Need an inside opinion

Arvean

Ok, so I've just passed PROJECT+ and it's time to perfom a review and create a plan for the future.
When last week I mentioned to my boss that I'm doing this certificate she said " Certificates are for people narrow looking, and are a complete waste of time/effort/money" . She said that experience and knowledge are the only thing that is important and I shouldn't go any further with certification. She is extremely knowledgable person ( with no expertise in IT), and I'm working as an office manager/ technical admin.

My question is, How valuable certificates are in today's job market. Is MSCE opening any doors? DO you consider them to be a waste or an unimportant matter?

silentc1015

dynamik wrote:

I think you really need to scrutinize an associates degree. Some are quite good, well-rounded, and can transfer the majority or all the credits/hours to a four-year degree at another institution. You can also get half of your four-year degree done significantly cheaper than had you just gone exclusively to a four-year institution.

However, there are many others that are absolute trash. Unfortunately, these are typically the tech-centric AA degrees. These are usually more expensive than something like a state college, and you basically just end up with a few certifications. Few, if any, other schools will transfer in your IT courses.

Posts detailing this scenario pop up from time to time. You'll see people absolutely crushed that they spent $30k for an IT AA degree that they really can't do anything with. Degrees are important, no doubt. However, they're not all created equal. I would encourage people to hold off until they're ready to do it right.

I agree it's very important to find a quality community college for an associates. I think it's wise to get your associates assuming you will transfer the credits to a traditional university and pursue a BS degree. Interview both the community college and university and ensure credits are transferable. In this way you can be sure the 2 year college isn't worthless. When you are done with your 2 years, transfer and continue if you want. But don't if you don't want to. It's your choice, but you will be left with the option to do so in the future and you'll have a degree that isn't garbage if you follow that course of action.