I.T Degree or Industry certs

[Lorddalron]

Hi guys. Looking for some opinions to my dilema which i have a feeling could leave me none the wiser.

As it stands, im looking to get my I.T career up and running, preferably in the Networking/Server admin side of things.

I have 2nd level qualifications already in a GNVQ and BTECH National Diploma in computer studies and have just recentley passed my first Cisco Networking course (Certification exam in the next month or so).

My dilemma and original plan is go down the route of obtaining Windows 7 config (mcts) followed by Server 08 Admin (mcsa) to help get my foot in the door at level one and work my way up.
However, after making a few enquiries into doing my degree (which i havnt enquired into before due to lack of maths and english) it seems on merit i will be allowed to enter on the basis i obtain maths and english beofre going on to get a Bsc.

As it stands, i dont currently work in I.T however i have an up and coming oppertunity with a local enough company who specialise in Datacenter and virtualisation with a level 1 service desk engineer position as well as an apprentice role. Both of which offer in house training. The company itself is also partners with the likes of Cisco, Citrix, MS etc etc.

Question is, do I have patience and do my degree or do i do the next best thing and get up to scratch with industry certs.

I know its not all about having a degree or a couple of letter after my name in CCNA, MCSA etc etc but its a decision i need to make.

All opinions much appreciated, espeically from any I.T managers, CEO's etc.

Thanks

 

[The Geezer]

I would suggest you grab the opportunity and see how you get on with the interview. I only look for a degree to down select but experience does carry more weight if I was shortlisting.

If you get the role and you are happy with what they are offering, you can always look at career progression within the organisation espcially if they have a recognised apprentinship scheme.

In your position I would think gaining experience would put you ahead of many graduates of the future.

 

[Lorddalron]

A good answer and if im being honest, pretty much what i was already thinking.

What i like about the idea of a degree is the fact of going over all of the computer stuff again, i.e Web design, Programming, hardware etc etc but its at a cost. Forgot to mention that it will be done part-time (3years, with year 3 being work placement), prob two days/evenings a week which could also throw a spanner in the works due to work commitments.
Another thing im thinking of is year one is Year 1- Systems Analysis, Computing Mathematics, Professional Issues & Entrepreneurship, Software Constructs and Tools, Database, Computer Platforms, Introduction to Programming. In which time i could have at least my MCTS in Windows 7 config and MCSA in Server Admin (excluding the current job prospect i mentioned).
Year 2 is more my cup of tea. Computer Networks, Web Application Development, Network Database Applications, Server Management and Work Based Learning. The work-based learning is a compulsory part of the course where students will join the computing teams in local companies for a full semester.

Im yet to arrange an interview with the college but i have a feeling the part-time schedule might not even suit?

 

[Supercow]

For what it's worth, I personally believe that a lot of industry certs aren't worth the paper they are printed on, while a university degree means so much more.

Many people use braindumps just to add all the acronyms on their CV (MCTS et al), some of these braindumps provide you with "similar" questions... some of them provide you with the questions verbatim. I know because I did exactly that a couple of weeks ago - it's not a boast, it was done out of necessity and is extremely unique to my circumstances.

 

[Lorddalron]

Dont get me wrong. If i sick to my original plan of going down the industry cert route. I'll be learning everything possibly going as i know i have to. Different for a person already in the field a few years and as you put it, just wants to have the letters. I on the other hand am looking to specialise ion this field of networking or server admin and feel my chosen route of CCENT, MCTS Win7, MCSA Server 08 isnt a bad start. Followed then by somthing like Vmware or citrix. All of which could be helped along the by this job prospect.

 

[Supercow]

The Microsoft certs are intended to test your current knowledge, as you "should" have been working in a specific field for x amount of years before being validated by MS.

This is something I didn't know before hand and was under the impression it's a study course you can attend to train you for said role. Not to say that you can't, but from MS perspective you should be well versed in your field before taking a course and using their self-paced exam guides.

 

[edscdk]

for windows / user / system support a degree is almost pointless your CV will be top of the pile.... to go in the bin....

for those roles industry > degree every time...

 

[UK-AL05]

Not sure why people even want to go into support roles. If someone kept asking me to retrieve their lost password, or create new account in exchange, i'd kill myself.

 

[Lorddalron]

Not sure why people even want to go into support roles. If someone kept asking me to retrieve their lost password, or create new account in exchange, i'd kill myself.

Support role will only be for a short time, hopefully no more than 1-2 years before i can progress onwards and upwards. I have to start somewhere and thats being realistic!!!

@Supercow. I get what your saying but i think they say the same in regards to Comptia A+ in that you should be in the field at least 3 years with a good working knowledge however a lot of entry level people start with this.

Dont get me wrong. Im not saying im going to fly through my MS stuff but becasue its in the area i like and wish to progress in. I'll make it work for me. Rather than going into somthing like Software engineering which i have no interest in.

 

[SuperBOB]

Degree

 

[m4cc45]

For what it's worth, I personally believe that a lot of industry certs aren't worth the paper they are printed on, while a university degree means so much more.

Many people use braindumps just to add all the acronyms on their CV (MCTS et al), some of these braindumps provide you with "similar" questions... some of them provide you with the questions verbatim. I know because I did exactly that a couple of weeks ago - it's not a boast, it was done out of necessity and is extremely unique to my circumstances.

Sadly I disagree with this. A University degree, in my opinion, would mean very little. The reason why is that a Uni degree is normally so out of date. They have to make the curriculum years in advance and it's not going to be relevant to what you are working with.

All of the exams I have been doing recently (Cisco / Microsoft) have included simulators - so it makes it a hell of a lot harder to brain dump - though I've not used them so I don't know whats included in them.

Relevant IT experience with relevant IT certs would be much better than relevant IT experience and degree. In the past, when I've been job hunting, I've never seen a degree requirement. I have seen MCSE / VCP / CCNA / etc. in most of the adverts though.



M.

 

[Lorddalron]

In the past, when I've been job hunting, I've never seen a degree requirement. I have seen MCSE / VCP / CCNA / etc. in most of the adverts though.

True.

I think if i were going down the lines of teaching then it would probably be a must but maybe not so for what im looking to specialise in.

 

[a1ex2001]

For me it depends entirely on where you want you career to go, if you want to remain technical then take the techy certificates and go for it in that market current skills and experience are what sells while a degree is a nice to have.

If however you want at some point to move on from being purely technical into a management/leardership role then a degree will be very useful and you will regret the hours spent getting technical qualifications you no longer have need of.

 

[Syther101]

Glad I stumbled upon this thread. Just literally today finished my College IT course (BTEC Extended Diploma In IT) now at the decision point of what to do. So far I have applied and got the grades to go do Computer Science at Uni but like said before it includes things like Maths which I'm really not interested in when I'm wanting to get a job as perhaps a Sysadmin or Web developer and going to Uni feels like the route that has been forced upon me.

Because my family earn't under x amount of money this year I will get all the support money for Uni so I'm thinking of taking the first year and if it's not for me quitting out and finding a job and doing some certs at the same time. Still not 100% on what path to take. Hopefully it all pans out thou :/

 

[Joshct]

I work in IT and have a number of qualifications such as MCTS, and yeah they're helpful, and what got me my first IT job, but at EVERY interview they were more interested in my experience than qualifications.



The qualifications imo didn't teach me nearly as much as simply working with genuine IT issues for a month. So personally Experience > Qualifications, but obviously Ideally both


EDIT: Neither my boss (IT manager) or network administrator have as many qualifications as me (If any) in IT, they'd be offered another job in IT elsewhere no problem, of that i'm sure.

 

[Lorddalron]

For me it depends entirely on where you want you career to go, if you want to remain technical then take the techy certificates and go for it in that market current skills and experience are what sells while a degree is a nice to have.

If however you want at some point to move on from being purely technical into a management/leardership role then a degree will be very useful and you will regret the hours spent getting technical qualifications you no longer have need of.

See thats a good point. Im always thinking ahead and while trying not to completely loose myself in my ambition. Managment/Consultancey would be an aera id consider in years to come but i always assumed x amounts of years of experience would also be an advantage there.

Im going to see how i get on with this job prospect and take it from there. If they offer competitive money or as close to as what im on now then it could be a no brainer.

In regards to doing the extra year and getting (year4) for the hons degree. Whats normally covered in that final year and is there a big difference to what that can offer?

@Syther: What ever you do, dont stop now. I left it too many years and I should be at least a professor now In not that old (28) and have a good idea on where i want to be so thats a start. All i know is i want more than what im doing now and its all 100% acheivable with a little/a lot of hard work!!

 

[Ev0]

I had bugger all IT certs until I'd been working in the industry for around 6 years.

Still don't have many really and only 2 are technical/product specific type ones.

All I had was my degree, which got me my first job. Without the degree I wouldn't have got that role (was the company policy at the time, degree was essential).

Sounding like a cop out answer but I'd say if you can do both go for it, they compliment each other and may well help in different ways down the line.

As said above the degree might be more attractive when you want to move on and up from the purely techy roles (if you ever do).

My degree was useful in getting me my first role but don't think it's made much if any difference since.

 

[UK-AL05]

Sadly I disagree with this. A University degree, in my opinion, would mean very little. The reason why is that a Uni degree is normally so out of date. They have to make the curriculum years in advance and it's not going to be relevant to what you are working with.

All of the exams I have been doing recently (Cisco / Microsoft) have included simulators - so it makes it a hell of a lot harder to brain dump - though I've not used them so I don't know whats included in them.

Relevant IT experience with relevant IT certs would be much better than relevant IT experience and degree. In the past, when I've been job hunting, I've never seen a degree requirement. I have seen MCSE / VCP / CCNA / etc. in most of the adverts though.



M.

University degrees don't really go out of date like certs. My programming skills, algorithms, machine learning etc will always be useful, they don't suddenly become obsolete like certs do. If your degree has been teaching you how to configure windows servers, you were on a bad degree.


That's the whole POINT of university education vs job specific skills.

 

[Vtec9k]

Well... It's a difficult one and you're not going to want to go solely on the advice from random forum posts. A degree is without a doubt a useful thing to have, a good degree should help you "think better" even if you may never use half the skills since most CS degrees are based around coding. The nightlife is well worth it too

That said, I quit my degree after 1st year then got a 1st line support job and never looked back.

I've been hiring for both a senior/team lead helpdesk role and a mid-level systems engineer role and I've hardly even looked at qualifications, and when I did what stood out most was self studied industry certs. Without a doubt it's experience and attitude that get the job in the end.

 

[Xelene]

Get the job, do a OU degree in your spare time. Experience > Education. Particularly for IT. If you aiming to code, I'd probably place more weight on a degree in Comp Sci or Mathematics.

Most "IT" degrees are worthless, see if you can get through the Redhat exams; they are pretty good. ITIL worh having too.

Edit: NB, I'm at a fairly Senior technical/managerial level and have zero Industry certs, and a 3rd class BA to my name. Experience trumps all past the first job - and you have an opportunity to get that first job. The degree will lift the glass ceiling you hit later in your career.