How a self taught programmer can gain the skills similar to those with formal computer science degree?

Believe me or not but this is my area of expertise. You can check my answers on software developments and you would know.

I am a good one to answer this question, because I have taught myself programming, I have never even been to school after 10th class, So I know it better.

Now Come to the point

How can you gain skills like professionals??

Just like the professionals do it in the first place. I will tell the stories of my own to prove my points.

Point no. 1 chose a good programing language that suits you

I started with C, and initially had no idea how am I gonna develop anything. Because after I compile my code all I could see was cmd that says something I said it to say.

No offense to C, but it was not that good for me it can be for you. So after C and java now I use python which I find very easy for development of application on linux and site.

I use Java for GUI applications for PC’s and I use PHP for website designing. So you can select different language for different fields.

Point no. 2 Learn how to code in multiple language

This part actually helps you to understand language. For example, if your primary language is Hindi, and later you learnt a good english also, then you will be able to learn other languages easily because you know that grammers are approx same.

In this part, you will find that all languages have COnditions, loops, and functions

And they work in the same way. So learn more about how can you use programming languages.

Point no.3 And most important one,

Learn Algorithm, Data structure, Software engineering

This is the only part where professionals defeat the novice. Because all the self taught programmers doesn’t want to work hard for gaining something, and professionals have been taught all these in there engineering semester.

So what can you do about it??

You can grab books of all three subject mentioned above and read them, I did that too. But didn’t work. Because these are theoratical things, and they are boring. If you have the capacity to go through 900 pages without any pause then go and do it. But if you can’t I would suggest online lectures.

Free Online Course Materials This is MIT open educations site where you will find lectures related all kind of subjects, and they are delivered by professors of MIT, so you can understand how great these free things are.

So knowledge is free and you know how to gain it,

by Hard work and persistance.

best of luck

happy coding :)