IT Career Without College?

So I'm 27 years old looking to get into another field, unfortunately I never went to college for Computer Science etc. Do I have a chance of getting an IT position without a bachelors? The field I am focusing on getting into is digital forensics. So I'm not sure where to go, not sure whether or not to abandon the idea or keep trying.

Any advice would help.

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

PCTechLinc

I'm definitely biased as far as degrees and formal education go. I have a mountain of student loan debt and so does my wife, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I also enjoyed teaching very much. I plan on doing so again after I complete my MBA in progress.

As far as do you NEED a degree to get into IT? Absolutely not. You can be VERY successful without formal education. Just keep in mind that there may be political roadblocks ("You NEED a Bachelor's Degree for this management position..."). As far as I'm concerned, if you're good at what you do, I really don't care what pieces of paper you have. My two cents.

cbtnuggets

It’s absolutely possible to get a career in IT without having a degree to back you up! On our blog, we have a few resources here, here and here that go into the value of experience in any IT career progression and why a college degree might or might not matter as much. If we’ve piqued your interest with this and you want to start training for various experiences and certifications with CBT Nuggets, your first week is free!

PCTechLinc

NetworkNewb wrote: »

I'm kinda surprised that username wasn't taken yet on here. ^^

Haha, true... now we just need someone from Boson to plug their resources. LOL

DatabaseHead

Hair - I agree with you on one thing very much so, that is personality. It's 100% true if you have a good personality and you are a positive person to be around you will survive longer than someone who is negative and who has a bad personality.

Also agree about debt, it's a nasty virus that can be avoided. What makes me sick is when someone decided to do something half baked, pay 50-100 in tuition, may or may not get a degree and owes all that money. Brutal.....

That whole point about making more if you don't have college is out there a little. lol

Iristheangel

[QUOTE=Hairgangs;1073595
And i make way more than degree grauduates
[/QUOTE]

But do you make more than graduates? Or those who can spell "graduates?"

Iristheangel

Didn't he just post another thread about how he's currently taking a "career break?" I want to have faith in humanity and believe people who read this thread won't make major life decisions on education based purely on poorly structured posts and anecdotal information.

Sigh... There are a lot of good reasons to go to college and affordable options out there. Will it completely keep you from getting into the IT field if you don't go to college? Of course not but it will make certain roads more difficult and there are competitive reasons to get a degree. You also want to have some basic reading and writing skills so your professional emails (or posts on a technical forum) don't look like a 2nd grader wrote it. If you already have a degree in some non-IT specific major, it probably wouldn't make a lot of sense to put yourself in debt over it but if you're just starting out, there are affordable options out there which will help you out.

TechGromit

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

One of the smartest people I know doesn't have a bachelors and is in the digital forensics field.

Having a piece of paper doesn't make you smart. I knew complete a moron that had a college degree and a genius with only high school education. Having a degree often helps, but you but there's lots of well paying IT positions you can do that don't require it.

TechGromit

cbtnuggets wrote: »

start training for various experiences and certifications with CBT Nuggets!

Nothing against video training, but you can't learn by just passively watching videos. They do help re-enforce what you read, but you still have to read to learn.

NetworkNewb wrote: »

tempted to downrate that account's reputation for jacking up the price on my company's subscription lately.

Our company used to pay for cbtnuggets last year, but recently cut back to just a few licenses assigned on as needed bases. I guess I shouldn't complain, they spent a good 15k on training for me last year, not including travel.

mbarrett

College has the greatest impact on your careerin the years right after college. The farther out you get, it just matters to have "a college degree" in no particular major, the experience & technical knowledge is a lot more important. In the IT field, degrees don't matter as much among the rank-and-file technicians or engineers. They might be more prevalent (or not) depending on which area you live.

Iristheangel

LoL. I'm definitely not ashamed of my IT career when it's being criticized by a faceless internet random. What can I say? I strive for mediocrity :P

aftereffector

Hey everybody, let's take a minute to discuss Trolling 101 and how to be an effective internet trollposter. As we can see, the above poster started out strong and had a really good shot at a high quality trollpost, but went way too hard too fast and overshot the "sweet spot". The goal of trolling is to make people mad - you have to be careful not to completely overshoot and just make them laugh instead. You have to dial it back a little and not go zero to 200mph like this guy did!

EDIT: Apparently you can't say " t r o l l "

Iristheangel

aftereffector - "U a dum dum. u and ur crappy CISSP and mediocre lame jobby job suck cuz I said so!"

Did I do better?

Iristheangel

Too bad. Not enough time for an mod to come see it.

PCTechLinc

Well, at least everyone on the Internet is an expert. :-/

xxxkaliboyxxx

TechGromit wrote: »

Having a piece of paper doesn't make you smart. I knew complete a moron that had a college degree and a genius with only high school education. Having a degree often helps, but you but there's lots of well paying IT positions you can do that don't require it.

I completely agree 100 percent, I learned that lesson when I first joined the military.

My brother, who was a military officer and I (enlisted) were doing a task when he had to pop out the calculator to figure out some calculations. I turn to him and say "Dude, why are you going to use a calculator, you're smart, you got a math degree from LSU". He turns around and tells me with a serious face, "I'm not smart, your smarter than me, I just take the time to study for the exams".

That still has a profound affect on me to this day.

paul78

It’s absolutely possible to get a career in IT without having a degree to back you up!

It drives me crazy when blanket statements like above is made. This is pretty much true of any industry. Of course, there will be specific jobs in many industries that you cannot get without a degree - but that's because those jobs have licenses/certifications which you cannot sit without a degree. But you can still get into healthcare, legal, construction, etc. roles.

With the cost of a degree getting so attainable these days - why wouldn't anyone get it? I understand that there are always personal reasons not to get it. But simply saying that it's not needed is certainly not a good reason.

True - I don't have a degree and I make a lot of money. And true - I've held several senior management tech positions. But I'm pretty sure that's an aberration and I'm also pretty sure that's because I started my career before the Internet when computer technology was nascent.

Iristheangel

100% agree with you, Paul. Blanket statements about having to have a degree or how they are all useless just make me facepalm. I've seen a lot of people trying to justify why they got their degree or didn't get their degree that way. One TE poster made an analogy awhile back that I loved: The job market is like going to war. Your degree, certifications, experience, etc are all additional ammo. Why wouldn't you want more bullets if you can get them? I'm not saying that everyone should go out and dig themselves into 100's of thousands of dollars of debt to get a degree but if there are affordable options and it can improve your long term prospects, why not?

PocketLumberjack

I will say with a lot of the job postings in my area it seems you can bypass some years of experience if you have a degree, whether that makes you a better candidate or not is up for the hiring manager to decide. I think a degree isn't there to get you a job its to show that you a capable of learning. I would say certs and degrees are great ways to show that you are dedicated to learning, but what do I know I seem to be stuck on the Help Desk.

DatabaseHead

I hope my messages doesn't get mixed up with the Hairman or gal. I am merely stating to go to college or a university to just do it, I believe is incredibly wasteful (JMHO). However if you get a degree remotely aligned with your craft it will help out.

And don't be lazy, make sure to look for grants, scholarships etc......

I paid off a 20 year student loan and it was painful..... Just sharing my REAL world experiences.

Hairgangs

Trollers r gonna ***** right

xxxkaliboyxxx

Hairgangs wrote: »

Trollers r gonna ***** right

Thank God for this guy, take the heat off my Trump post.

Iristheangel

Sigh... maybe one day I can get six figures and live big like Hairgangs. Back to my life of minimum wage and indentured servitude...

PCTechLinc

Iris, I think your MS and CCIE are holding you back. Maybe you should stop listing those for better luck.

Iristheangel

@PCTechLinc, Too mediocre. I should go for 8x CCNA. At last my ticket will come in and I can travel the world!

Iristheangel

Sure thing.

screenshotoftroll.jpg

Iristheangel

They don't promote "mediorce" members. Only exceptional ones such as yourself are capable of internet gold stars.

JSN

Hi guys (and girls), I apologize, I hadn't checked this in quite some time. Part of my hold back from obtaining college for me is my age. I feel too old. Granted I can take an accelerated program and apply past college credits. However to explain my background, I've been working with computers my entire life as a hobby. I do have some knowledge I have gained from personal study. I have had multiple interviews for companies that did not require college, so I am hoping for at least one of those positions.

JSN

Iristheangel wrote: »

Didn't he just post another thread about how he's currently taking a "career break?" I want to have faith in humanity and believe people who read this thread won't make major life decisions on education based purely on poorly structured posts and anecdotal information.

Sigh... There are a lot of good reasons to go to college and affordable options out there. Will it completely keep you from getting into the IT field if you don't go to college? Of course not but it will make certain roads more difficult and there are competitive reasons to get a degree. You also want to have some basic reading and writing skills so your professional emails (or posts on a technical forum) don't look like a 2nd grader wrote it. If you already have a degree in some non-IT specific major, it probably wouldn't make a lot of sense to put yourself in debt over it but if you're just starting out, there are affordable options out there which will help you out.

Post redacted

TLeTourneau

JSN wrote: »

Wow, your snide and pompous comments have truly guided me in the right direction. Last time I ask for advice. To answer your question, no I did not post any thread about a "career break." Your post came off as condescending and downright rude. I have doubt anything you have since posted was meant to be helpful. Perhaps you should work on that inflated ego you have, and I'll make sure to improve my "second grade reading skills."

I am fairly certain the post you quoted was a reply to a post that has since been removed.

TLeTourneau

JSN wrote: »

Hi guys (and girls), I apologize, I hadn't checked this in quite some time. Part of my hold back from obtaining college for me is my age. I feel too old. Granted I can take an accelerated program and apply past college credits. However to explain my background, I've been working with computers my entire life as a hobby. I do have some knowledge I have gained from personal study. I have had multiple interviews for companies that did not require college, so I am hoping for at least one of those positions.

I guess I would ask you define old. I started my undergrad at 41, it was a fair bit of work but worth it. I am starting my masters in a few days at 47.