carreer advice

hey guys. im in a bit of a debacle here and i need your help figuring something about to what i should be doing.

a bit about myself. im 23 and have A+ and Net+ certs. I have some college credits from a community college but they are in major of biology and not computers. i went to school late because my dad lost his job and my mom worked few hours so i had to support my family and could not afford college.
i been working at a big ousourcing computer company for the past 2 years and got "full time" hired last july. I do various accounts with different companies and some of them involve Dell and HP servers and routers and switches.(most of the job is scripts tho)
today i was at our companies website and i noticed that they offer alot of incentives for completing different certs and degrees. at this time im studying cisco and im planning to take my ccna by end of march. my company offers alot of good incentives to go to university. for example every year they pay 5 grand for you to go to school. i looked at some details and noticed that for example drexel has a 4 year tuition for about 40 grand. i could pretty much go to school for computer science for about 20 grand and get my major in computer science.

however i dont know what to do first. should i chose the degree route or should i continue with getting my certs?

thanks

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charlemagne

saied wrote: »

hey guys. im in a bit of a debacle here and i need your help figuring something about to what i should be doing.

a bit about myself. im 23 and have A+ and Net+ certs. I have some college credits from a community college but they are in major of biology and not computers. i went to school late because my dad lost his job and my mom worked few hours so i had to support my family and could not afford college.
i been working at a big ousourcing computer company for the past 2 years and got "full time" hired last july. I do various accounts with different companies and some of them involve Dell and HP servers and routers and switches.(most of the job is scripts tho)
today i was at our companies website and i noticed that they offer alot of incentives for completing different certs and degrees. at this time im studying cisco and im planning to take my ccna by end of march. my company offers alot of good incentives to go to university. for example every year they pay 5 grand for you to go to school. i looked at some details and noticed that for example drexel has a 4 year tuition for about 40 grand. i could pretty much go to school for computer science for about 20 grand and get my major in computer science.

however i dont know what to do first. should i chose the degree route or should i continue with getting my certs?

thanks

You're young and can do both. You're going to get a lot of different opinions but no matter what anyone says, there exists no war between education/earning a useful degree and obtaining certifications. It isn't just an either/or scenario. Do pay attention to writing skills. Communication in all forms is very important. There are many programs that offer internships. This is a good opportunity. It is a mistake to think that your choice is "either a degree or getting certs." It is not that simple. It all depends on your goals. Regardless, you can earn a degree and work on those certs that will help you. My opinion.

Nemowolf

I agree, there is no right or wrong answer here ... There is only options and MANY of them at that.

Personally, I would look at doing both by going to WGU as many of the folks here found this board because of the massive threads related to going to the school. You can get your bachelors and plenty of certifications while leveraging the skills and certs you already have to move through the courses quickly.

You have time to wait on the degree but don't wait too long or you may miss opportunities because someone wants to see that little check box checked saying bachelors achieved to qualify you for a position.

saied

awesome. thanks for your response guys. means alot

im def gonna try to do both. i know computer science has alot of programming in it and i have never ever done programming. im more of hands on materiel form kind of guy.
i think 20 grand without any scholarship is a good deal right?
also if you guys had to do either school or certs, which one would you chose?

Nemowolf

20 grand would cover about a years worth of ITT/U of Phoenix tuition and books.

20 grand would cover about 3 years worth of WGU tuition and still cover some left over.

20 grand would cover about 1.5 years worth at most state brick and mortar schools depending on the school and program.

goldenlight

Take advantage of company paid tuition. When you are laid off or leave the company you will have the last laugh:D. Attend a Public University to maximize your tuition.

Computer Science has alot of Math. I switched majors once I got to Differential Equations. I guest this was Calculus 3

. Very Boring to me. Luckily Employer paid for Schooling. So no money lost.

Get your cert while your out of school. You will not have time to prepare for the CCNA fully due to all the BS courses you will be taking in your first 1yr

.

Why not get your first degree in Network Administration since you have a Net+.

saied

well i looked into this school called drexel
Cost Breakdown | Undergraduate Admissions | Drexel University

they charge about 40 grand for 4 years(i think im reading it correctly).

i need to study more about this WGU

YuckTheFankees

Saied,

It's 40k per year....

saied

lol jesus didnt realize schools were that expensive. well i guess wgu will do or maybe rutgers or rowan

Santa_

I know your situation. I've also had to work to support my self and my family.

Now I'm 23 years old, some college credits (16 total), some experience, and both A+ and N+ and now I'm at a crossroad. WHere do I go from here?

Well I also looked into local schools, but found that WGU was the best for my situation after much researching. Still in the enrollment process, but looking to start March 1st, 2013.

Now while you learn you're also gaining certifications within the IT field, plus a BS degree. Like some have said you may get skipped over just because the check box that the HR person selected didn't contain the words in your resume.

Focus on your goals and gain valuable knowledge along the way.

Best wishes!

lsud00d

State schools are typically a good deal for brick and mortar, and don't overlook scholarships...something that might be 20k could be brought down to 15/10k, or more. A CS degree from most state schools will look good.

saied

what would be the difference between going to a WGU vs a state school?

charlemagne

saied wrote: »

what would be the difference between going to a WGU vs a state school?

In my opinion only, one difference is: If a degree from WGU is your first, then if you ever decide at some unknown point in the future to earn an MA/MS or a Ph.D, name recognition is important (along with GRE's, references). Now, if you don't plan on that at any time and are more concerned with price (makes sense) and the applicability of a degree, then WGU would be fine. If you're getting a technical degree and do not plan to teach at the college level, then name recognition doesn't matter as much as what you can do. Personally, considering the price of traditional state and regional universities, WGU is a bargain and a wise choice. Every university is going to have drawbacks but if you can maintain the motivation to study online, WGU is a good price and I would bet, though haven't checked, that graduates have good placement rates.
Also, price matters if you need financial aid in the form of federal/state loans. Some don't need financial aid. If you do, and take out loans, use them wisely and you can get a good degree (hopefully with an internship) with far less student loan debt than a student with the same or similar degree from any state university.

saied

awesome thanks. i been reading about this WGU school and it sounds just about awesome. im really motivated and i think i can do it.

Thanks again guys for such great advice. its well appreciated.