.  You simply are not going to be properly prepared in such a short time.  However, if the boot camp can guarantee you a job upon graduation that may be worth it.  The completion of the boot camp can be your entry card into the tech world.  That would make the price of the boot camp worth it. 

But you will definitely have much more to learn before you become a valuable employee.  The learning in most boot camps is one dimensional.  The reason I favor many certifications over boot camps is because some boot camps, say those on cloud computing, are focused and that focus can make you knowledgeable about Azure or AWS in a way that gives you an edge working with those technologies.

Ultimately you will simply choose what method works best for you.  Please understand that no matter which way you choose to go it will only be the start of a career that demands of you a journey of lifelong learning.  So, regardless of your choice, you will be learning for the rest of your time in tech no matter what.