Greetings to all IT folks, hello. I am a newby in the IT profession. I am 36 years old
and the certifications I have are as follows A+,NETWORK+,MSCE 4.0 AND CCNA. I really like networking and currently trying to enroll so i can get the ccnp and ccda.My question is that i do not have enough experience but my job has a tuition assistance program. Should i go for a BS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE OR TRY TO PERSUE MORE CERTS.Every job that i see for a network engineer requires a CS or an EE DEGREE.I JUST LOVE NETWORKING.WHAT SHOULD I DO. rkrs

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Can't you do both? Thats what I am doing. But then again I have no wife or kids so ehnnn..

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You don't sound that new to IT with a NT4 MCSE.
At your age I would go for Experience and in the meantime get more certs.
Don't pay too much to get the CCDA/CCNP.
Get the experience and study in your spare time.
If the CCNP course costs a few grand save the money and get some routers on Ebay.

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A BS in Computer Science has nothing to do with networking.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Supertech
A BS in Computer Science has nothing to do with networking.

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This is very true.
I would go so far as to say its useless in relation to networking.

I have seen several CS people get into a work environment and just freeze.
They will offer to code something ussually .
Problem is hiring managers think BS in Computer Science = well rounded knowledge in all areas that relate to computing.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Supertech
A BS in Computer Science has nothing to do with networking.

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quote:

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Originally posted by ccieToBe
I wouldn't say nothing, I'd say very little. Most of the CS students I know can subnet faster then most of the MCSEs I know and if you do much work with servers, having some programming knowledge is important.

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I agree, having some programming knowlege can be very helpful. Although Chodan also has a point too. Most of the CS interns from the University I've worked with have been far behind the Tech School Interns. Of course the curriculums are much different. The Tech school offers Networking & Engineering courses, where the University's CS courses are all Math & Programming. Hence their subnetting ability.

Although in the class I took, none of the CS students could subnet to save their lives.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Teck Shark
Although in the class I took, none of the CS students could subnet to save their lives.

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That's suprising. All of the CS students or graduates that I know (beyond freshmen and sophomores of course) have at least a basic knowledge of TCP/IP, and most have a very good understanding of it. I guess somebody was hanging out with the wrong crowd

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quote:

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Originally posted by ccieToBe
That's suprising. All of the CS students or graduates that I know (beyond freshmen and sophomores of course) have at least a basic knowledge of TCP/IP, and most have a very good understanding of it. I guess somebody was hanging out with the wrong crowd

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Tell me about it. I think some of the instructors here really haven't grasped the concept of teaching it to students. I first learned subnetting from a network admin course (from an instructor fresh from MCSE bootcamp). She taught it better than every CS course I've taken since then. So it really can depend on the teacher too.

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Tech Shark
MCSE 2000
MCSA 2000 Charter Member
A+, Net+

Words to Live by:
"No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try!"

Einstein's theory of relativity:
"Put your hands on a hot pan, a second can seem like an hour. Grab hold of a hot woman, an hour can seem like a second... it's all relative!"

Sound Advice:
"You shouldn't take life too seriously. You'll never get out alive!"

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I would agree that the CS degree has little specifically to do with networking, but if you have the time and energy, go for the degree, and try to work on certifications on the side. A degree is going to "round out" your skills, in the best of situations, and it will provide you with a lot more opportunity that just a few certs. In the meantime try to find a computer job (even a helpdesk position) that will get you into the IT biz.

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