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Home > Archive > Certifications and IT jobs/Salaries > July 2001 > College or Tech School ?
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College or Tech School ?
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| headlnr 2001-07-08, 1:01 am |
| This may have been coverd, but still want to hear your opinions. I know overall college is the best option but, Is there opportunities going thru Schools like ITT or other tech schools? In your opinion what is the best option, college or Tech Schools? | |
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| College. Always. Degrees may not seem worth it now, but in ten years' time, if you find yourself without one, you will see what an advantage they are. Without at least a B.S. I would not even have been considerd for my current position. Never mind that a B.S. in Math/Physics is no more necessary to be a database programmer than a M.D. is to give first aid, but that's how it works. Always better to have it and not need it than to be caught in the reverse situation. Also, college gives you good opportunity to get some references, and get experience through cooperative education programs. You may, however, try to get into an institution like DeVry, which combines the two approaches. There you get a technical education as lots of hands-on, but you earn a degree at the same time. ITT Tech also has degree programs. This would seem the most interesting option for a person like yourself. Hope this helps. | |
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| I agreed with Randy.
College will increase your life experience.
A tradition way to get yourself into a trouble and learn a good lesson.
It is a way to proof your skill, knowledge, education, and overall IQ and EQ. Don't wrong to get u off the track, but college also have fun, beer, party and many hot girls. I hope these get u the motivation. | |
| TW2001 2001-07-10, 10:44 am |
| College....experience while in college...toward the end certifications=career. | |
| headlnr 2001-07-10, 11:01 am |
| Over the past few days I have put much thought into this and have come up with the same conclusion. Im going to stick with college. Hell im already enrolled and attending classes might as well continue on with it.
Thanks for the input. | |
| Randy 2001-07-10, 11:21 am |
| Good luck! | |
| dheinsdorf 2001-07-24, 12:11 am |
| This goes a way back for me but in 1985-87 I was in the first class at DeVry Phoenix to be offered a Associates of Applied Science in Electronics Tech. 20 months, and a core degree to many entry level but upwardly mobile jobs today.
It was fast, very hard and extremely focused.
A month prior to graduation I landed a good job at Honeywell, and lots of fat companies were sucking up all the AASET candidates.
Community colleges and military offered similar training, and I worked along side these people. Not a boast but thier preparation didnt even compare to DeVry's.
It was good, but that was a different age.
quote:
Originally posted by headlnr
This may have been coverd, but still want to hear your opinions. I know overall college is the best option but, Is there opportunities going thru Schools like ITT or other tech schools? In your opinion what is the best option, college or Tech Schools?
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| Good luck and enjoy !  | |
| GritsGirl 2001-07-26, 11:29 am |
| I have 24 years of experience as a word processor. Granted, it didn't always have the same title, but I've always had basically the same duties. I moved 4 hours away from home, so bypassed college so I could support myself. I make $55K per year and have friends with degrees who do not make as much as I do. Also, I've had supervisors who had degrees and attended the same "tech" courses that I did, but they could not do the job. (Anyone else have a similar boss?)
Everyone has to decide what's best for them. For me, it's more important to have skill, experience and IT training than it is to have a "degree." The bottom line is: a degree is all fine and good, but what can you ACTUALLY DO? | |
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| I agree with GritsGirl, who wrote:
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For me, it's more important to have skill, experience and IT training than it is to have a "degree." The bottom line is: a degree is all fine and good, but what can you ACTUALLY DO?
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I am somone with two masters degrees, and a BA. The degrees has meant absolutely nothing in IT so far in my case .
I had worked for about 2 years at a Dot-Com and the degrees meant nothing. They looked for skill set, in my case, I was not promoted in part because of weak hardware knowledge. Some people as young as 18 or 19 were promoted up high due to their very advanced tech skill to the system administrator level making perhaps 50K, while those with MBAs or any traditional degree would remain in the trenches due to not playing politics and/or lacking skill set for troubleshooting. Luckily some with skill set were promoted and networking certifications mattered in some cases. (I had worked in a call center)
It really depends on your case, if you think a college degree is worth it for career enhancement, it may or may not be. I am proud I accomplished getting 3 degrees, and the only indirect thing about it that helped was having early exposure to the Internet in the early to mid 90s.
Unfortunately, the corporate climate has encouraged me further to work for myself in some capacity relating to the Internet, I still have some focusing to do before that is accomplished. | |
| GritsGirl 2001-07-27, 7:37 am |
| I pondered this discussion last night, and now think I should amend my staunch "tech school" decision above. Here's why:
1. After reading Sotet's post, I have to say there is definitely something to be said for personal achievement. (Congrats on your degrees, Sotet!) While degrees may or may not impact your salary directly, the personal gratification of having accomplished them may well outweigh any monetary value. The best investment you can make is in yourself.
2. Randy's post above really hit home.
quote:
Originally posted by Randy
Degrees may not seem worth it now, but in ten years' time, if you find yourself without one, you will see what an advantage they are. . . . Always better to have it and not need it than to be caught in the reverse situation.
While I could not afford college when I started working at 18, I didn't understand the repurcussions that that would have later on. I didn't see the big picture and, coming from a blue-collar family, no one clued me in on the long-term gain of going to college. Now--after working for someone else all these years--a friend and I are trying to go into business for ourselves. Perhaps if I had taken some marketing or business administration classes it would be an easier task! | |
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| I also came from a Blu Collar family, but having been dirt poor most of my life, I figured that college was the only way out so I managed to afford it somehow. Several years ago, if you had asked me if it was worth it I may have given a different answer (especially with those loan payments due each month!) but now I would give a different story . . . I would definitely be making a lot less without my degree. However, tech schools and college are not necessarily mutually exclusive . . . its just those quickie fly-by-night schools that promise you'll make a million after a six-month course that you have to watch out for. There are some reputable schools that combine the traditional four year degree with a tech school curriculum . . . these may be a good idea for those who already know that they want to major in Networking or something similar. | |
| GritsGirl 2001-07-27, 1:56 pm |
| I came across an informative article on the web:
http://www.aahe.org/change/paralleluniverse.htm
Granted, it's not easy reading per se. At least scroll down to the section heading "Should We Care?" and peruse through it. It discusses this very topic! | |
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