Business or IT bachelors degree?

I just finished my associates degree in IT from a local college and wanting to pursue a bachelors. I've worked in IT since I was 16 (23 now) doing mostly contract/consultancy through various companies (one that I've partially owned). I've done some free lance, but I've always been employed by a real company. I'm currently working for a medium-sized health care provider as a one-man IT shop. Although “manager” is part of my title, I do a little (or a lot) of everything.

I was once told that if I got certs and a business degree that it would create a good mix for my resume. That was over 5 years ago. I'm at a crossroad right now deciding which direction I want to take. I suppose it also depends on what I actually want to do, which I'm not totally sure of either. Part of me likes the idea of management (as I've done some) and part of me wants to take a higher level engineer/security track.

So my question is, assuming that I'll continue pursuing certs and since I already have an associates in IT, would it be beneficial to go for a business or IT related bachelors? I realize this a tough question to pin as it has a lot to do with my career goals and the current market, but I'm just looking for some general feedback from experience.

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SrSysAdmin

z3px wrote: »

I just finished my associates degree in IT from a local college and wanting to pursue a bachelors. I've worked in IT since I was 16 (23 now) doing mostly contract/consultancy through various companies (one that I've partially owned). I've done some free lance, but I've always been employed by a real company. I'm currently working for a medium-sized health care provider as a one-man IT shop. Although “manager” is part of my title, I do a little (or a lot) of everything.

I was once told that if I got certs and a business degree that it would create a good mix for my resume. That was over 5 years ago. I'm at a crossroad right now deciding which direction I want to take. I suppose it also depends on what I actually want to do, which I'm not totally sure of either. Part of me likes the idea of management (as I've done some) and part of me wants to take a higher level engineer/security track.

So my question is, assuming that I'll continue pursuing certs and since I already have an associates in IT, would it be beneficial to go for a business or IT related bachelors? I realize this a tough question to pin as it has a lot to do with my career goals and the current market, but I'm just looking for some general feedback from experience.

In my opinion, unless you are going into more technical sciences where a specific degree is required, your college education should supplement your professional experience. By this I mean, a business education with your IT experience would create a well rounded career prospective which would open twice as many doors as getting an IT degree in addition to the IT experience you possess already.

I got my B.S. in Business Management and I have never once been asked why I didn't go after an IT related major when I was in college. In fact, the responses have always been much the opposite. If you have a business degree you are generally viewed as having more of a team-oriented sort of attitude than your average IT guy (yes this is a stereotype, but it plays in your favor). It also means that you will understand the business side of IT so your opinion will be more highly sought after when looking to make financial decisions within the IT department.

If you want to get into technical management (like me) this is practically a pre-requisite.

With that said, no matter what you get your degree in, the most important thing is that you see it out to completion. In a recent survey by Info Sec Leaders, 75% of individuals in the IA world had a bachelor degree or higher level of education. You can get jobs in IT without the degree, but you will reach a glass ceiling much quicker.

The business degree would be your best bet in my opinion, but whatever you choose will open doors for you so long as you finish. Work hard now so you can play hard later.

Best of luck.

earweed

I'm not speaking through experience. You could check out WGU, you could get a business degree in IT Management. Here's a link which shows their degree programs. If you decide to go the IT route then your certs you currently have would knock out a lot of your IT classes. There's a sticky thread at the top of IT Jobs/Degrees which has more info. You also get your certs when you take IT classes ( The cert test IS the test for the class)

Online IT Degree | Online Information Technology Degree | WGU College of Information Technology

ck86

Been asking myself this exact question for the last couple of months and debating very heavily. I've searched for input, looked at tons of job listings and noted what sort of degree they want for those positions. I've got to agree with what JrSysAdmin says just from what I've seen. For IT they really just care that you have the knowledge base and experience more than a specific degree it seems. Just having a bachelors will boost your job potential.

The way I see it, something like a business administration degree sets a nice concrete foundation for you with education and jobs. If you work to get that bachelors, you can continue your IT experience in the meantime (your bread and butter for IT jobs) and end up spending 4 years getting a solid degree for both IT and non-IT, and continue your experience. As JrSysAdmin also said, it shows that you're a little more well rounded in your knowledge than just being a tech guy (not that that is necessarily a bad thing) and opens up more opportunities.

Not sure if you are in a situation to attend a traditional school and get a somewhat prestigious business degree, but that's the route I'm taking. I figure get that, make connections in school, work IT on the side and get my certs, then long-term if I really have any need for an IT degree there are lots of nice programs online that you can juggle while working. Will also give me time to see if I really "love" networking without having to get my education specifically in that field, leaving me high and dry if I come to not enjoy it.

Not sure if any of that will be helpful to you, just my thought process on the same question.

z3px

Thanks for the replies, that helps a lot. Because IT and business alignment are so crucial for successful IT departments having staff with business oriented proficiencies would be of great benefit, which is why I'm learning more towards the business degree.

Another reason why I'm leaning that way is due to experiences I've had getting my associates degree in IT and my wife who got her bachelors in IT from a university. Neither institution really prepared students for "real world IT", at least any that merited sitting in a class room for hours and hours each week. For instance, at my college, we had classes that were meant to prepare students to take the A+ and Net+ exams. Neither came anywhere close to actually teaching all the material covered on the exams. Granted, this was just my experience, but assuming that many students come out of the classes and are not prepared to take the exams, I would much rather hire someone with the actual exams over having the degree (from a strictly technical aspect).

Do you know if WGU allows classes to be exempted by certs?

petedude

A business degree may make you look more well-rounded than an IT degree would, and would also tell hiring companies that you understand what goes on in the business outside the server room. Such a degree may be even more useful should you plan to enter roles such as management, project management, team leadership, programming or ERP consulting.

You might find you'd really enjoy a blend of both-- a degree in business with an emphasis in IT, for example.

. . . and separately, yes, WGU exempts certain classes for certs if they're part of your program.

veritas_libertas

petedude wrote: »

. . . and separately, yes, WGU exempts certain classes for certs if they're part of your program.

Half of my A+ classes were removed because of a college class.

Turgon

z3px wrote: »

I just finished my associates degree in IT from a local college and wanting to pursue a bachelors. I've worked in IT since I was 16 (23 now) doing mostly contract/consultancy through various companies (one that I've partially owned). I've done some free lance, but I've always been employed by a real company. I'm currently working for a medium-sized health care provider as a one-man IT shop. Although “manager” is part of my title, I do a little (or a lot) of everything.

I was once told that if I got certs and a business degree that it would create a good mix for my resume. That was over 5 years ago. I'm at a crossroad right now deciding which direction I want to take. I suppose it also depends on what I actually want to do, which I'm not totally sure of either. Part of me likes the idea of management (as I've done some) and part of me wants to take a higher level engineer/security track.

So my question is, assuming that I'll continue pursuing certs and since I already have an associates in IT, would it be beneficial to go for a business or IT related bachelors? I realize this a tough question to pin as it has a lot to do with my career goals and the current market, but I'm just looking for some general feedback from experience.

You are still quite young so I think your options are still open. I say stay technical for a bit longer in terms of job experience and certification but look at education options on the management side for your thirties. The technical niche areas are increasingly more competive and the rates falling so getting some managerial capability on the people or project side would give you an edge.

Turgon

JrSysAdmin wrote: »

In my opinion, unless you are going into more technical sciences where a specific degree is required, your college education should supplement your professional experience. By this I mean, a business education with your IT experience would create a well rounded career prospective which would open twice as many doors as getting an IT degree in addition to the IT experience you possess already.

I got my B.S. in Business Management and I have never once been asked why I didn't go after an IT related major when I was in college. In fact, the responses have always been much the opposite. If you have a business degree you are generally viewed as having more of a team-oriented sort of attitude than your average IT guy (yes this is a stereotype, but it plays in your favor). It also means that you will understand the business side of IT so your opinion will be more highly sought after when looking to make financial decisions within the IT department.

If you want to get into technical management (like me) this is practically a pre-requisite.

With that said, no matter what you get your degree in, the most important thing is that you see it out to completion. In a recent survey by Info Sec Leaders, 75% of individuals in the IA world had a bachelor degree or higher level of education. You can get jobs in IT without the degree, but you will reach a glass ceiling much quicker.

The business degree would be your best bet in my opinion, but whatever you choose will open doors for you so long as you finish. Work hard now so you can play hard later.

Best of luck.

I agree on the degree type sentiment and the glass ceiling. I have a degree in History and a Masters in IT from way back. Just get them done. I got my first gig years ago and they were impressed by my Masters but so many people have them now. I can only see employers being more **** about degrees in the years ahead as more of the workforce have them.