Do you need a CS degree to become a programmer?

Posted by amlcurran on April 15, 2012 03:24 pm 15

So, I'm coming to the end of my penultimate year at university doing Chemistry. In the summer of my first year I got coding an Android app, mainly to alleviate boredom. Since then, I've branched out into a few more apps and they're all doing fairly well, considering they're pretty niche products.

I've decided that when it comes to it, I wouldn't mind applying for a coding job. However, most of them I've seen have a Computer Science degree as a requirement, which I obviously don't have. I was wondering whether anyone here has a similar experience, coming into programming from a non-CS background and how hard you found it, whether there are any big tips or anything? I know there will be quite a few things I won't know, but is there much hope down this path? We've always been told that Chemistry is a great subject to do because of the "transferable skills" you get, but are these skills going to help me here?

Thanks!