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Old 01-24-2010, 09:11 PM
 
1,807 posts, read 3,182,066 times
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I work in the IT field. I went along the lines of help desk/desktop support/system admin so far in my career. I have a bachelor's and a few certs (A+, Network+, MCSA and CCNA). As I look at my goals for 2010 I am debating between starting on my masters and continuing on with other certifications. Ideally, both would be good, but short term which do you think would be better?

I definitely want to stay on the technical side of things in my career, I have very little interest in getting into management. The masters program I am looking at would take about 18-21 months if I go non-stop. If I do that, I'd likely have to put any additional certifications on hold until I am done. I was planning on starting in the spring, but as it gets closer, I am really not feeling the motivation to do this.

My other alternative is to go slower on the masters program. My current employer does provide some money for education. I can use that yearly allowance to take a few classes a year and work on some certs in between. This would drag the masters program out to 3-4 years.

Lastly, I could focus on the certifications for now and revisit the masters idea when I finish with the certs.

Thoughts?
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Old 01-25-2010, 10:20 AM
 
1,946 posts, read 5,375,163 times
Reputation: 861
Well if you want to stay on the technical side vice management then certs is probably the best option for now. But doing certs now and master's later is a good option too.
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Old 01-25-2010, 11:14 AM
 
Location: Outer Space
1,523 posts, read 3,894,926 times
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I would consider doing it if the employer would be reimbursing some/most of the tuition, even if it takes longer to complete. If the degree still requires taking out a lot of student loans to make up the difference between tuition and employer contribution, I'd lean towards not doing it right now.
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Old 01-27-2010, 02:08 PM
 
Location: The DMV
6,569 posts, read 11,235,700 times
Reputation: 8619
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brill View Post
I work in the IT field. I went along the lines of help desk/desktop support/system admin so far in my career. I have a bachelor's and a few certs (A+, Network+, MCSA and CCNA). As I look at my goals for 2010 I am debating between starting on my masters and continuing on with other certifications. Ideally, both would be good, but short term which do you think would be better?

I definitely want to stay on the technical side of things in my career, I have very little interest in getting into management. The masters program I am looking at would take about 18-21 months if I go non-stop. If I do that, I'd likely have to put any additional certifications on hold until I am done. I was planning on starting in the spring, but as it gets closer, I am really not feeling the motivation to do this.

My other alternative is to go slower on the masters program. My current employer does provide some money for education. I can use that yearly allowance to take a few classes a year and work on some certs in between. This would drag the masters program out to 3-4 years.

Lastly, I could focus on the certifications for now and revisit the masters idea when I finish with the certs.

Thoughts?
I think it depends on what certs your going for and what line of work you are in. If you work as a consultant, vendor, or contracting company - getting certs are very much necessary as the bids being put out may require those doing the work to be certified. If you work in an internal IT department - its not as important. Now the question is where do you see yourself in the near future.

To me, certs vary in this day and age. some are worth getting and others will get you very little for your efforts (there are exceptions - especially those working as sales engineers or for contractors). But I do think having too many certs can hurt. In my opinion - if you have a CCNA, listing a A+ or network + is redundant. Just as if you get your CCNP, you would no longer list CCNA.

What a master brings to the table are more management skills... assuming you actually try and learn the concepts being presented (as opposed to just going for the degree in hopes of a better job/position). While you may not want to manage - it still can be beneficial to have that background to talk to the business unit leaders.

In essence, I think if you need those certs in order to be more utilized on contracts and assignments - you probably need to maintain your certs.

But if you're looking to advance in your career - even if you want to stay technical - having that management experience/knowledge will still help. The most sought after people these days in IT are those that can communicate with the business side. After all, they are the customers / clients.
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Old 01-29-2010, 02:24 AM
 
5 posts, read 60,454 times
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Master's plus your work experience would equip you for higher positions in an organization. I would recommend going for a Master's degree that would also prepare you for allied certifications. Do some research and look for a suitable fit for yourself.
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Old 02-02-2010, 07:59 PM
 
Location: roaming gnome
12,384 posts, read 28,445,953 times
Reputation: 5878
You seem to be all over the ballpark... I would hone in one one specific skill, I think going forward if you don't want to be a manager, that you need to get out of the generalist role...

Personally I like developing and more creative stuff, I've started my own business on the side getting some freelance gigs and I am in a developer role at a web solutions company and much happier to not be pigeonholed into general IT stuff anymore (though I am still called upon to handle network, database, systems and hd problems from time to time)

I don't really like "IT" though I started off doing that, it is rather boring at least the corp world. Maybe that is what you need?

I personally wouldn't pay for a cert unless your employer pays it... certs change all the time and you have to keep paying to keep them updated, but having an MS is going to be with you for another 30 years. Most of the really valuable certs you'll need an employer sponsor for anyway like CISSP, PMP, ITIL.

All your certs are what we generally call "paper tigers" ... your bs and experience is good though. The certs you have though are useless for you really...
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