Studying IT after social science - a good idea?

BBGC

Hi everyone,

I'm 30 years old and am just looking for some advice. I know this is kind of long, but I would really appreciate any advice that I can get.

Long story short, I always loved IT ever since I was a kid. (I wrote a "hello world!" program in C when I was 10 years old) After high school, I took some community college IT classes (only a handful) and dropped out of college. (I was very immature and didn't take college seriously.) I ended up earning some IT certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, and Microsoft MCDST/MCP (I have kept these current, and still "play" with IT as a hobby). I ended up helping friends/family with computer issues as a side thing, but the whole IT school/career idea died off.

I ended up going back to college and ended up graduating magna cum laude with a B.S. with a major in criminal justice and minor in general business. Immediately after I completed that degree, I began work on a second B.S. (yes, a second one... very long story...) and graduated magna cum laude again with a major in political science and double minors in sociology and human resources management. (Both of these degrees are from state universities)

I've had some interesting jobs that included working for the state police, being a county probation officer, and working in jails. Long story short, I hate criminal justice and want nothing more to do with it. I want a complete career change from my current CJ job.

Unfortunately, I have found that my education and experience does NOT elicit much interest in fields outside of where I'm in.

So, I want to rekindle my IT education where I left off at the old community college I originally attended. My plan is to complete an AAS degree in Information Technology Security (this is an actual STEM degree in the department of computer science, even though the name sounds like it could be otherwise) as well as a second AAS degree in computer networking.

With my current work and life situation, community college is the best option for me. The local state university CS undergrad/grad program will not work out for me. (And I am definitely not willing to attend some online program... I want an accredited face to face program with labs) I am extremely confident that I will be able to do well in these AAS programs, and, because so many courses overlap (and some of my previous IT classes that I've taken fit into them), I anticipate that I'll have both degrees completed in 2 to 2 1/2 years as a half time student.

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]My question is - given my background, will these AAS degrees (combined with my IT certifications, and hopefully a few more certs by the end of this) make me an attractive candidate to employers and allow me to shift industries? Obviously, I know I am not going to be an elite computer scientist working at Google... but I am talking maybe combining the IT with my previous education/experience to get IT-light (if that makes sense) type jobs in government. For example, maybe working for a state/county police agency in some IT capacity, or maybe being an intelligence analyst with the FBI. (I imagine a mix of education in political science/criminal justice/sociology/business/IT would be of interest to the intelligence community?)[/FONT]

I know that, of course, a full B.S. in IT would be ideal, but I just don't see it working out unless I were to quit my job (completely impossible). But, I don't think I would be wasting my time with two IT focused AAS degrees. I mean, those should still be valuable to employers, and I should still learn some valuable skills that I can apply...? Also, am I choosing good fields of study?

Anyway, I would appreciate any advice that I can get! Thank you!

TheFORCE

If you want to still stay in the government/ public sector you will probably be required to satisfy DoD Directive 8570 heres a link https://www.isc2.org/dodmandate/default.aspx Now back to the degrees, your current degrees are valuable and could probably help more than the AAS degrees if used properly. What you need to do, if you are still with a government agency is to update your resume and cater it towards an IT position. You will need that first IT job to get your feet in the door. Your current certifications and degrees are good enough for entry positions. There are other people with unrelated degrees that have becomes CIO's after some time. You are in that unique position where the criminal justice degrees can help tremendously because of the cybersecurity issues and investigations.

Just update your resume and start looking even before enrolling for the AAS degrees.

bloodshotbetty

YES!

I left the social work field last March to pursue IT. I have a B.S. in Social Work, and did very well in school. However, once I graduated, I decided that the field just was not for me. When I interview, I really stress the soft skills I learned in my social sciences education. How to communicate with individuals who are different than me, customer service, and also the professionalism I learned in my college experience. I am currently pursuing my CompTIA trio to gain more IT knowledge as well.

I have had no issue finding jobs. Granted, the IT unemployment rate in Minneapolis is below 1%. I started out by taking an inventory position with a company who provides IT Resources to health care industries. From there, I got a job working at Best Buy HQ providing support to the retail stores via call center.

Now, I have already moved into a direct hire desktop support position at a large commercial real estate firm. (I posted more about the job here http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/117955-just-landed-amazing-new-job.html)

My experience in searching for jobs is most people are not picky about WHAT your degree is in. They like to see that college experience. IMO, you have enough experience AND with your certs I can't imagine you will need to go back for another degree. Save your time and money and focus on job experience. My social work experience has been invaluable to my IT career and really impresses my supervisors and those who I interview with. If you would like, I can send you my resume/cover letter so you can see how I work my social work/college experience into it and apply it towards IT.

scaredoftests

I took to IT after I got my AA in Food & Beverage Management. There is no 'wrong' way. Go for it.

NVLady

I agree with Betty. Focus on things like your customer service skills on your resume and when interviewing. It's easier to tech someone IT skills than customer service skills. You will also find people are much more patient with you if you are kind and they know you are working on their issue. Good luck.

markulous

I'd personally say that I'd hold off on any more degrees for the moment. Focus more on certs and trying to get some experience other than another degree. If you really want an IT degree, go for a master's once you get some experience. An Associate's isn't really going to help IMO.

Danielm7

Agree with the others, you don't need a 3rd degree. You already have certs, rework your resume, apply, go forward.

BBGC

Danielm7 wrote: »

Agree with the others, you don't need a 3rd degree. You already have certs, rework your resume, apply, go forward.

I suppose part of the problem I am having is credibility. I don't know if it is just where I live or what, but I am always getting the "where is your IT degree?" hand in the face. When I bring up certifications to the HR gatekeepers, I get "WTF is a certification?".

Basically, I feel a big part of my problem is that I am not able to clear HR.

BBGC

bloodshotbetty wrote: »

YES!

I left the social work field last March to pursue IT. I have a B.S. in Social Work, and did very well in school. However, once I graduated, I decided that the field just was not for me. When I interview, I really stress the soft skills I learned in my social sciences education. How to communicate with individuals who are different than me, customer service, and also the professionalism I learned in my college experience. I am currently pursuing my CompTIA trio to gain more IT knowledge as well.

I have had no issue finding jobs. Granted, the IT unemployment rate in Minneapolis is below 1%. I started out by taking an inventory position with a company who provides IT Resources to health care industries. From there, I got a job working at Best Buy HQ providing support to the retail stores via call center.

Now, I have already moved into a direct hire desktop support position at a large commercial real estate firm. (I posted more about the job here http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/117955-just-landed-amazing-new-job.html)

My experience in searching for jobs is most people are not picky about WHAT your degree is in. They like to see that college experience. IMO, you have enough experience AND with your certs I can't imagine you will need to go back for another degree. Save your time and money and focus on job experience. My social work experience has been invaluable to my IT career and really impresses my supervisors and those who I interview with. If you would like, I can send you my resume/cover letter so you can see how I work my social work/college experience into it and apply it towards IT.

I almost majored in social work. (I think I dodged a huge bullet)

I definitely see the soft skills appeal. Many people in the IT industry have a (probably deserved) reputation of horrible people skills, condescending attitudes, etc. So, it's no surprise organizations would like a competent IT person with people skills.

My concern, however, is that I don't want to do help desk work or be associated with any retail company. (I feel like I spent all my years in college to get out of the retail job I worked during those years, not to go back to it.) I feel like, right now, that's what I would be looking at. Help desk. I am thinking the AAS degrees may allow me to bypass that by at least one or two levels?

Danielm7

Then it's either your resume, the companies you are looking at or your interviewing style. You're looking at entry level jobs, those roles should emphasize customer service / personality, aptitude and trainability. You should post a sanitized resume here and let people pick it apart before going back for a 3rd degree. For what it's worth, I work in a fortune 500 corp, barely anyone I work with in IT has ANY degree. If we had to interview someone for helpdesk and they went and got your certs via self study we'd be ecstatic over the drive and interest.

$bvb379

" For what it's worth, I work in a fortune 500 corp, barely anyone I work with in IT has ANY degree. If we had to interview someone for helpdesk and they went and got your certs via self study we'd be ecstatic over the drive and interest."

Man, where can I find more people like you? Lol.

The_Expert

I am somewhat in the same boat as you... I always loved IT, but when I started College I went for Criminal Justice - since that was an area that interested me more than taking computer programming classes. After my Bachelors, I got a Masters in Public Administration.

I thought about getting something like an Associates degree in Computer Science as well, just to show employers that I am knowledgeable in technology. I went back and forth - finally decided the cheaper and faster route would be to get Certified.

There are really two kinds of companies out there. 1) The Companies that absolutely require a Computer Science or some other technical degree for the job. 2) Companies that just care that their employees have a Bachelors degree along with the necessary experience for the job. The latter company is who you want to work for...

The first company is so narrow-minded in their hiring practices that they will often exclude some of the best candidates.

I've worked in IT for over 20 years now - and nobody cares what kind of degree one has once you are hired. Some of the best IT people I know have either Business, Psychology, Geology or some other unrelated degree. I feel the different backgrounds / education makes for a stronger and better team.

Just get Certified. Start with a CompTIA Cert or two and then move up to something more substantial like Cisco (CCNA etc.) or some other vendor Certification. This is mainly going to depend on your interests. Do you want to do Desktop Support work, Networking, Servers, Virtualization, Security or some other technology?

Only you can decide that! But, I agree with what others said. Don't give a College more money - re-route those funds for books, videos + other self-study materials and load up on certs.

Good luck to you! And welcome aboard.

Danielm7

From the OP, they already got a few certs.

I ended up earning some IT certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, and Microsoft MCDST/MCP (I have kept these current, and still "play" with IT as a hobby)

Hammer80

Have you considered applying for a job with either FBI, CIA, or Department of Homeland Security? These agencies love people like you with weird combinations of degrees and computer skills.