Another....what would you do....

nel

So, i'll skip to the chase,

i do a PT degree and im in the final (3rd yr) of my bsc networking degree which finishes in 6 months or so. i have the option to do a further 2 yr PT study to get an honours degree (which is what i intended to do). basically a few month back i relocated to a diff location in the UK for a "better IT job" - so far it has been a sidestep really, i used to work on 2nd line support helpdesk and thought this was a sysadmin role (which is my title) but its really just L2 helpdesk work which has been a huge dissapointment because i thought it was that sysadmin role so i could really start enjoing IT and learning more.

Ive also had to move uni and change degree from a specialised IT networking (which consists of ccna & mcsa) to network computing. at the min im doing programming and database systems: 2 things im not greatly interested in (and i would class them as "networking")but was looking forward to the DB stuff. however again it was hugely dissapointing because basically its all theory with a small amount of practical work. my honours at the new uni would consist of the ccnp, but with me not having the ccna i couldnt go for the actual exams anyway. ive also been looking at doing management (IT or operations) or project management because of this and just to give me a different dimension to my skillset. to be honest i would love to get my mcse and ccna because i love the infrastructure side of things - but whilst im at uni there is no way i could study for both and my degree. it would have to be either certs or degree.

Now because i want to get back in the swing of things my heart tell's me get back to the stuff i enjoy and go for my mcse and then do the ccna but my brain says stick with the degree then do them after or study for some in between and because there's only 4 months or so seperating the end of one uni yr to the other i know it wont be enought time to go for my ccna before the honours.

ANother problem i have is my PT degree is actually during the day! in work hours! i just have to work later nights etc on those days to make up my time but i know if i stopped doing my degree now the company would be unlikely to allow me to work like that again.

(Now my 5 min rant is over haha)....well basically because of the above and quite a few more reasons ive stopped enjoying IT and am not sure what to do. basically im 21 yr old but have a few certs (see cert list) and have been working in IT for 5 1/2 yrs now but havent got a position where i can learn new things, i.e. server and cisco stuff. Do you guys think i should stick with it and finish my honours yrs in one of the honours degree's mentioned above? or what? because i would rather get my degree years behind me aswell to concentrate on specialising something in the future. i also know that even if i did get my mcse and ccna tomorrow i wouldnt be guaranteed a chance anywhere.

i guess im just at a crossroads at the min but ive recieved some excellent advice from here over the years and i guess im turning to you guy's for help in my darkest hour ! ! !

nel

no one at all...???

dynamik

Buckle down and get your CCNA and go with the honors program that will take you to a CCNP. You'll still get a good degree, and you'll get to work with the infrastructure side of things (the impression I got was that you really want both of these things). It's easy to make excuses about being too busy to pick up that cert, but you could probably make it work if you really wanted to. You might have to get antisocial and pass up on some entertainment for a few months, but you'll make an advancement that would improve you life for many years to come. You may have to let the MS stuff fall by the wayside, but you can tack that on at any time. It's much harder to go back and do a degree than it is to pass an IT exam.

nel

Thanks for the feedback mate.

Ive just been notified today that they have now changed the structure for my 2 PT honours years. They have now extended the network computing degree so it includes many advanced aspects of the degree im doing now and they have now moved the ccnp upto masters level (which i probably wont be able to study at anyway because it all during 9-5 hours and because of the stupidly high prices per year!).

So basically if i do stay on for an other 2 years for honours it will be things like advanced database and programming and lots of theory behind security aspects which is things im not too interested in to be honest at the moment. i may even consider business/ or project management for my honours stages just to give me a little something else.

agh, i just dont know what to do now to be honest. has anyone else been in this prediciment before?

has anyone got any input?

dynamik

Do what interests you. Don't waste the time, money, and energy on something that you don't find interesting and do not plan on using. I'm personally not interested in taking IT courses because I can teach myself just. If you're interested in the business side of things, maybe give that a shot. You can always take on the IT knowledge through self-study, CBT, training seminars, etc.

nel

anymore input

bighornsheep

You will need the honour's degree if you wish to pursue graduate studies.

nel

thanks for the reply,

ive thought about that but to do a masters degree PT is an extra 3 years, so i would finish that in 5 years time altogether but sadly where i now live i can only do the degree's during the day. stupid i know because i feel it defies the point of a part time degree. i have no problem doing an extra 2 years PT study to get my honours degree but i dont like the degree i have changed to so i doubt i will like to continue with similar material for another 2 years?

bighornsheep

It's hard for me to understand your situation entirely, but I can point out that UK and other (ex)commonwealth places (HK,India,Canada) are moving towards phasing out the 3-yr degree system. This might even be true for all undergraduate academics in general. If possible, you should always try to get your honours degree whenever possible, especially so if this is an option for you.

Based on what I do know about the university system in the UK, an honour's degree is very obtainable on the basis that you're taking additional credits that pertain more to your major, less credits from the general arts count towards degree requirements and there is a higher standard for overall performance.

FT or PT can make things difficult, I can imagine that certain courses you require may only be offered for FT or at times that isn't feasible for you. You can try and see if you can enroll in similar classes at another institute and apply for transfer credit, some schools calls this "Special Student Status" or "Class Audit".

Just remember, bachelor is the new "high school grad", and that's why it also refers to single people

nel

but I can point out that UK and other (ex)commonwealth places (HK,India,Canada) are moving towards phasing out the 3-yr degree system.

Ive never heard about this. but i understand the theory behind it because it so easy to do a degree FT and get it over with in a flash where it takes me forever. At the minute i really want to advance technically because im stuck in a helpdesk job and i enjoy cisco/ms more than academic stuff. if i were to transfer to a different degree do you think it would be best trying to go into the honours years as i was even considering doing another (normal) degree in business management?

like i say i prefer the cisco/ms side but i find it hard to do both the degree and certs