You generally need a bachelor's degree in computer science or software engineering. Vendor-specific certifications can validate your expertise with certain products or platforms. Potential employers often value Vendor-neutral certifications. It's possible to learn and practice coding on your own, develop the right networks and land a job. However, this requires hundreds of hours of work and study with little outside guidance. A four-year Computer Science degree can cost anywhere from just under $90,000 to almost $200,000 in tuition and fees. Online degrees average about $15,000 to $22,000 for a three- to six-year course of study. Coding boot camps cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 for three to 12 months of intensive study.