Certifications = Degree

t49

Job ads that are posted request that a person have a bachelors degree in I.T or equivalent certifications.

My question is how many or what kind of certifications equal a degree.

NinjaBoy

That's a loose question, they could mean:

A Post-Grad Certificate (from the academic side), or
NVQ level 5 or 6 (from the vocational side), or
MCSE, ACSA, RHCE, for example (from the professional side)

However best bet would to actually ask the company themselves, because a degree is standard but "equivalent certifications" can differ from company to company.

Hope this helps

-ken

JDMurray

This depends entirely on the company making the job posting. There is no industry standard for what certifications equal what degree. In my opinion, certifications and college degrees are two completely different things, and one does not equal the other.

GT-Rob

Again, it depends on the company and what they want you to do.

It could be something like MCSE if it is an admin job, or something along those lines.



For the record, my current job was like that. A requirement for the job was to be a recent grad, but they viewed my certifications as equivalent (A+ & Net+ at the time).

bighusker

There are no amount of certifications that will equal a degree because they are two different things. The best advice I can give is to get the degree *and* certifications. Don't limit yourself.

blargoe

That advertisement was obviously posted by some HR person that knows zilch about IT. No combination of certs is equal to a degree, and vice versa.

I would take the posting to mean any formal IT education or training, that has a piece of paper to show for it.

JDMurray

blargoe wrote:

That advertisement was obviously posted by some HR person that knows zilch about IT.

Job postings are typically first written by the department hiring manager, and then HR puts their requirements in too, making it difficult to say where any given bit of information in a job posting comes from. Sometime they are just trying to make a posting seem open to more people.

nel

i think when most people advertise like this it is mean in difficulty terms. As a degree (obv depending which level you take) is classed as a high level of education and like-wise certs like ccna, mcse, ccnp etc are considered higher level certs - when compared to A+ etc.

One thing i find when its certs vs degree many people will choose a cert to there like hence they maybe in their comfort zone whereas a degree may fling in stuff outside your comfort zone, naking you adapt to anything that is flung at you, so the point im getting at is that you have to have proved you can work at a high level but how that high level is determined is the key!

sthomas

t49 wrote:

Job ads that are posted request that a person have a bachelors degree in I.T or equivalent certifications.

My question is how many or what kind of certifications equal a degree.

From job ads I have seen they usually are asking for a degree or equivalent experience. If I did see an ad asking for a degree or equivalent certification it could be different from company to company, although they are probably looking for the well know certifications like A+, CCNA/CCNP, MCSE etc.......

nice343

Someone with a CCNP or a CCIE will make more money than someone with a college degree in the same field with no certification. It all comes down to the technical interview. If you have a Phd In computer networking and cannot explain what BGP or any what any of the other routing protocols does, you will not get the job.

I have seen with my owns eyes a situation where someone with a CCNA got picked over someone with a masters because the guy with the masters could not explain what a vlan is! Dude couldn't even explain what a VPN is. Where the hell did he get his masters from? It all comes down to what you know. Technical interviews will weed out unknowlegeable people

Companies want people who can do the job. Thats the reason why big corporation do not hire IT professional with little to no experience. It will cost the company more to train that individual who will later leave when for greener pastures

famosbrown

nice343 wrote:

Someone with a CCNP or a CCIE will make more money than someone with a college degree in the same field with no certification. It all comes down to the technical interview. If you have a Phd In computer networking and cannot explain what BGP or any what any of the other routing protocols does, you will not get the job.

I have seen with my owns eyes a situation where someone with a CCNA got picked over someone with a masters because the guy with the masters could not explain what a vlan is! Dude couldn't even explain what a VPN is. Where the hell did he get his masters from? It all comes down to what you know. Technical interviews will weed out unknowlegeable people

Companies want people who can do the job. Thats the reason why big corporation do not hire IT professional with little to no experience. It will cost the company more to train that individual who will later leave when for greener pastures

The guy with the Masters or PHD will be his boss and will make much more money than him. He also won't have to re-certify every year, will be able to go home and not worry about studying for an exam, and will have the actual I.T. Professionals to blame and fire when things go wrong . Just kidding.

Trailerisf

famosbrown wrote:

nice343 wrote:

Someone with a CCNP or a CCIE will make more money than someone with a college degree in the same field with no certification. It all comes down to the technical interview. If you have a Phd In computer networking and cannot explain what BGP or any what any of the other routing protocols does, you will not get the job.

I have seen with my owns eyes a situation where someone with a CCNA got picked over someone with a masters because the guy with the masters could not explain what a vlan is! Dude couldn't even explain what a VPN is. Where the hell did he get his masters from? It all comes down to what you know. Technical interviews will weed out unknowlegeable people

Companies want people who can do the job. Thats the reason why big corporation do not hire IT professional with little to no experience. It will cost the company more to train that individual who will later leave when for greener pastures

The guy with the Masters or PHD will be his boss and will make much more money than him. He also won't have to re-certify every year, will be able to go home and not worry about studying for an exam, and will have the actual I.T. Professionals to blame and fire when things go wrong . Just kidding.

Maybe so, but the IT department will still make fun of him when he walks away :P

nice343

famosbrown wrote:

nice343 wrote:

Someone with a CCNP or a CCIE will make more money than someone with a college degree in the same field with no certification. It all comes down to the technical interview. If you have a Phd In computer networking and cannot explain what BGP or any what any of the other routing protocols does, you will not get the job.

I have seen with my owns eyes a situation where someone with a CCNA got picked over someone with a masters because the guy with the masters could not explain what a vlan is! Dude couldn't even explain what a VPN is. Where the hell did he get his masters from? It all comes down to what you know. Technical interviews will weed out unknowlegeable people

Companies want people who can do the job. Thats the reason why big corporation do not hire IT professional with little to no experience. It will cost the company more to train that individual who will later leave when for greener pastures

The guy with the Masters or PHD will be his boss and will make much more money than him. He also won't have to re-certify every year, will be able to go home and not worry about studying for an exam, and will have the actual I.T. Professionals to blame and fire when things go wrong . Just kidding.

how long can you blame employees when stuff goes wrong and get a way with it? An experience IT professional can set a manager up for failure when he calls out sick during one of the businest days in the IT department. I have seen it before. manager got the fired.

And talking about certifications whats wrong with gaining knowlege? Don't get me wrong though I am currently working on my degree but Someone who keeps recertiying his cisco certification and has more experience in the field is more valuable to a company that someone with a masters degree who can't do nothing.

If a company wants to implement a cisco voice infrastructure, they will look for a cisco professional who has experience in it. They will not be looking for someone with a masters degree.

networker050184

If a company wants to implement a cisco voice infrastructure, they will look for a cisco professional who has experience in it. They will not be looking for someone with a masters degree.

This may be true, but having a degree and certs is better than having just a degree or just certifications. One isn't better than the other. Like others have stated they are different and show competance in different areas. Why would you want to limit yourself to just one anyway? Go for both and then they won't have to make that decision when you apply for jobs.

famosbrown

nice343 wrote:

famosbrown wrote:

nice343 wrote:

Someone with a CCNP or a CCIE will make more money than someone with a college degree in the same field with no certification. It all comes down to the technical interview. If you have a Phd In computer networking and cannot explain what BGP or any what any of the other routing protocols does, you will not get the job.

I have seen with my owns eyes a situation where someone with a CCNA got picked over someone with a masters because the guy with the masters could not explain what a vlan is! Dude couldn't even explain what a VPN is. Where the hell did he get his masters from? It all comes down to what you know. Technical interviews will weed out unknowlegeable people

Companies want people who can do the job. Thats the reason why big corporation do not hire IT professional with little to no experience. It will cost the company more to train that individual who will later leave when for greener pastures

The guy with the Masters or PHD will be his boss and will make much more money than him. He also won't have to re-certify every year, will be able to go home and not worry about studying for an exam, and will have the actual I.T. Professionals to blame and fire when things go wrong . Just kidding.

how long can you blame employees when stuff goes wrong and get a way with it? An experience IT professional can set a manager up for failure when he calls out sick during one of the businest days in the IT department. I have seen it before. manager got the fired.

And talking about certifications whats wrong with gaining knowlege? Don't get me wrong though I am currently working on my degree but Someone who keeps recertiying his cisco certification and has more experience in the field is more valuable to a company that someone with a masters degree who can't do nothing.

If a company wants to implement a cisco voice infrastructure, they will look for a cisco professional who has experience in it. They will not be looking for someone with a masters degree.

Calm down buddy, I was just joking as my post stated, but since you brought it up...

How many Technicians, administrators, engineers, non-managers know what a balance sheet is, how to manage a budget, allocations, handle conflicts and HR related issues, soft/people skills, stress-level management, negotiating, etc., etc., the stuff that a lot of people just don't want to deal with in I.T. You don't learn everything to know about managing an I.T. department, organization, or team through college, but you learn a lot about it, and you will meet a lot in the business when pursuing higher degrees. Do you attain these skills with certification?? Do you gain experience working in teams, making crucial decisions, working on projects that bring Business and technology skills together when studying for certifications? The college experience is a lot more than going to class, listening to a lecture, reading the textbook, and taking an exam. The majority of the Major related classes include activities that prepare you for the real-business world outside of the textbook.

I have not seen a manager fired for the reason you just stated, but I have seen that scenario a FEW times...it was found out that the employee called off sick and really wasn't sick, and he was either let go or disciplined in some way...like I said...I've seen it a FEW times.

I'm not knocking certifications at all, being that I've earned a few, but my comment of the person with the Masters or higher level degree being your boss is true in my experience. It's usually a requirement for most managerial/executive positions due to status...some of the higher ups don't want to be in a conference with managers or supervisors that do not have any formal education letters behind their name...it's just a reality...there are some exceptions in some places, but not most.

As far as your example, if a company is looking for someone to implement a cisco voice infrastructure, they will probably hire a contractor to do the implementation, and have someone shadow them and learn. Will they hire the Cisco Professional that specializes in this type of implementation to run an I.T. Department...I hope not, unless he brings some other things to the table. It is also up to that manager to hire trustworthy people who would not call in sick to prove that their boss doesn't know how to do some advanced Cisco stuff, and someone that knows that everyone plays their role in a department. Now that you bring that up...a few interview or personality questions comes to mind when I'm in the position to hire again.

nice343

famosbrown wrote:

nice343 wrote:

famosbrown wrote:

nice343 wrote:

Someone with a CCNP or a CCIE will make more money than someone with a college degree in the same field with no certification. It all comes down to the technical interview. If you have a Phd In computer networking and cannot explain what BGP or any what any of the other routing protocols does, you will not get the job.

I have seen with my owns eyes a situation where someone with a CCNA got picked over someone with a masters because the guy with the masters could not explain what a vlan is! Dude couldn't even explain what a VPN is. Where the hell did he get his masters from? It all comes down to what you know. Technical interviews will weed out unknowlegeable people

Companies want people who can do the job. Thats the reason why big corporation do not hire IT professional with little to no experience. It will cost the company more to train that individual who will later leave when for greener pastures

The guy with the Masters or PHD will be his boss and will make much more money than him. He also won't have to re-certify every year, will be able to go home and not worry about studying for an exam, and will have the actual I.T. Professionals to blame and fire when things go wrong . Just kidding.

how long can you blame employees when stuff goes wrong and get a way with it? An experience IT professional can set a manager up for failure when he calls out sick during one of the businest days in the IT department. I have seen it before. manager got the fired.

And talking about certifications whats wrong with gaining knowlege? Don't get me wrong though I am currently working on my degree but Someone who keeps recertiying his cisco certification and has more experience in the field is more valuable to a company that someone with a masters degree who can't do nothing.

If a company wants to implement a cisco voice infrastructure, they will look for a cisco professional who has experience in it. They will not be looking for someone with a masters degree.

Calm down buddy, I was just joking as my post stated, but since you brought it up...

How many Technicians, administrators, engineers, non-managers know what a balance sheet is, how to manage a budget, allocations, handle conflicts and HR related issues, soft/people skills, stress-level management, negotiating, etc., etc., the stuff that a lot of people just don't want to deal with in I.T. You don't learn everything to know about managing an I.T. department, organization, or team through college, but you learn a lot about it, and you will meet a lot in the business when pursuing higher degrees. Do you attain these skills with certification?? Do you gain experience working in teams, making crucial decisions, working on projects that bring Business and technology skills together when studying for certifications? The college experience is a lot more than going to class, listening to a lecture, reading the textbook, and taking an exam. The majority of the Major related classes include activities that prepare you for the real-business world outside of the textbook.

I have not seen a manager fired for the reason you just stated, but I have seen that scenario a FEW times...it was found out that the employee called off sick and really wasn't sick, and he was either let go or disciplined in some way...like I said...I've seen it a FEW times.

I'm not knocking certifications at all, being that I've earned a few, but my comment of the person with the Masters or higher level degree being your boss is true in my experience. It's usually a requirement for most managerial/executive positions due to status...some of the higher ups don't want to be in a conference with managers or supervisors that do not have any formal education letters behind their name...it's just a reality...there are some exceptions in some places, but not most.

As far as your example, if a company is looking for someone to implement a cisco voice infrastructure, they will probably hire a contractor to do the implementation, and have someone shadow them and learn. Will they hire the Cisco Professional that specializes in this type of implementation to run an I.T. Department...I hope not, unless he brings some other things to the table. It is also up to that manager to hire trustworthy people who would not call in sick to prove that their boss doesn't know how to do some advanced Cisco stuff, and someone that knows that everyone plays their role in a department. Now that you bring that up...a few interview or personality questions comes to mind when I'm in the position to hire again.

Even though I am working on my Networking Degree, I have come to the conclution after 3 years of IT experience that people who have experience and certification blow any college graduate with no certs out the water. We have a CCIE over here in my department. This guy has 10 years of IT experience. He was a High school dropout who finally got his GED and decided to pursue the CCIE. HE is so smart to the point where he can implemnt an IP network of voice, video, data all by himself. He just came back from doing a contract in Saudi Arabia. That should tell you the amount of knowlege this guy has. And mind you. HE IS A HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT WITH A CCIE

brad-

I have a degree and I must say, it is over rated when it gets down to brass tacks. So are certs. Experience and ability trumps them both.

However, there must be some kind of industry standards to measure (loosely) a tech...which is why we have certs. All the certs in the world still dont make you smarter.

As little as i care for the degree though, it carries alot of weight behind it...and has opened doors for me and gotten me looked at, which would not have happened otherwise.

Long story short, the degree and certs are just a way of saying that you at least have the ability to learn and not give up easily, and have met or been judged by a standard.

famosbrown

Even though I am working on my Networking Degree, I have come to the conclution after 3 years of IT experience that people who have experience and certification blow any college graduate with no certs out the water. We have a CCIE over here in my department. This guy has 10 years of IT experience. He was a High school dropout who finally got his GED and decided to pursue the CCIE. HE is so smart to the point where he can implemnt an IP network of voice, video, data all by himself. He just came back from doing a contract in Saudi Arabia. That should tell you the amount of knowlege this guy has. And mind you. HE IS A HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT WITH A CCIE

I don't disagree with you...but if you read my post I was responding to someone in Management. I also said that there are some exceptions to this rule, but rare. I've ALWAYS agreed and noted that traditional colleges don't really prepare you to work as a tech, network admin, system engineer, etc. When I did manage a Tier II HelpDesk, none of my techs had degrees, but they had and were attaining certifications. I got the job based on my degree and a little knowlege I had, but at the time, I had just began pursuing my certifications...I think I only had A+ and Net+ at the time. It's the other things that college prepare you for that certification doesn't! I would also like to add that most corps/companies probably won't have him on the Management/Exec side of things unless he has some formal education letters behind his name...that's just the way things are the majority of the time. He will probably make 6 digits a year and answer to a boss that probably makes more than him that couldn't do 85 percent of the stuff he can do with Cisco. Now, if I was the decision maker on that, I would have him in Managment, but he would just be managing Cisco and the other Network Engineers below him. He also would still be knee deep in the technology and not bogged down by the other stuff like pay, budgets, major meetings, personnel issues, PR, etc. that a lot of managers/supervisors/execs go through in I.T. This is the reason a lot of execs get noobified again...they just don't touch the stuff anymore because they are knee deep in the business side of I.T. that is definitely stressed in the Masters and above college education...maybe even bachelor's depending on the major.

Kasor

First, certification never equal a college degree.

Second, there are only two degree in IT field either you are in CS or IS major. All other b.s type of IT degree in networking or technical support or IT management. It is a waste. Remember every go back from basic concept of computing which you will learn from CS class. You get your IT management knowledge from IS. And all your technical training and independence study from the certification.

I can sense a IT person who go for 4 yrs CS/IS degree or just a 3/4 yrd degree on IT specific type.

Inc

You just have to look at this perspective:

1. Degree - Academic (theoretical) education
2. Certification - Professional (hands on) education

Certification isn't viewed as degree per se but it has been structured to resemble university (like Cisco, for an example, have Associate (Bachelor), Professional (Masters) and Expert (PhD) levels of education).

And it corresponds more or less even with time frame. You have to work in the field for a few years for associate, a few more years for professional and here you go - 5 years spent, solid certificate, which proves your competence, gained and opportunity to move into higher grounds, pursuing expert level.

For academic PhD you will need publications, deliver a lecture series (depends on uni.), and breathe your dissertation subject in and out.

Bottom line is - certification can be and will be viewed as professional degree in appropriate field.

P.S. I have a lot of acquaintances without academic degree, doing high level jobs with no problem, so academic degree isn't a must. And they tend to work much harder because they have more to loose.