Most of what I do is programming database stuff. I have no CS degree. I've had two programming courses: BASIC in high school, and Fortran in college.

Unix System Administrator

PC support. Every once in awhile we'll get a new program in that is specific to a department rather than hospital-wide (and thus not something supported by the Sys Admins, though they'll help out if the can) that won't work right and it'd be nice to have a better understanding of how software works and how to "fix" it, but for my normal day to day job it doesn't matter.

But there are times I wish I had a CS degree....

All I can say is that law schools have equal numbers of men and women because of the notoriously family-friendly working conditions of papa law.

But there are times I wish I had a CS degree....

Same here. Though it'd mostly be something to point at and go "See this, pay me more."

I mean, I can't imagine starting a Computer Science degree without any programming experience.

I can. You show up at college from a high school with no programming courses.

It's like the women who show up at engineering school with the required math and science background but no tinkering experience. I knew a husband/wife pair of engineers; she didn't do as well on class projects as he did because he was more used to handling a soldering iron.

I used to be really peeved at competing with the guys with lots of programming experience until I considered all the reading experience I had, all the reading I did for pleasure, and how young I'd started.

College isn't a standing start; lots of people show up Freshman year with a lap ahead on the track.

All my post-high school CS studies were in AI theory, no programming involved, and nope, no CS degree here. My job positions are basically Tech Monkey types, where a wide base of knowledge is a good thing, because you're mostly the finger for whatever hole springs in the dike.

(I'd have had to go for another year for a dual BA/BS, and that would have been costly, and still wouldn't have given me much in the way of programming.)

There's not a degree in the world that could help me do PC support. But those are intrinsic personality/aptitude issues on my part.

Most of what I do is programming database stuff.

Where did you get the experience/knowledge necessary for this? On the job? How do you feel about your ability to switch up programming platforms, and also to read other people's code?

You show up at college from a high school with no programming courses.

That's what I did. However, since I was really interested in computers, I bought one, wrote programs, got a tutor and took the Comp Sci O Level that my school didn't offer, and led a computer club at school that won the London finals of the British Computing In Schools (or something similar) competition.

Me? Not a self starter. But I wouldn't pick college as the time to sample and decide. I understand, however, that North Americans show up undecided -- but isn't that what the first year is for?

I used to be really peeved at competing with the guys with lots of programming experience

Why? What stopped you from getting it yourself?

I realized that I had made choices, and that I would infinitely rather be reading another book than writing another program. I was telling myself something rather important, once I actually paid attention.