Entering IT with a degree in something other than IT?

Raul-7

Long story short, I have a BS in Biology/minor in Chemistry. Realized how worthless the degree is in the real world and how I'd be making pocket change unless I went on to MD. Hence I decided to go into IT. I'm currently trying to get my CCENT/CCNA certs. Now I have a passion for IT, but obviously my schooling background is completely unrelated. Will this hamper my chances? Would recruiters frown upon this (ie. not having a BS in Computer Science for example)?

thegoodbye

The bachelors is just a check box for most organizations. I think you'll be able to break into IT just fine with your current bachelors. The issue you're going to have off the bat is experience. Do you have any IT or computer experience? Does that experience translate to something you can put on a resume? The CCNA cert will help you break in, but it's more difficult without relevant work experience. Assuming you have no experience, you could try to intern somewhere to break in. Best of luck.

Polynomial

Mine's in math. While unrelated, it somehow gets me points. People are impressed with math apparently.

Its a check box imo.

ltj8765

I do not think the degree type will hinder you at all. When I was hired in Bell Labs, my technical manager told me this:

"When I hire someone with a degree, I am not just hiring them based on their major. The main reason I hire someone with a degree is very simple....they went to school and finished! It takes a lot of self discipline and perseverance to finish college and graduate and that is what we look for when we hire people."

His point being that it is only like around 10% of people that start college actually finish I think if you get your certifications and have them combined with your education, you will be an attractive prospect for any employer. The key will be marketing yourself and landing the job.

theanimal

ltj8765 wrote: »

I do not think the degree type will hinder you at all. When I was hired in Bell Labs, my technical manager told me this:

"When I hire someone with a degree, I am not just hiring them based on their major. The main reason I hire someone with a degree is very simple....they went to school and finished! It takes a lot of self discipline and perseverance to finish college and graduate and that is what we look for when we hire people."

His point being that it is only like around 10% of people that start college actually finish I think if you get your certifications and have them combined with your education, you will be an attractive prospect for any employer. The key will be marketing yourself and landing the job.

I'm kind of shocked at that number, but after googling it's probably close to accurate. I feel like it would be a lot higher. Maybe it's just me but I feel like just because they finished doesn't really mean much. Looking at facebook, the majority of my highschool classmates are all graduating with B.A.'s or B.S.'s after spending 90% of their time at college drinking and smoking, and probably retaining little to none of the knowledge in some worthless major. I'm not at all bashing on college, as I hope to start WGU 4/1 if everything gets in on time, just rather that completing it isn't really much of a feat.

N2IT

Management degree here and I hate management.

Mine always get's the brasses wheels turning about putting me in an operational lead or supervisor role. I always have to fight that one off.

I am much more happier working with data being on the ground level.

phalx

theanimal wrote: »

I'm kind of shocked at that number, but after googling it's probably close to accurate. I feel like it would be a lot higher. Maybe it's just me but I feel like just because they finished doesn't really mean much. Looking at facebook, the majority of my highschool classmates are all graduating with B.A.'s or B.S.'s after spending 90% of their time at college drinking and smoking, and probably retaining little to none of the knowledge in some worthless major. I'm not at all bashing on college, as I hope to start WGU 4/1 if everything gets in on time, just rather that completing it isn't really much of a feat.

Tell that to someone who has busted their butt maintaining a near perfect GPA. It is a feat. Maybe for those who have barely scraped by with C's and earned a Women's Studies degree it is not, but for those of us who actually applied ourselves and earned hard degrees, it was not easy. It depends completely on what the person has put in to college. Some employers know this, which is why they will inquire about your GPA. Also, ANY degree is better than NO degree in the eyes of an employer.

ltj8765

theanimal wrote: »

I'm kind of shocked at that number, but after googling it's probably close to accurate. I feel like it would be a lot higher. Maybe it's just me but I feel like just because they finished doesn't really mean much. Looking at facebook, the majority of my highschool classmates are all graduating with B.A.'s or B.S.'s after spending 90% of their time at college drinking and smoking, and probably retaining little to none of the knowledge in some worthless major. I'm not at all bashing on college, as I hope to start WGU 4/1 if everything gets in on time, just rather that completing it isn't really much of a feat.

I think things have changed since that time over 20 years ago when my manager was telling me that. During that period, when one went to school, there was no online learning. Thus, to get a degree, one was going to have to spend usually a minimum 3 years in school and normally 4 to graduate on time. That is a lot of years and a lot of students never did complete their program. Today, I think the average is much higher...maybe around 4 out of every 10 who start will finish.

What people do in school and how they might act to me makes no difference as long as they are not cheats. If they graduate they graduate. When talking with someone I can quickly determine if they know what they are talking about or if they are just another "used car salesman."

ltj8765

phalx wrote: »

Tell that to someone who has busted their butt maintaining a near perfect GPA. It is a feat. Maybe for those who have barely scraped by with C's and earned a Women's Studies degree it is not, but for those of us who actually applied ourselves and earned hard degrees, it was not easy. It depends completely on what the person has put in to college. Some employers know this, which is why they will inquire about your GPA. Also, ANY degree is better than NO degree in the eyes of an employer.

Well said and agree completely!!

networker050184

You can make a great career in networking with any degree or even no degree at all. Just have to put in the effort to learn and stay on top of technology. Getting that first company to take a chance on you is the hard part. Once you have some experience to put on the resume the jobs will come easier.

lsud00d

Raul-7 wrote: »

Long story short, I have a BS in Biology/minor in Chemistry. Realized how worthless the degree is in the real world and how I'd be making pocket change unless I went on to MD.

I did the same thing...was going to go to med school (BioSci/Chem), had it all planned out, then BAM I realized that's totally not what I wanted to do...in an effort to graduate ASAP and enjoy the rest of school I switched to General Studies (Psych, Sociology, English). I was already working in IT full time while doing school full time and a bump in pay was the dangling carrot to get that BS

I've found normally people who go CompSci/CompEngi/ElecEngi do programming/dev related positions. Programming is teachable in a structured way but other areas of IT benefit more from experience than classroom time.

Claymoore

lsud00d wrote: »

I did the same thing...was going to go to med school (BioSci/Chem), had it all planned out, then BAM I realized that's totally not what I wanted to do....

Biochemistry here as well. I only took one computer class in college, and it was so easy that I only bothered to show up for the exams. The Bio background only hurt me in my first interview where I actually saw one of the engineers circle that on my resume. I later worked with him at my first IT job (different company) where he was the lead engineer and eventually had to train me. His only complaint then was that I could learn faster than he could teach.

I worked various low-level IT jobs on summer breaks during college, including Best Buy. The department supervisor who hired me at Best Buy was the one who also gave me my first real IT job a couple years later. I began my certification journey by self-studying and paying for my own certs, including taking vacation days to take exams, as a way to prove my knowledge since I did not have a comp sci degree. My company knew that I understood what I was doing, but I was not marketable until I had an MCP. Once I had my MCSE my career took off.

Corrsta

The unrelated degree shouldn't be a big deal as long as you know how to handle any interview questions that may pertain to it. I studied business and politics in college, and I've only had one interviewer ask me why I studied and unrelated field. My response was, "I can teach myself nearly anything I put my mind to, so I wanted to use college as a chance to broaden my horizons and take advantage of new educational opportunities." This was seen as a good response, and it quelled any fears the interviewer had.

If you find yourself having trouble landing a job, I'd encourage you to start working for yourself to say you have some experience in the field. I started doing basic web design and setting up desktops for local businesses. All of this coupled with your certifications will go a long way towards getting that first job.

lsud00d

Corrsta wrote: »

The unrelated degree shouldn't be a big deal as long as you know how to handle any interview questions that may pertain to it.

+1
This is another important point to come up with answers with before-hand, although it's likely there won't be one question about your degree.

ptilsen

To echo everyone, any degree is better than no degree, and you can succeed with no degree. A four-year is better than most two-years, and a BS in an actual science is better than a lot of degrees you could have. You will find very few barriers in IT as long as you have the skills appropriate for the job. There might be a few jobs out there that disqualify you for lack of computer science or similar, but I would say the vast majority won't.

paperslug

I was in your situation not long ago.

I'm currently a network admin and I also have a science degree. It's definitely a talking point in interviews. I've been asked "why IT?" countless times. Make sure you have a good answer otherwise they may think you lack passion and just in it for the paycheck. Other than that, your experience and technical skill are a million times more important. Once you have a few years under your belt, the major doesn't matter.