Value of a Degree?

AlexM

It's not a question I intended to ask, having planned to start Open University early next year after completing the MCITP:SA/MCSA 2008 and CCNA, however I've noticed due to government funding cuts the price has now skyrocketed, costing more than treble the amount it did last year.

I have no wish to take on any debt, but I'm also not prepared to pay £15,000 out of my own pocket for a degree (especially as, last year, it would have cost ~£4,500) however I've seen many jobs looking for employees holding a degree and I have no wish to hold myself back in later years.

The degree I am (or at least, was) interested in is this one - BSc (Honours) Computing & IT and a second subject: Business with networking pathway.

Would you consider a degree to be worth it, at that cost? If not, what would you consider instead?

I'm currently a Systems Administrator with 6 years of experience, looking to move to a more advanced role with exposure to Cisco and VMWare environments, then Infrastructure Design / Project work (and a long term goal of Management).

Cerebro

I'm considering the same course, I've sent them some modules I've completed elsewhere and my CCENT certificate in the hopes of credit transfer.

Zorodzai

@OP - have you considered the University of London International Programs, they have have a program BSc Information Systems and Management with total cost for the degree working out to ~4000 pounds

BSc Information Systems and Management | University of London International Programmes

AlexM

I hadn't seen that, I'll take a look. Thanks.

Zorodzai

@AlexM - No problem. I recently enrolled and should be writing my first exams June next year. Who knows if you enroll in the same program we may even start a skype study group lol.

techdudehere

Degrees became over priced and in many cases I believe they have actually hurt people financially. I would go with the more reasonably priced option. At the end of the day,employers probably won't care one way or the other, they will just see degree or no degree.

NetworkVeteran

techdudehere wrote: »

At the end of the day,employers probably won't care one way or the other, they will just see degree or no degree.

This has been dispelled here several times. See this post for an example.

( They make it too hard to post working links. )

ptilsen

We seem to have variations of this discussion a lot on this site. Here's the bottom line: Statistically, you will make more money with any degree than no degree, and correspondingly more for each higher degree.

Here are a couple of highly relevant links. Keep in mind, these are written from a US perspective and for a US audience. However, everything I've read from British IT professionals on forums over the years has indicated to me that education, if anything, is of more relative importance in the UK than the US. I'm inclined to believe that the numbers seen here will not be dissimilar to what you'll see in the UK.

College Education Value Rankings - PayScale 2012 College ROI Report
What's Your College Degree Worth? - Businessweek

Edit: This was actually a really compelling post I happened to notice:

I was the first person in my family and my neighborhood to go to college, and I went to a local state school that didn't even make this list. What I learned there opened my eyes to a wonderful world I would not have known existed, and launched a lifetime love of knowledge, intellectual challenge, music, art, and literature. It happens that I now make a mid-six-figure income, but that is because college fostered curiosity and engagement in a rich life, not because it gave me specific skills at earning a buck.