What traditional degree should a future network engineer pursue?

ck86

I'm attending a community college right now knocking out my general education and debating between a few different paths for my bachelors degree. I figure I could do business administration mixed with heavy certs/experience for a good management position.. computer science for an overall good IT degree, or electrical & computer engineering to have extensive hardware knowledge. Would any of the 3 really work in the higher end network jobs, or is a specific one required for top network positions?

toshinden5

More computer science or electrical engineering degree should be the best fit, but any of the 3 will do as it relates to technology. I have a degree in EE but I should have gone for computer info system which is computer business.

hiddenknight821

kasel23 wrote: »

I'm attending a community college right now knocking out my general education and debating between a few different paths for my bachelors degree. I figure I could do business administration mixed with heavy certs/experience for a good management position.. computer science for an overall good IT degree, or electrical & computer engineering to have extensive hardware knowledge. Would any of the 3 really work in the higher end network jobs, or is a specific one required for top network positions?

I see you are a fellow Jerseyan. In my opinion, you are better off going for a bachelor degree in either network administration or telecommunications engineering. Those degree programs should have at least some network engineering works involved.

nel

a one that interests you

Cisco Inferno

yes, look into a Telecommunications degree.

xenodamus

Check out the specific coursework for different programs. The names can be misleading sometimes. One of our state schools has a degree program in Software Engineering where you specialize in either programming, server administration, or networking. They have the CCNA and CCNP academies as part of the program.

down77

nel wrote: »

a one that interests you

I agree with this. You don't need a specialized engineering or IT degree to be an effective network engineer. Many of the top Engineers I know either don't have a degree or majored in something like Business, Music, Political Science, etc.

Choose a major that interests you and follow it through.

whatthehell

I guess the same could be said for web development. I know very few good web developers who have a formal degree, let alone certifications.

Experience is king, but without the paper (certs and degree) to back it up, then the gatekeepers at HR will never flag you for a pass into an interview, lol.