What kind of degree should I pursue?

Michael.J.Palmer

I've decided that I want to be a systems administrator and try to make it my eventual goal either be an enterprise admin in a large domain environment or specialize in something like Sharepoint (yeah, I'm shooting for that six figure income tree). This year alone I'll make it to my MCITP: SA and next year I'll go after my CCNA and MCITP: EA. I wanted to pad those certs with at least an Associate degree (since I've already got a lot of college credit that I never transferred over) and I was wondering what degree field I should shoot for.

I was debating either an Associate's in Computer Science or Associate's in Networking, but I'm not sure if there's something else that would be better. Any insight is much appreciated, thanks.

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Comments

Bl8ckr0uter

Why not business? At that level, business knowledge would be critical, even more so than technical knowledge. I am shooting for a similar type of role (I just want to consult) and I think a Business Degree would be worth while. While you could go for the tried and true BSCS/BSIT/BSCIS, I think that a good Business degree from a good business school would be good. Many people will steer you towards WGU because of the self study/cert driven program which seems to work well for many TEers.

EDIT: Sorry I didn't see that part about doing an Associates degree. I have never heard of an Associate in Computer Science. Try to find a degree that will transfer over to a four year degree well. I am getting an AAS in Network Engineering and it transfers over to several 4 year schools perfectly.

phantasm

If Systems Admin is your end goal then I would pursue a B.S. in CIS. Especially if you want that illustrious six figure salary (of which you'll need years of experience). Nothing less than a B.S. and probably an M.S. as well. I would **** the CCNA all together and focus on system certifications such as the MCITP:EA and MCITP:SA plus whatever else there is. A CCNA i good if you want to work in the networking field, doesn't really do much for Sys Admins.

So in summary, you'll want at least a B.S. in CIS or Comp Sci and systems focused certifications.

Bl8ckr0uter

phantasm wrote: »

A CCNA i good if you want to work in the networking field, doesn't really do much for Sys Admins.....

I disagree to an extent. While as a sysadmin you may never configure a Cisco router (or any router for that matter) may employers use the CCNA as a measurement of networking knowledge so having the CCNA can be the difference between getting a job over someone or not. This probably won't be a problem once you get experience but during the quasi entry level time (year 0-5) meeting recruiters demands is incredibly important.

Michael.J.Palmer

Dumping the CCNA isn't exaclty an option, it's tied into my current curriculum at the trade school I'm attending (and actually was free of charge since my class is the first one to have it part of the career changer program). I figured the knowledge would help out and who knows, maybe I'll change my mind again in the next six months and want to do networking. Either way, I figured it doesn't hurt to have and it's not costing me anymore money to get the education for it.

As far as the suggestions, the business route sounds promising. I'm already pretty business savvy and have been for years, it wouldn't hurt to put that ability to the test as well. I'll keep looking at my options over the next year and decide from there. As it stands I won't be attending college again until this time next year anyways since I don't have the funds right now and I'm already in a large amount of debt for the 10 certifications path I paid for already. Just want to think ahead and plan for the future, I'm one of those set my mind to it and I'll accomplish it kinda guys so I like to plan ahead as such.

phantasm

Free of charge? So the school is paying for the certification exam? What if you fail it? Do they pay a second time?

Michael.J.Palmer

Yeah, basically I paid for their 8 certification path which includes in class training, outside online training through multiple sources, and the cost of testing at their private Prometric testing facility on campus. The two Cisco certs are part of a new program that their included and normally would cost me an additional $5K (that includes the same in class training, outside online trainig, and cost of testing). Also in their curriculum they include a Test Pass Guarantee, basically as long as I have perfect attendance for the in class portion (or at least a very good reason to miss a class, for example I missed a couple of classes when my wife gave birth to our second daughter so those were excused) and complete all of my online courses they assign and also get a 90% or better ont he practice tests they provide us then if we do fail (though granted if we do all of that then we should pass) they pay for us to retake the test.

I'm getting a $5K value for free with the Cisco courses (they're price, but it's still free compared to if I wanted to pay out of pocket for books and lab materials and the tests) so I'd be a fool to turn down the chance to get the education.

I forgot to mention that included with the price I spent for my current training, I can utilize their online sources for up to a year of my enrollment, so I'll more than likely be able to get access to the MS Press Book and maybe even Microsoft IT Academy sources for the Enterprise Admin tests I plan on taking next year (I'll have to pay out of pocket for the tests, but I'll still be able to test at their site which means no hassle of scheduling at a public site).

za3bour

knwminus wrote: »

I disagree to an extent. While as a sysadmin you may never configure a Cisco router (or any router for that matter) may employers use the CCNA as a measurement of networking knowledge so having the CCNA can be the difference between getting a job over someone or not. This probably won't be a problem once you get experience but during the quasi entry level time (year 0-5) meeting recruiters demands is incredibly important.

I agree CCNA is an added value, You will not go for CCIE this is the entry level cert and it's a good add to your CV.

However don't you think spending 5K is too much for CCNA ?

ajs1976

CCNA is useful for a SysAdmin.

For an associates, look at the curriculum and see what the course focus on. A lot of CS programs are programming. Networking can be cisco heavy were the program I completed was based around A+, Net+, Linus+ and MCSE style courses. Sharepoint admin would be helped by programing, Windows server, and web dev courses.

Bl8ckr0uter

za3bour wrote: »

I agree CCNA is an added value, You will not go for CCIE this is the entry level cert and it's a good add to your CV.

However don't you think spending 5K is too much for CCNA ?

Yes I do. I would never pay 5k for a CCNA. That's a hell no from me. I am not even paying 5k for my degree (A.A.S). I think that is way, way, way over priced. The total cost for my CCNA was like 800 (test, routers, and books included) using self study. I wouldn't spend much more than that.

Michael.J.Palmer

You guys are missing the point, I'm not paying for it,

so I'm coming out cheaper than your 800 you paid, lol.

The 5K is a little overpriced, I agree, I wouldn't have spent it personally, and I'm not. It isn't as much of a value as the other 8 cert training were and is mainly there to try and place new recruits into high end networking jobs in the Raleigh area straight out. The school works with several local corporations to place their students and regularly places folks into high income jobs, one guy I know from the previous class with no IT experience landed a job with a partner company making about 72K a year after only 8 months of IT work experience, that's including the 6 months of training.

I'm gonna look into maybe doing something with the Univercity of Phoenix actually, I forgot that my trade school has a partnership with them and the campus for my school is located one floor underneath the Raleigh University of Phoenix campus. I think my trade school classes will actually transfer over to there and count for a year towards college if I'm not mistaken... I'll definitely be looking into that as well.