Bachelor's Degree Worth It?

Hello all,

I am currently enrolled at my local community college to get an Associate's degree is Networking Technology. I was currently accepted to an accredited university to get a BS in Information and Computer Technology.

Then, I was denied for financial aid and now have to reapply for admission all over again for the fall and risk not getting in. So the question is: Is it worth the trouble to go back through and try to get into the university (app fee, enrollment deposit, a ton of more credits)? Or should I just get an Associate's degree? I plan to get all the certs that I can as well.

My goal is to work as a System Admin or network analyst for a while then get into security.

Any help would be great!

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Comments

NetworkNewb

I would say it is definitely worth it. I know I wouldn't be where I'm at without it. Can definitely get to a sys admin and maybe a little higher without one. But will greatly help you out if you have one.

Mutata

If you don't really have any other experience or certifications etc, a BS will definitely make it easier.

N2IT

I agree I think it's worth it. However, an associate degree isn't bad.

goldenlight

I rather throw $60,000 into a good index fund. A BS degree is worth it. Just don't think the cost is. Starbucks is offering free college with no stipulations. You may want to look into that

Dakinggamer87

As you advance it will be worth it!! I would recommend checking out schools such as WGU which are much cheaper and more affordable than state/university programs.

lamha88

The cheaper route may be to get the Associates degree and transfer as many units as you can into the Bachelors program. You just need to verify that that credits will be transferable.

One of my friends busted his a$$ for two years at a local CC to get his GE's and transferred them all into UC: Irvine (computer science). Better name than my alma mater, and he has accrued significantly less debt that I did for my undergrad.

You could always try to get a job after the A.S. and see if an employer might want to foot the bill for therest of the journey. I was about halfway through my degree when I was hired at my current employer. Their tuition reimbursement program essentially paid for the rest of my degree.

Still, choice is yours. Plenty of options.

the_Grinch

The four degree is definitely worth it. An Associates is good, but my buddy is a prime example of how limiting it can be. He works for a school district and is currently their IT Administrator. Literally he does everything and only recently have they allowed him to bring in a company to help. When he was hired he had his Associates and was only a tech. It's now seven years later and he's had a few scares with layoffs. Each time, when he would begin applying he'd get no interviews base solely on the fact that he lacks the four year degree. He does systems, network, and security administration. He does have a few certs and literally been working part time in IT since high school. Full time he probably has just about a decades worth of experience.

Don't feel you have to rush it or go to an expensive school. Plenty of state schools offer low costs and programs of interest. Apply for financial aid as there is a ton of that available (in the forms of scholarships and grants, not talking about federal student loans which I don't feel should count as aid).

anoeljr

I agree that a Bachelor's is worth it because you'll learn a lot. Many jobs have a bachelor's as a hard requirement now as well. How much does the school cost per year? If it's some astronomical number then you can probably shop around some places before committing yourself. I say that because I have many friends that've paid upwards of 40k per year for a private school (that no one's heard of) and could've gotten the same education for much cheaper at a state school (that people have heard of). Try to transfer as many credits as you can from the community college so you can save money. Hope this helps. Good luck!

hurricane1091

I think the job market just continues to get tougher and a BS will be necessary. If you're young and lack experience, it can help make up for that. Just putting that I was attending school on my resume seemed to make a difference for me. 100% recommend. You'll feel better about yourself and you can never worry about not having one.

dcarey4698

I see what you guys are saying. I think I'm gonna go for it, thanks guys!

markulous

You can always look at your goal jobs and see what the requirements are for it. If a lot say a BS, then it will most likely be worth it. I'd hate to get to a point where I have everything for my dream job, but I'm missing that one checkmark for a BS.

jerseyIT92

I think it really just depends at the end of the day. I know people that have bachelors and can't find a job and people without a degree making 6 figures. That also goes the other way around as well. If you have the money, it's not like it's going to hurt. If you don't get a bachelors, and just get certs, it won't be devastating. From what I understand in the field, after 5+ years of experience the degree barely gets looked at anyways. I'm definitely not saying to not do it. Some people just don't have the funds or time to be able to do it sadly.

GForce75

Always aim up! The frustration I had with my Associates Degree back in 2005 was that some applications for jobs don't even allow you to list one. For federal jobs, they always want the Bach/Masters Degrees. Good luck on your future path.

BradleyHU

a bachelor's is never not worth it...

beads

Your in a field that requires constant learning and two more years of training looks daunting because you didn't get the student aid your looking for? Try a school close to where you can work and learn at the same time. My college schedule looks like joke compared the the work week I usually put in later in my career.

Then again, I did an MBA working out of an Army backpack during field exercises, wars and other deployments in less than two years. Financial aid? Ugh! You can find a way.

- b/eads

aspiringsoul

Continuing your education is always worth it. Knowledge is power...I would strongly recommend for you to look at NON-PROFIT schools for a bachelor degree. DO NOT ENROLL at a FOR-PROFIT school.

We are beginning to see the effects of credential inflation in the job market. A bachelor degree is becoming the new high school diploma. There are a lot of open IT positions that "require" a Bachelor degree. This trend will likely continue as fresh college graduates enter the workforce, and older Americans go back to school to earn a degree...

The research revealed that in some situations, the skill sets required in ads seeking people with a bachelor's degree are identical to those that don't. For instance, nearly half of all IT help desk jobs now request a bachelor's degree, even though the skills employers want are identical for B.A. and sub-B.A. positions.
The study's authors said this suggests that employers may be relying on bachelor's degrees as a broad recruitment filter that may, or may not, match the specific skills needed to do the job.
Sigelman said this data poses a serious problem for two-thirds of the American workforce —those who lack a bachelor's degree.

Source:More Employers Saying, 'No Bachelor's Degree, No Job'

aspiringsoul

I say go straight for the Bachelor degree if it will save you time and money...I would recommend taking as many classes at the community college that you can get transfer credit though, as you will pay more money per credit hour at a University than you would at a community college. Having an Associate degree becomes superfluous when you have a Bachelor degree.

E Double U

The four year degree has been a requirement (not recommendation) for my current and former employer. Go get that bachelor's degree!

aspiringsoul

E Double U wrote: »

The four year degree has been a requirement (not recommendation) for my current and former employer. Go get that bachelor's degree!

My employer also requires a Bachelor degree for all employees (even help desk).

Dakinggamer87

I haven't hit a wall yet with my Associate's but I agree it's worth getting!! Future proof yourself

Nemowolf

As many have noted already, bettering yourself is really a strong highlight on your resume. As some have also noted, many employers are looking for Bachelors degree as a requirement for positions, even entry level positions. If you are looking to get into a job in fields like government, high-tech, gov. contracting, etc then these will require the min. of a Bachelors and many will ask for Masters or even PhDs.

There are so many people going to school for Bachelors degrees these days that employers are raising the bar of their standards and the easiest to raise is educational min. for their HR to screen. A simple check box eliminates 50% of the job candidates because they only have that associates is an easy way to trim the 1k candidates to 500.

Additionally, should you get well into your career and not looking for those entry level positions any more then you will find that having an associates will start to limit what your able to grow into. One of my previous employers had an unwritten policy that only folks with a bachelors degree were eligible for a promotion to a manager level position. While this may seem backwards, unfair, etc that was the policy they ran with because they believed that they would get a better, well rounded individual that had more of a skillset to grow than someone who didnt have the educational background.

Now the flip side to this is that someone here responding will decent because they either have or know someone who has gotten ahead in their career despite a lack of education and/or formal certification. It should be noted that this is more the exception than the rule. You should end up doing what you want but dont say we didnt warn you that an education will only enhance you rather than make you less employable/promotable.

N2IT

A couple of items to note.

Overall it's worth it for most people.

60,000 in debt is not worth it.

Getting your associate degree then switching into a bachelors to save money makes sense. ***You have your associates already, is there a 2+2 program local in your area?

The quality and the degree material (degree name) is critical. Bachelors is CS, heck yes, bachelors in 1800 history, hell no.

Getting a bachelors (should) help you get into a system admin role if it's CS or related to CS, such as CIS or MIS.

If you want to move up into a tactical or strategic role the QUALITY bachelors will help.

Good luck!