college degrees in the I.T. field

chevy454

i was doing a job job search earlier and more than half of the jobs that i saw in I.T. does not require a degree. how many of you guys on here have a degree

sambuca69

I do not have a degree.

networker050184

Can of worms opened here. I'm one of the no degree people.

sdyess

I have a Master's in Computer Information Systems from Keller Graduate School.

Bl8ckr0uter

I have two A.A.S' in progress.

SrSysAdmin

I guess it depends on where you live and what your specialty is.

Good luck getting on an IA federal contract here in the DC area if you don't have at least your bachelor's.

jeanathan

Just saw a job in the Lexington, KY area CCNA and MCSA 2k3 preferred. Also BS in computer related field. It is this sort of thing that sent me back after dropping out of college.

veritas_libertas

Almost every job posting I see requires at least a BS, and some say that they prefer a Master degree. I currently have an A.A.S. in Computer Network Technology, and I am working on completing my BS in IT. With the way the job market is going I will probably pursue a MS in INFOSEC after I finish my Bachelor degree, and why not since my employer will finance it?

networker050184

Every job I've had "required" a degree. I think most of the time that is just something they put on there to scare people off. Hasn't stopped me from applying or getting any of the positions though.

tpatt100

If it says it does not require one does not mean they will not ignore applicants who have them. What I mean is there are others who might appeal more because they have one and you need to get past that HR wall to get an interview in the first place

rsutton

No degree here

kriscamaro68

I have no degree. Heck I have never even taken a single college course but I work I.T. for the biggest University in the state. They said they wanted a B.S. degree and 8 years experience but that didn't stop me from being hired. On the other hand my certs didn't do much either. I guess I am just really good at interviews and know my stuff.

Megadeth4168

I have 1 class left next semester to finish my A.A.S.

I've been in the I.T. field for 10 years and only decided to start going for a degree last fall. I was able to transfer in all of my certifications for credits, most applied towards the 2 year degree while some applied toward the 4 year degree.

I'm really going to school more for my own fulfillment, but I also know that if I want to one day take over when my supervisor retires I will need a degree. That is if I don't find something better, though I'm not currently looking.

someeh

No degree here... just certs

ALfromSTL

Currently have a BS in management info systems, working on an MS in the same.

hex_omega

In progredd.

chevy454

my bad is supposed to be progress i dont know how to edit a poll

NetworkingStudent

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Almost every job posting I see requires at least a BS, and some say that they prefer a Master degree. I currently have an A.A.S. in Computer Network Technology, and I am working on completing my BS in IT. With the way the job market is going I will probably pursue a MS in INFOSEC after I finish my Bachelor degree, and why not since my employer will finance it?

+1 I have even seen a majority of help desk jobs that ask for at least an A.A.S degree, for a minimum job requirement.
I’m pursuing my A.A.S degree, and someday I will obtain my 4 year degree. Having a degree is just more thing that can make you stand out from the other people that are competing for the same job as you.

Reseven

No degree, just certs.

I'm probably going to get my AAS soon though.

lnsomnia

I don't have a degree and it was not required when I was hired for a desktop position. I am now currently in a networking position that required either a BS or a CCNA. I chose the latter. I am now pursuing my Bachelors to open other oppportunities at my work.

I say if you want to stay the technical geek for the rest of your life, a Bachelors will only help in so many ways. Continue with certs to keep up to date on new technologies.

If you want a management/supervisor position in IT, then you will need a minimum of a Bachelors.

ColbyG

No degree, I do alright. Hasn't been an issue (that I know of) yet.

I do wish I had one though, but it just doesn't seem worth the effort right now.

nice343

JrSysAdmin wrote: »

I guess it depends on where you live and what your specialty is.

Good luck getting on an IA federal contract here in the DC area if you don't have at least your bachelor's.

It depends. What good is a 4 year degree when you cannot set up a network for a company?
I don't have a degree and I don't plan on getting on anytime soon. I can wipe the floor with many degree network engineers anytime any day. I live in the DC area and have been doing contracts for years without a degree. It all comes down to the interview. My voice experience is like a kryptonite down here.

jamesleecoleman

I'm in the progress of obtaining my A.A.S in Network Administration. This is the last week of school and then I have to wait and see for grades. I'm over half way to my B.S degree in Network Administration and less than half way for Network Security.

jamesleecoleman

nice343 wrote: »

What good is a 4 year degree when you cannot set up a network for a company?

I agree. I don't understand why people are asking for 4 year degree's when a student can't do this. I had a teacher ask the who class what is needed for a network and over half of the class responded with the right answers. I was really surprised. Anyways I think it has something to do with not having enough reinforcement of the material and having to take 'filler' classes along with classes not useful to the subject such as calculus or accounting. If I wanted to take those classes then I would be an Accounting major or a Math major.

OoteR

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I agree. I don't understand why people are asking for 4 year degree's when a student can't do this. I had a teacher ask the who class what is needed for a network and over half of the class responded with the right answers. I was really surprised. Anyways I think it has something to do with not having enough reinforcement of the material and having to take 'filler' classes along with classes not useful to the subject such as calculus or accounting. If I wanted to take those classes then I would be an Accounting major or a Math major.

Accounting is helpful if you are going to be supporting accounting users... They can better explain a problem that you can understand.

Calc can help with all kinds of things.

Do a networking or MIS degree, not CS if you don't want those sort of classes. But they are helpful if you are going to do programming, imagine writing a piece of software for accounts payable and not knowing at all what they accountants are trying to use it for...

Those were bad examples! Say "humanities" and I'd have nodded and agreed.

videguy

I am close to finishing my BS and I am hoping it will open some doors for me. It is not easy, but in the long run it will be worth it.

motogpman

I kick myself for not getting my BS a long time ago. I put myself 10 years behind my goals by next finishing my BS, a few shy of my AAS. This is the same thing I have told my kids, do it and don't look back.

What bad come come from appyling yourself and getting the knowledge and that piece of paper out of the way? When you get older, you will be glad you did instead of waiting. You could be in the "family, work, bills, money is tight......" category if you wait too long.

Just my 2 cents.

By the way, I had a discussion my boss last night, Rice grad and the VP of IT. Lots of years hiring/firing and has ran major IT deptarments for oil/gas and metro. He gave me the same advice I am stating here. Nowadays, just having a BS isn't going to give you an edge. Many people I work with and support are higly degreed and none of them have said thay they regretted it or putting the time in. These guys all said the same thing, with regards to degrees. It boils down to BS or Masters and what college you came from. Bragging rights or affiliation are just as important.

Some people may request it and not actually require it, always send in your resume, you never know. But then, if the hiring manager/HR possibly come from the same college as you, it may give you that much more of an edge.

BradleyHU

I have my degree.

Devilsbane

chevy454 wrote: »

i was doing a job job search earlier and more than half of the jobs that i saw in I.T. does not require a degree. how many of you guys on here have a degree

What you didn't ask is, is your degree in an it field. Most people do have degrees (required to get past hr) but it can be in booger picking if thats what your good at.

bobnet

Probably a lot of differences between the US and the UK but over here, at the moment a degree isn't worth the paper it's written on unless you have all the skills and experience companies want. I'm coming to the end of my degree now and have good grades, I have CCNA, a year experience in network support and I haven't had a single bit of interest for posts that are not graduate programs.

I do see jobs where 'degree is beneficial/required' is stated but they also want 3 years experience, CCNA, MCSA and sometimes a whole heap of other skills that would take years to acquire. I'm in a worse position than someone with no degree who's done desktop support for a year and got their CCNA, because due to me having no MS experience no one is interested in my CV. There's no entry level network engineer jobs, it's all a combination of network/systems engineer and jobs are asking for everything.

Right now is the worst time to be graduating and being a network guy. According to the job market I'm not even deemed fit for 1st line roles.

alan2308

In progress, but only because of the GI Bill and because my wife works at the college and her union contract allows me to attend unlimited classes tuition free. If I didn't have both of those things in place, then my only option would be one class at a time at night while I work full time. I tried that once before, and just couldn't keep the motivation after a couple semesters.