Looking for College Major Advise

[xavega]

Very Simple,

im Looking into Network major, not into programming

Now my School offers

http://www.mdc.edu/main/academics/credit.asp

A.A.
Computer science
Computer Info systems

OR

A.S.

Network Services Technology
Computer Information technology


the Obvious choice is the Network A.S.
But i dont want to end my education on a A.S. i want to get a bachelor in Something

ATM i have 39/60 Credits towards a A.A. or 21/63 credits towards a A.S.


I am not much of a C++ or java language kind of guy, i plan on going to the technology department during this semester since im taking General classes Needed for Both degree so its not a problem the classic math english speech BS

any advise would be appreciated.

also No certifications yet. though i should be able to pass the A+ by now been studying and working in small pc tech jobs for years just $ always a issue

[saphalline]

I will tell you something that I wish someone had told me 10 years ago: you can learn more from a book and a spare computer than you can in 2 years of college.

Not to say that college degrees are useless, because they definitely are not, but after over a decade in IT I can tell you that the hiring process largely hinges on experience and proof-of-ability. And when you can get an entry-level cert in less than a year using a book and a spare computer, what is to stop you from slipping into an entry-level job at that point, racking up 2 years of experience, and starting on the next level cert before the college pushers can get you a Bachelor's degree? Also, you come out of it without any loans!

You have to be good at self-directed study to make this succeed, of course. But then again, you will not make it very high up the rungs of the IT ladder without that skill anyway. And when a semester's load of books costs more than a decent Cisco router on eBay...

I hate to be the one to bash the educational system, but it is far too slow at the college level to be able to pump out capable IT pros in a timely manner. 4-year degrees!? :eek: That is enough time for your knowledge base to be completely obsolete! Unless you want to work for a company that is constantly 10 years behind in technology. (Woohoo, you know Server 2003 R2 inside and out. Too bad Windows Server 8 is less than a year away!)

If you want to listen to the ramblings of a trench denizen, I would not necessarily point you towards dropping out of college since you are already invested in it, but I would recommend that you take a long hard look at networking certs. Check out Cisco certs and Network+, see what it would take (in terms of monetary expenditure) to study for them, and see what kind of jobs you could get with them. Even if you can only get a $28K/year job, the fact that you have your foot in the door with a full-time IT job on salary earning experience would be a fanstastic investment for you.

[yawningdog]

Saph is a cool cat, and he knows what he's doing. But on this point, I must respectfully disagree.

I collected a couple of certs and worked hard at learning new stuff for a long time. But my IT career never really took off until I was nearing the end of my baccalaureate studies. Getting my B.S. (funny how those initials work out) practically tripled my salary in very little time. Your first contact with an employer is generally with an H.R. goon, and they don't know or care that you know how to spoof an ARP request. All they are interested in is checking boxes, and if one of those boxes is labelled "bachelor's degee" then you aren't going to get a call no matter what your experience is. Additionally, H.R. goons don't know the difference between a networking degree and a programming degree or a database admin degree. All they want to know is that your degree relates to the position in some way, and they will set you up with an interview.

The interview is where your experience is going to be questioned, and certs don't necessarily help there either. There are lots of MCSEs and CCNAs walking around that can't find their ass with both hands. They still get hired, but usually for management and admin positions. And the only people that care about an A+ cert is Best Buy, and you probably don't want a career there. (Nothing against Best Buy, but there is no way you're going to make six figures there.)

I had a very positive college experience, and I think Saph is wide of the mark with "listening to the ramblings of a trench denizen" as a characterization of university. True, by the time I got there I could teach most of the classes I took. But as Bruce Lee once said, the truest test of your knowledge is to try and teach it to someone else. Helping my classmates get through stuff they had trouble with was massively helpful to me as well. And I also got a lot from my pre-reqs like accounting, business, the arts & humanities classes. I found statistics especially helpful.

I get that you don't get into coding, but you've got to embrace a bit of it. VBscript, Python, and shell programming have made me far more productive than I ever could have been without them. You don't need to be an expert or a full-blown developer, just don't let it scare you and you'll be better off.

Good luck.

[saphalline]

There are lots of MCSEs and CCNAs walking around that can't find their ass with both hands.Exactly. Which is why I said that the first cert is just for getting started. Best to move to the next level of certs in 2 years or so.

One would have to do the same thing even after graduating from college. Gotta start at the base level cert these days. And at that point, a recent college graduate and first cert rusher are both in the same boat as far as experience. While I agree with you that a college degree is worth more at that point, and I did say that college degrees are still worth something, I do not feel that college degrees are very cost-effective in IT. They are certainly effective, but when you meet tier 2 admins who are still paying off their college loans... :rolleyes:

The only part where I disagree with you regards the HR goons. I know that type of person, I know that type of company, and I never want to work there again. Any company that hires based on check boxes on a form and does not include a department representative in any of the interviews is asking for trouble. And yes, I have turned down companies such as this that are no longer existent. Great first job for just getting into IT, great place to leave 2 or 3 years later, and an important place to avoid from then until eternity.

I think Saph is wide of the mark with "listening to the ramblings of a trench denizen" as a characterization of university.Actually, I was talking about my time in IT. I have not been to a university myself in a loooong time. I have worked with a lot of fresh grads over the years, though.