Anyone successful in IT without a degree?

Maybe went to a tech school or something instead? Or didn't go at all and just have experience? Curious to hear some success stories.

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beeryurt

I got lucky and got into the field about 15 years ago when degrees and certs were not needed, I find it funny now when younger people talk about all of the classes they had to to take plus money spent only to get out into the real world and be shocked by how they know "how" things work but have zero ability to fix things when they don't match what they were taught. They thought everything would match the labs they had in school...nobody trains you for a firewall hooked into another firewall type of surprises.

SteveLord

- Went to a tech school (Avoid. Especially the big ones like ITT and Devry)

- Been in IT 9 years

- Starting WGU on September 1st. Nothing from my tech school transferred since it was over 5 years ago. Want the degree to better myself, set an example to my family and hopefully help with my career at some point

si20

This is quite an inspirational thread!

My story is that I finished school at 16, went to college to do networking but the guy teaching the material didn't show up once all semester so I got an apprenticeship paying just $4 an hour. I got promoted within a few months and got about $25,000 per year.

$37At age 21 I went to University for 3 years. Came out with a first class degree and hit a $37,000 job. I worked there for 10 months and now earn just under $62,000 per year.

What I will say is this: money DOES NOT equal happiness. I've been more unhappy since graduating than ever before in my career. I'm 25 years old, in a job I detest... I'm actually applying for roles in a totally different area of IT. This means i'll be back on $25,000 and will have to work my way up. But i'm willing to do it.

My problem is that I never had a game plan. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do apart from work in IT. If you know you want to be something like a Sys Admin, a Windows/Linux guy - make a plan and stick to it. By not making a plan until I was 24, I was thrown into roles I didn't like and now at the age of 25/26 i've got to go back to the drawing board.

MTciscoguy

I have done pretty good since I retired from the Army, but it took me 30 years in the Army to become successful in IT and if I had not been wounded in 1991, I would not have been transferred into the computer intelligence end of things. But other than a few of the smaller certs along the way, the only degree I have is my Masters from the War College. Believe me, my Masters has nothing to do with IT.

olaHalo

si20 wrote:

This is quite an inspirational thread!
.....

Whats so bad about your job?

TechGuru80

bpenn wrote: »

I know many people who are. But they KNEW someone. There are many talented people who dont have degrees but it is much harder to get into the door when you dont have a piece of paper "proving" you have the knowledge.

Just so you know it's not a matter of "proving" the knowledge. A degree proves that one is capable of learning at a higher level.

Now onto the real question...knowing people who are say 40-50 and successful without a degree is far different than how things will play out in the next 20+ years. Companies are largely going to the model of requiring degrees to advance deep into an organization (management, high level tech positions, etc.).

Modern Legacy

Hi, I'm new,

I don't have a degree and A+ Certification, and I have considered myself successful in the past, but currently don't feel I'm as "successful" as I want to be as I've been spending almost the last 11 years in Tier 1/2/3 Deskside support roles while getting expanded responsibilities on other sides of the field (AD, servers, infrastructure expansion installs, managing the I.T. team). I've only got a A+ Certification and some OEM certs (Lenovo, Dell, HP currently). When I was in my twenties, I was happy as a bug, living like a king in that field, but now that I'm getting up into my thirties and married now, and feeling rather unchallenged as I'm now the guy everyone goes to to ask hardware questions, including my own colleagues because I can diagnose a malfunctioning laptop, or desktop with my eyes shut and one hand tied behind my back - figuratively speaking of course.

To me, success is when you are happy with your current position, and are making enough money to live comfortably and not worry about the basic needs and have some leftover for fun. I don't consider myself successful anymore since I'm having to deal with some financial dramas relating to off-the-job injuries.

But then that's why I'm here, to figure out how to leverage my AD/Server/Backend experiences I gained through top performance and hard work and put those to use in getting out of the "easy" stuff and getting into something that actually challenges me.

Christian.

InfoTech92 wrote: »

Maybe went to a tech school or something instead? Or didn't go at all and just have experience? Curious to hear some success stories.

It can be done, but one needs to be aware that besides the HR filters, IT Managers and Directors (many of them baby boomers) may have a different opinion than you regarding how valuable a degree is, no matter what else you have on your resume. Without one may (probably will) be seen under another light and there is nothing you can do about it.

I think I can say I did pretty well in my career so far without one. In my particular case I have 28 and I don't have a degree. When I came to the US last year, I didn't have any certifications that were desired by companies because experience was much more valuable where I was before. A Forbes 500 company reached out to me through Linkedin when I changed my location (I had more offers, but this one was the one I loved the most). I did several interviews with them and I got the position as Security Engineer to handle their firewall fleet. I didn't knew anyone there, didn't have a degree, I was young to be applying to a Sr position (even if I had the experience, they were looking for +40 year old guys), the obviously knowledge that english wasn't my first language, and on top of that, no certifications. I had many things working against me.

Nevertheless, I nailed the technical interview and the ones after that. I asked one or two months ago a salary increase and I go it, went from 65 hr to 72 (150k yr). I have paid vacations, holidays, some sick days and paid overtime. I'm on a yearly contract, but I'm the only one in my role, so the position is pretty much secure (they offered some time ago a permanent position but the salary was much lower and didn't pay overtime). I wasn't doing bad before either, the experience and positions I had were good. Now, here in the States the degree it's much more relevant so I'm trying to improve my resume. I made an investment in my education, got 9 certifications so far in the last year (Cisco, CompTIA, Checkpoint) and I'm now 40% done with my degree at WGU (started on May with only 4 transferred courses). This was something I have been wanting to do for ages, but I wasn't able to do it sooner.

In a nutshell, you can be successful without a degree, but if you have the opportunity to study, do it, don't miss out on it. Of course, success depends on what one defines as success, if you think about Bill Gates probably everyone you know will be losers. For me success it's meeting one's goals, and so far I was able to meet the ones I had by working hard and planning ahead. Hopefully I will have the energy in the future to meet my new goals.

pinkydapimp

Just because there are people who are successful without one doesnt mean your goal should be to avoid a degree. Your goal should be to give yourself as many options as possible. Noone knows what the future will bring. Its true, like in many fields you can be successful without a degree. But do you want to take that risk? Even if you are having success, do you want to risk being in your late 40s/early 50s and having trouble finding jobs because of no degree? I constantly see threads about why IT is dead or why cant i find a job, or why i cant make $100k a year etc. And many times its people with a billion certs and no degree. Its insurance and it opens doors. I might not need my degree, but i'm damn glad that i have it. And it doesnt expire!

So if you can get one, it is definitely worth it. But for those that cant, thats ok as well. You will just have to work harder.

Params7

I agree with Pinky. A friend of mine has been very successful in IT without a degree. He's currently working as IT Architect at Siemens (Yes, a Multinational corp, they didn't seem to mind he didn't have a degree), and he earns much more than me when we are the same age. How/Why? Well, when I was spending my 5 years chasing my BS in M.I.S, taking database, business and English/History lessons to fulfill some requirement for my Bachelors, he was working as Noc support for an MSP and getting hardcore IT experience and skillsets. When I joined the company and met him, he was light years ahead of me. He had no degree, and I had one.

The way I think of it is, I lost the sprint but what if this was a marathon?

It is possible to make it in IT without a degree simply because this is a purely skills based industry, like Sports/Athleticism, and at the end of the day a lot of companies just don't care as long as you have the skills to manage/administer/design their IT infra. But that doesn't mean you should not chase a degree at all. Maybe get one through WGU. In retrospect, I would have done what my friend did while pursuing an online (and much cheaper) degree.

Blackout

Sure having a Degree is awesome, but in all honesty the only thing your going to get paid for in the end is your experience. There is multiple Technical Leads at Cisco who make 140+ a year that don't have a college degree, in fact your not even required to have a degree at Cisco until your up for Director.

pinkydapimp

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But you may not get your resume read to even interview for those roles without a degree. Thats the thing. Sure there are people that did well, but that may not work for everyone. So the question remains, are you willing to take that risk? And thats a choice that everyone needs to make themselves.

I think it would be interesting to poll folks in IT that are in their later portion of their careers and see how they have panned out. Would be interesting.

Blackout

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My Resume was read, You will find its about 50/50 at Cisco on the Degree side. Cisco does not pass you over for not having a degree, they care more about fit for the role, the technical stuff can be learned on the job. I know this as I work at Cisco lol

YesOffense

@=TechGuru80]

This, I definitely sense a shift. I've seen a few VPs at fortune 100 companies with nothing more than a couple years of college, either with an associates or no degree. Tough to get that far with current times as your starting point.

pinkydapimp

Blackout wrote: »

My Resume was read, You will find its about 50/50 at Cisco on the Degree side. Cisco does not pass you over for not having a degree, they care more about fit for the role, the technical stuff can be learned on the job. I know this as I work at Cisco lol

Thats great. I am sure there are many places that do the same. All im sayng is that there are many places that dont feel that way. I just hate to see people who refuse to get a degree because some folks they know where fine without one, only to hit a wall at a point in their life where they cant go back and get one.

Blackout

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There is also plenty who have a degree and still can't find work, ultimately it all depends on location, skill set. Not disagreeing to just disagree, there is a lot of college grads out there with enormous amounts of student loan debt, who cannot find jobs in IT. I have had no issues without a degree so far, but I wont consider myself to be the majority, people will ultimately do what they feel is best for themselves. And really nobody should be making the decision to not get a degree just because one is not required.

pinkydapimp

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Yea its definitely complicated and its a choice that everyone has to make. Not everyone can afford to get a degree, or take on that debt thats for sure. But i agree, simply a degree wont make you hirable. Its a combination of a number of factors, education, skills, experience, certs, etc. But also simply having some experience may not get you to where you want to be either. So i think folks need to give themselves the best combination of those things. For me, the degree is insurance, and also provided me with a wealth of education that has been helpful. But as with insurance, sometimes it doesnt make sense to get it. But also, you may not realize you need it, until you need it.

astrogeek

No degree here, just Cisco certs and I make almost 90k. I did a short unpaid internship that lead to a full time job, then got a few Cisco certs and moved to another job to get where I'm at now. It took a lot of persistence and self-study, but is completely doable. (Is 'doable' a word? I don't know, I never graduated college

)

In my job hunting experience most employers only care if you can get the job done and the only thing a degree may do is bump your salary up a bit. Some areas of the country/world are different, but for myself I haven't found the lack of a degree to be a serious limiting factor when searching for a job. That's not to say a degree isn't valuable, I just wouldn't take out any serious debt for one, especially if you are new in IT.

I am considering starting up in WGU soon though, if that means anything.

techfiend

Many who entered the field in the 90's are able to get by on technical ability alone. These days with an A+ and associates I wasn't getting many callbacks. Once I put starting WGU on the resume the callbacks picked up significantly.

I can understand why the elders in the field don't value education and why the younger people do. No one right or wrong answer really. I think today a bachelors or masters will allow you to move up a lot quicker than those without and give you an edge on more experienced competition without a degree.

YFZblu

I entered IT IN 2009 - no degree of any kind, no technical background of any kind, and I didn't know anybody. This year I earned my first job making more than six figures (well into six figures after bonus). I don't live in a high-cost area, and I have no plans to acquire a degree; no need to take on debt at this point, an I don't want to part with my cash.

Like others have said, it can be done. My only regret is that I spent three years in a helpdesk. I wish it would've just been two...but that's being nit picky on my part.

Shoe Box

I wonder how far my Associates in Business degree from Penn State will get me. I graduated in ’96, and do you know how much of that degree I have ever needed or used? ZERO. I wonder if I can get by on this 2 year, or will HR people eventually be insisting on a 4 year? What a waste of time.

techfiend

There's always WGU where you get some useful certs that you'd probably get otherwise and it's really inexpensive. Not for everyone though, you have to be self-motivated.

Kinet1c

kohr-ah wrote: »

I have seen where the degree depends on what you are trying to accomplish to help the most.

If you are new to IT it will help you get in the door easier with a degree than without.
If you want to move up the chain outside of an engineering type role a degree will help.
If you work at a higher fortune company a lot of times (not always) they want a 4 year degree.

Note by THEY I mean HR.

But I have met lots of great people who have done well for themselves with no degree but they have the experience to back up their pay.

I think this is a good take on reasons for a degree and it's certainly one of many why I started to get my BSc last year.

Blackout

techfiend wrote: »

Many who entered the field in the 90's are able to get by on technical ability alone. These days with an A+ and associates I wasn't getting many callbacks. Once I put starting WGU on the resume the callbacks picked up significantly.

I can understand why the elders in the field don't value education and why the younger people do. No one right or wrong answer really. I think today a bachelors or masters will allow you to move up a lot quicker than those without and give you an edge on more experienced competition without a degree.

Not an Elder, I started my Career in 2012. Although I do believe a degree is important, it can be worked on while you are working which is what a lot of the elders have done.

Dieg0M

I never got a degree and had no problem landing a 100k+ job quickly. Like many here on TE, I joined the military and acquired a bunch of experience there. When I left the military, I got a couple of certs and broke 100k easily a couple of years/jobs after. Most of my high school friends are still finishing a degree or just got an entry level job.

As long as you are passionate and know what you want, you don't need a degree.

techfiend

Military in IT might be more beneficial than a degree. I've read a lot of success stories, especially in infosec, of people that began their career in the military. It's an interesting route as you are working with high end tech and under some pressure to not make mistakes, then there's the security clearances. As opposed to paying for college while working help desk solving workstation issues or something along those lines.

I know I've recently been turned down for a few admin positions because I lack a bachelors degree. If there wasn't a university like WGU I probably would be trying to get by with an associates for the majority of my career. Not good in a standard classroom.

anoeljr

If you can get the degree cheaply, then do it. The more credentials the better, but you certainly don't need a degree. Also, if you know someone that can get you a job that's all you really need. I mainly did it so I wouldn't be disqualified from jobs that required a degree, and I did it for my parents as I'm the first in my family to graduate college. I don't have any debt either so that helps too.

NetworkingStudent

Can you lose weight just by eating healthy? Yes
Will you lose weight if you workout? yes
Can you lose weight by counting calories? yes

If you practice all of these healthy habits, then you will lose weight faster versus just practicing one of these health habits.

Anything you to improve yourself in IT certs, education, ect is all additive, and will help improve your odds of getting an T job.

Another thing:

I knew a guy that didn't have an education and he said it made it hard to find it jobs.

discount81

Work out the ROI and where you'd like to end up, if a degree is going to cost you $50k (which is ridiculous that a degree can cost that much, but 'murica), do you think it will earn you more than $50k extra over the course of your career by simply having that degree?

I'm not convinced it will personally for me, it may limit some upper management type roles, but those don't interest me.

Do you want to go into upper management? yes you are probably better off with a degree, and not even an CompSci/IT Degree, Business or Finance is probably more suitable for that role, a company isn't going to put you in charge of a $100million budget without it.

Do you want to stay on the technical side of things? you might miss out on a role here or there from companies who demand degrees, but in the end if you have experience, skills and people skills you will end up doing well.

I honestly don't even like the sound of most companies who won't hire candidates without a degree, I know that company will have a lot of red tape and bureaucracy to get anything meaningful accomplished.

paul78

discount81 wrote: »

do you think it will earn you more than $50k extra over the course of your career by simply having that degree?

Assuming that you can get a degree for only $50K - that works out to about $5.20 per working day over the course of a 40 year career.

I usually avoid these types of discussions because I never finished my degree. But it's something that I wished that I completed. Although, it is possible to be successful without a degree, there are many more reasons to complete a degree than to not complete a degree.