Advice

Hello there,

I'm 17, still at school studying IT, Electronics and Business.

I have been ghosting these forums for quite a bit and i see many smart people around... so i thought i'd ask for some advice.

I have heard alot about Certs, I think i would be able to attain a A+ one pretty straight forward, I have also looked into a CCNA cert. Now, there is a course at my local college offering to teach us abotu cisco routers etc. I am planning to join this course, and then eventually get a CCNA certificate.

In a years time, i will have a big decision to make.... degree... or work? I already work part time as a website manager for a fairly large company... It provides me with some much needed experience. I also have my own website - Here

Degree - If i were to follow this course, my nearest university have some courses that i would be interested in. They are Computer science or Computer systems & Business Studies. A degree can take 3-4 years... then i will need to find a job. It might be a crappy job for 2 years to get experience

Work - I could work for the same company as i do part time now, hadnling all things technical and getting paid for it. I could add this to my cv as experience... so it would be easier to get a better job in the future. I could also go on day release to a college where they offer such courses as CCNA etc.

I'm not too sure myself what exactly i want to do in IT. I enjoy many things in I.T. I enjoy reparing computers.... I would like to learn more on networking (CCNA).. I enjoy web design . I dont think im much of a programmer.

Perhaps a position like an IT manager would interest me - what would i need to get this type of job? degree or certs?

Which route do you think i should take?

Any advice appreciated

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Comments

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Mike_tw

Congratulations for being 17 and having a head on your shoulders!! Most 17 year olds aren't planning for their future like you are.

I don't qualify as one of the "smart people" on these forums, but I do have an opinion for you....

Get a degree first! No one can takle that away from you and it never expires, plus you learn so much more than degree related things while attending college. The degree will also help you reach your long term goal of IT Manager, which is a position most companies require to hold a degree of some sorts.

Good luck!!

JDMurray

You get the degree first. You will be working your entire life (40-50 years), but only going to school for a small part of it (4-8 years). College will expose you to all areas of IT, including networking and programming, so you can decide where you best fit. You may also discover that IT is a great hobby, but not what you want to do for a living. And there's nothing wrong with working and going to school at the same time, as long as you can handle both well. And certs are something you do when you find time after you've taken care of work, school, and family.

Gundamtdk

Get a degree first. You have many years to find work.

DirtySouth

Sounds like you've got some really good goals in mind and are heading the right direction. If you want to become some type of IT Manager, I would definitely consider getting your Bachelor's degree in either Computer Science, Management Information Systems or possibly some type of general business degree.

As far as studying for CCNA, I would HIGHLY recommend the Cisco Net Academy. It is probably the course you mentioned your community college offers. I just finished up with the Net Academy and I loved it. You'll get lots of hands-on experience and I believe it covers all of the topics thoroughly.

Mike_tw

Thanks everyone for all your input.

I had also looked into some freelancing work.. this is how i heard of the CCNA certification. I think a steady job like an IT manager would suit me best... IT and Business are my two favorite subjects and i am getting impressive grades in them. Heck, I did the whole IT course by myself as the teacher is absolutely rubbish. He even asks me for help sometimes. I like business also, this is why I am thinking of taking the "Computer systems & Business Studies" course. Here is the course:

Year 1

* Java Programming 1 & 2
* Introduction to Databases
* Algorithm Design
* Mathematics for Software
* Professional Perspectives
* Mathematics for Computing
* Introduction to Agent Oriented Systems

plus 4 selected from:

* Introduction to Marketing
* Introduction to Business and Management
* Economics 1
* Economics and Financial Institutions
* Financial and Management Accounting

Year 2

* Java Programming 3
* Advanced Software Design
* Data Structures and Algorithms
* Software Hut
* Database Management Systems
* Project Planning and Management
* AI and Intelligent Agents

plus 1 selected from:

* Operational Research 1
* Automata Theory
* Data Communications and Networks

plus 4 selected from:

* Financial Accounting
* Principles of Marketing
* Principles of Organising and Management
* Consumer Behaviour
* Marketing Research
* Quantitative Methods 1 & 2
* Business Economics

Year 3

* Knowledge Engineering and Datamining
* Data Networks and Distributed Systems
* Business Process Re-engineering
* Individual Project
* Human Resources Management

plus 1 selected from:

* Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks
* Computer Graphics 3 - Rendering
* Agent Technologies
* Software Engineering and Formal Methods

plus 3 selected from:

* International Business
* Marketing Strategy and Management
* Entrepreneurship Cap and Firm
* Strategic Management
* Int. Treasury Management

Does this sound like a good course to you?

Thanks[/quote]

Kaminsky

I really enjoyed my time at university. Was over far too quickly. I am with the others, as long as you will be ok financially then go study a degree. You'll have plenty of years for work.

The syllabus looks interesting. In my day it was programming, maths, networks, maths, parallel processing, maths, electronic engineering, maths. Oh and Maths!
The last straw was when they wanted me to prove 1+1=2. The professor was none too happy when I said "Look, i'm a computer scientist. Your a mathematician. Can't I just take your word for it?"

Good luck and have lots of fun.

Mike_tw

How much work is a degree? I'm in UK btw.

Is it full time 9-5 every weekday or is it a few hours then off? I ask because at current, sixth fform i have a lot of free time. I esitmate i have a around 14 hours a week of school. In the free time i work as a website/technical support guy for a company. I work from home on the website sometimes. Is university alot like this year - free time?

And what are the term time like? I hear it's differen from normal school... dont start till october and get a big gap in middle or something. If someone could give me some more info i'd appreciate it.

It's always good to plan ahead... if i get a job i like life is then easy

DirtySouth

Mike_tw wrote:

How much work is a degree? I'm in UK btw.

Is it full time 9-5 every weekday or is it a few hours then off? I ask because at current, sixth fform i have a lot of free time. I esitmate i have a around 14 hours a week of school. In the free time i work as a website/technical support guy for a company. I work from home on the website sometimes. Is university alot like this year - free time?

And what are the term time like? I hear it's differen from normal school... dont start till october and get a big gap in middle or something. If someone could give me some more info i'd appreciate it.

It's always good to plan ahead... if i get a job i like life is then easy

That COMPLETELY depends on the school, which degree and what teachers you get. I think the average load for a full-time student is 12-18 hours. The latter being a heavy load. It's all relative though.

Kaminsky

Mike_tw wrote:

How much work is a degree? I'm in UK btw.

Is it full time 9-5 every weekday or is it a few hours then off? I ask because at current, sixth fform i have a lot of free time. I esitmate i have a around 14 hours a week of school. In the free time i work as a website/technical support guy for a company. I work from home on the website sometimes. Is university alot like this year - free time?

And what are the term time like? I hear it's differen from normal school... dont start till october and get a big gap in middle or something. If someone could give me some more info i'd appreciate it.

It's always good to plan ahead... if i get a job i like life is then easy

I'm from the Uk as well and university is not like school. Apart from being educated by lecturers, it is completely different.

The most important difference is that if you don't want to turn up to lectures, nobody will care. Nobody asks you questions as to why. If you don't want to study.. don't!
At the end of the term / year, your exams will find you out and you will be gone.

Lecturers are not there to teach. They are mainly there for their own research but as part of their contract they have to teach undergrads mark/plan assignemtns for a certain amount of hours.

You are there on campus usually full time. Lectures are usually more hours than you are doing now. Typically about 20ish but the rest of the time is for further study in your subject as well as anything else you want to get upto. I remember playing squash 2-3 hours a day every day. (I was much younger and fitter then. I start to wheeze in the changing room these days)

If you enjoy your subject you will like university. The social life is great and you make some great friends and are able to have long conversations with a group of people all studying IT without people thinking you are a weirdo. (which I found refreshing) You won't have a lot of money for several years but you will more than make up for it afterward

Long, term a degree will really serve you very well. My friends son is doing a degree in Wales somewhere where he is studying Computer Forensics and the stuff he is learning is fascinating and slightly scary. I found Uni great fun as well as really really interesting.

Right, back to work, wife, kids, mortgage, bills, etc. Oh to be young again!

garv221

Get the degree first. What you have to remember is anyone at any time can study at home pass and certify in CCNA. The same cannot be said about a degree. A university in itself is a great experience, a lot of fun and certifications can be obtained while attending college or during summers off. You sound like you have your head on straight, I trust you will make the correct decision and got to college.

Kaminsky

One more point about certifications.

When at uni you are full on into study mode with very few distractions. Getting certs along with your normal curriculum wouldn't be as hard as it is when you have to work all day, then travel home, have dinner, a shower, get your clothes ready for tomorrow, etc.

You could find yourself with some good certs whilst studying the degree no problem.