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Good evening. I'd like some advice about the best educational/training path for a entry level career in Networking? I'm asking for My husband.. He is pretty knowledgeable in this field , but requires training and certifications to be employable in this field...
He considering a tech school, but would like advice from other IT professionals on the best path? Certs vs degree/college
Without starting a big rant or argument type thread....
All the schools in any field will paint a great picture of a career that has plenty of available unfilled jobs making good money.....because if they didn't who would be paying to go there?
Its up to you to see what the status is of an industry to see whats going on in it for real.
Plenty of IT jobs have been outsourced to overseas. Research this and why it happens and talk to seasoned (10yrs) IT people.
Ahhh, read the question. The OP asked about education not job location or state of the industry. And to answer the question, in the long run, a college degree in the computer industry would be the preferred path, IMHO.
A 4 year degree is his best bet and NC State has some really good programs. Some of these "tech schools" are no more than a place where you cram for tests and get no practical experience. Certs are good but only if he has the knowledge and experience to back them up.
I work at some networking company. *cough* They want a B.S. in ANYTHING (largely doesn't matter what) plus certs. However you can start low on the totem pole and go up from there. I recommend two years at Wake Tech and apply to NCSU and take about 2-3 years earning a B.S.
I know three people in the computer networking field. All three have four year degrees. All three are problem solvers, love to figure out how things work. Have since they were little.
All of them work in this country. Two are regularly recruited by Google, Apple, Amazon, as well as and smaller internet firms.
I have known several people with two year computer degrees and an assortment of certificates struggle to find a job. One is back in college now, getting that four year degree.
Rightly or wrongly, the two year degree does not seem to be viewed with the same amount of respect as the four year one. From what I can tell, certificates are in addition to not instead of the degree.
One of the nice things about a four year degree program, is that there are often opportunities for internships and job shadowing that open doors for entry level jobs.
Whatever he does, I hope he does't go to one of those private, for-profit business colleges that promises all their graduates find great jobs. Often this is not accurate information. You end up with huge loans and raised eyebrows every time an interviewer gets to the part where your degree is from Whoever-Heard-Of-This-Place College.
He may want to go to the Career Center at NCSU and ask for help in making his decision. I believe it's free for prospective students.
Ideally, a 4 year degree would be a good start. However, depending on what he wants to focus on (networks, Sys Admin, Sorftware Development, etc...) it may or may not give him a whole lot of practical experience.
My base questions would be:
1. What does he want to specialize in? IT is too broad of a term for me to give any worthwhile advice.
2. What working experience does he have?
3. What non-working experience does he have?
When I started in IT in 1979, employers liked a 4 year degree just to be sure you could learn easily. The rest was on-the-job with some outside courses like my post-grad certification at NYU paid for by Exxon-Mobil.
A 4 year degree is always a great start but 2 year degrees can get you in the door. My son got in with a 2 year degree and OTG experience and is now an IT manager.
Beware of proprietary schools that will bury you in the most ugly of private student loans. Having student loans is like being indentured servants. They follow you to your grave.
Try Wake Tech college transfer. Let him see if they can get him into a co-op or internship to gain experience. He may wind up with a job before he finishes school if he's as knowledgeable as you say.
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Btw? My husband got into IT in high school and parlayed that into a very lucrative career. Started in networking, moved into development, then architecture. He's just now finishing up a college degree just so he can get his exec MBA after that.
He is NOT the norm. At all.
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