Community College vs For-Profit Schools (Devry,ITT,ETC) vs Certifications

Hello Everybody,

I was wondering if anybody could help me with advising me on whether to do Community College, For Profit Schools or Hunt for Certificates.

A little background on myself is I am currently an Active Duty service member working as an IT. My plan is to go reserves and attend a school for a Degree to back-up my work experience on a resume. I am from the SF Bay Area and there are many IT companies around me.

With all that being said, Ive been looking on getting a BS in Information Systems from ITT Tech or Devry university. As I start to do more research on them, people claim that their Degrees are "Worthless" or "Dont help at all and that youre better off going to community colleges". That was a really discouraging statement to read, which is why I am coming to this forum to ask if anybody has any personal experience on this subject.

- Is Devry/ITT really that bad?
- Is it better to just go to Community College?
- Does a degree even really matter on an resume if youre aiming for IT-like jobs?
- I personally do think that certifications are a great way to say that people understand the material, but
for most jobs requirements, I See that a Degree is needed

Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from anybody on this subject!

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Comments

aderon

I wouldn't recommend going to one of the for profit schools. Even if the education was good (I can't comment cause I've never attended), the reputation is bad and that's pretty much all that matters. If an employer doesn't appreciate the value of a degree enough to want to interview you, then it doesn't really matter what you learned (sad truth).

Any idea what kind of degree you were looking at getting? I do feel that a degree is a very "checkbox" kind of thing in that a lot of people won't take a chance on you without one (Some will, some won't).

Self studying certifications is going to be your best bang for your buck and will probably get you a job the quickest, but I would definitley aim for getting a Bachelors at some point just so you don't ever get insta-disqualified by the filtering software most HR departments use.

wtrwlkr

I know I won't be the first to say this, but have you looked into WGU? They offer online, self-paced education, with a number of certs along with the degree. Despite being an online school, they're non profit and regionally accredited. I plan on going there myself once I get into a better position to do so.

twodogs62

I vote for an accredited community college.
Think WGU is option too.

Plan on what role you want to play in IT and add some certs to your degree.
Networking - network+, cisco
System Admin - VMware, MCSA, MCSE
security - security+, cissp

systemstech

Maybe I can help out. I think it really depends on how hard you're willing to work and try. I don't have a Bachelors, I went to a tech school. With thay bring said, I started applying for jobs last Friday. I'm currently trying to get put of where I am. With three days, I had 6 phone interviews and two in-person interviews. Next week I have another in person and three phone interviews. I make it known that I'm willing to learn and do whatever it takes.

I know tons of people in IT without a degree. The one lead cyber security guy at my job went to Lincoln Tech. He's making BANK, the company pays for him to travel all over to different clients, and he doesn't have a degree.

I know people in IT that have a degree and are doing great. I know people that are in IT with a degree that can't find a job. It's all about how you are. If you're hungry, they will see it. I definitely want to go back to school eventually. It's just not an option right now due to personal matters.

kohr-ah

If you are looking on where to start out of those options listed then I would do the community college and get certifications at the same time.

That is the route I went and you will leave with an associates and multiple certifications if you work hard at the fraction of a cost of a for profit.

Online schools arent for everyone if you don't have good drive and study habits (in the case of WGU)

The_Expert

In my opinion, one needs all three (degree, certs and experience) - this is the best combo.

When it comes to degrees, I've seen folks do pretty well with only an Associates degree in a technical field. Of course, some employers will require a Bachelors at a bare minimum.

My advice... get into school. Get some certs as quickly as possible and then find a job, even if it is just at a low technical level (help desk, PC repair etc.) to build experience.

Finish getting a degree while working and building experience.

Then move up and make the big bucks!

fuz1on

Check out Foothill - they have online only AA/AS degrees.

Foothill College is a 2-year community college providing a wide range of educational opportunities for all.

Danielm7

I know there are always stories of people with for profit degrees doing well, and there are just as many of people who have no degrees doing well, if not more. For what it's worth, I've talked to a number of people that will trash a resume as soon as they see U of Phoenix/Devry/etc, because they feel like the person doesn't do research and make smart choices.

Christian.

menoskyz wrote: »

Hello Everybody,

I was wondering if anybody could help me with advising me on whether to do Community College, For Profit Schools or Hunt for Certificates.

A little background on myself is I am currently an Active Duty service member working as an IT. My plan is to go reserves and attend a school for a Degree to back-up my work experience on a resume. I am from the SF Bay Area and there are many IT companies around me.

With all that being said, Ive been looking on getting a BS in Information Systems from ITT Tech or Devry university. As I start to do more research on them, people claim that their Degrees are "Worthless" or "Dont help at all and that youre better off going to community colleges". That was a really discouraging statement to read, which is why I am coming to this forum to ask if anybody has any personal experience on this subject.

- Is Devry/ITT really that bad?
- Is it better to just go to Community College?
- Does a degree even really matter on an resume if youre aiming for IT-like jobs?
- I personally do think that certifications are a great way to say that people understand the material, but
for most jobs requirements, I See that a Degree is needed

Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from anybody on this subject!

- For profit schools don't look good in a resume. Avoid them.
- There are a lot of state and non-profit colleges that offer online degrees that are way better options.
- If you already have experience, a bachelor becomes a checkbox, where you went won't matter much.
- Certifications are used to specialize or show skills in a particular technical area.
- A bachelor's degree is used to show broad knowledge in the field.

If I were in your position, I would try to get into WGU. You can get it quickly, it's cheap, accredited, doesn't have a bad name and you also get some certifications as part of the program. There are other options with a better name (B&M) like PennState or UMass, but it's a lot more expensive and you can't do it faster, you have to do it at the pace they set.

I did a lot of research into the matter and ended up going to WGU because it made more sense for me. The security program has 34 courses. I was able to waive 4 with my CCNA and I did 12 more courses in my first semester (ending this month). I only have 18 courses left, so 2 terms more at the most and I will get my degree (total time, year and a half, total cost, aprox 9k). If you want a good school name, you can always shoot for a master's degree later at a renowned B&M school. If you want to attend and the online option isn't for you, then maybe a community college is the way to go if you don't have another university with a better name. That depends what you have nearby and the price. But I wouldn't do a for profit school.

My 2 cents.

thomas_

How much time do you have left on active duty?

Even though I went to a brick and mortar school after getting out I would recommend signing up for WGU and getting as many classes done while on active duy using tuition assistance. From my undrstanding a lot of the classes are just preparing for and passing a certification exam, so you're killing teo birds with one stone.

If you have an active security clearance that will be one of the most valuable things you have. I would suggest doing everything you can to keep it active, even if that means taking a leave of absense from college to get job using it. Remember, not being in a position that uses it for two years makes it inactive

ratbuddy

menoskyz wrote: »

With all that being said, Ive been looking on getting a BS in Information Systems from ITT Tech or Devry university. As I start to do more research on them, people claim that their Degrees are "Worthless" or "Dont help at all and that youre better off going to community colleges". That was a really discouraging statement to read, which is why I am coming to this forum to ask if anybody has any personal experience on this subject.

This part concerns me - it sounds like one or more shady recruiters have already gotten their hooks into you.

Noone here is honestly going to argue that college is worthless, but you'll find plenty of us who think a degree from a predatory for-profit 'school' is worthless.

The reason you'll be heavily recruited by the for-profits can be explained here: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/10/13/more-profit-colleges-would-fail-9010-rule-if-veterans-benefits-are-included-analysis

Basically, since vet benefits count as non-student-aid dollars, the 'schools' really want those dollars to avoid making too large a portion of their revenue from federal student aid. A single dollar of veteran benefits let those 'schools' claim another nine dollars from student loans and grants. Their recruiters are trained to say anything in order to recruit unsuspecting servicemembers and vets. Please don't fall for it, there are much better options out there.

menoskyz

It has been almost a year from when I first started this thread,

And I have strayed away from a "For-Profit' institution.

I have still decided to go reserves and attend college.

Im looking at a BS in Computer Science from a CC
and either continue on to pursue a BS in Computer Science with the Network and Data Communications option.

Question that I pose now are:
- Should I get an AS in Computer Science and supplement with Certs?
- or is going all the way with a BS in Computer Science with no certs the way to go?

DatabaseHead

Community Colleges are hidden gems. Plenty of IT professionals have an AS.