Jobs In IT For An Associates Degree or No? (java, website, Opera)

[mkat321]

*sparked by a comment on my IT vs HVAC thread*

Someone commented on the other thread that certs alone can get one a job? I'm curious how accurate that is, but my main question is what I asked above. Is it realistic to get an associates degree in IT {Computer Information Systems was the program hubby was looking at} and the certifications the program boasts graduates will be ready for *listed on the website as Database, Java Programming, Visual Programming, and Web management.* and find employment making a reasonable pay rate? {ie over $15/hr 35 hrs a week}?

[Ennce]

Yes certs alone can get you hired at en entry level IT job. I wouldn't get a degree for this type of career choice, it all comes to experience.

[macroy]

As always - it all comes down to how you stack up with those that are competing against you for the job. So a cert can certainly help.... assuming all other factors are similar...

However, do a search on these boards and you'll see that with the economic climate, there are a lot of experienced people who are without a job. Thus, you may be going up against them.. in that scenario - that cert would be of little use to you (from a hiring standpoint).

In essence, experience is king in IT. Especially in non-management and/or technical/operational areas.

education will always benefit. But those ads that say certs=jobs is simply marketing BS.

[skel1977]

To be honest you dont even really need Certs to get a job in IT. Remember the old saying "its not what you know but who you know". Well I have a friend who has experience in IT and is now working at ESPN doing IT stuff. He has no certs or college degree yet he makes more than me and gets to meet famous sports celebs. That bastard. Anyways he has experience in IT before working at ESPN so they gave him the job

[swagger]

Experience, experience, experience. If you have none, a cert or degree might get your foot in the door, but in this job market, I wouldn't count on it - there's too many unemployed geeks that have real world experience.

[limapie]

I'd be very careful to research the tuition costs

At these special IT schools, the tuition is so high that you max out the usual student loan
routes PELL Grants and Parent/Student Loans through the Dept of Ed AND THEN also
need to get socked into national bank's student loans....like the horrible sucking machine
that exists over at Chase Bank. Interest on that is 20% variable and when you consolidate,
you can't put the Chase Bank loans in with the Dept of Ed loans.
It is a trap. You are stuck with Chase bleeding you for the rest of your life, unless
you have a big inheritance coming. Chase has it rigged where you will never pay
that balance off. The first two or three years are purely interest at about $300
payments per month.

So, go to a university or other college that is connected with your state's government.
Leave those private school for the Saudi kids on visas. They're the only ones that
can afford it.

[djmilf]

I have a brother-in-law currently going to a local community college with the goal of earning an associate's degree in Information Technology. He's about half way through the courses.

He started on this course because he discovered several years back that the federal Homeland Security department needs to hire low level IT employees for network security and such; due to security constraints Homeland Security cannot hire foreigners on H-1B visas.

I don't know how true that is, just going off of what my brother-in-law told me. However, it might be something to investigate.

[Family_Guy27]

I'd go for the certs over the associate's degree. If it were a bachelor's degree, I'd say go in that direction because in some cases a bachelor's degree will substitute for a couple years of experience, and should command a higher salary. Plus by the time you finish the degree the economy hopefully will be much better. I'm not sure on if that's viable for you financially, but perhaps consider it. To be perfectly honest with you, it doesn't sound like he has a clear view on what he wants to do. I'd suggest taking a few courses in both IT and HVAC to get a feel for which he'd actually enjoy doing.

[mkat321]

He wants to do IT for the long term. He also wants to pay a good portion of the household bills and buy a house. If all things were equal he'd do private security part time, database management/internet security stuff part time, and polish off the rest of his time doing landscape work. But alas the career leads at the college have told him he'd be better off going into a hands on construction type job or a law enforcement type job field because the IT market is over-saturated and jobs with zero experience are few and far between.