I am looking at going to school for Information Specialist and am looking more of a two year degree (A.S. Degree) versus a 4 year degree or higher. Any one in the computer field who can shed some light? A lot of job postings want those with at least a Bachelor's degree. I have been out of school since '96 (A.S. in Science) therefore don't want to take a bunch of hard math classes since I forgot a lot since then. What are my options? Is it hard to find work with a 2 year degree in computers? Thanks in advanced.
Computer Careers
- Thread starter MisterT
- Start date
I'm sure you could find work in India.
The most important thing in the IT field right now is experience. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter what degree you have. At least thats the way it is here in Mass. Companies are downsizing, outsourcing, etc. and the people that are left are doing the jobs that 10 people would have done 5 years ago. This is the only reason that companies are producing profits. Their employees are scared shitless that they will be layed off and replaced by cheap labor in Israel and India.
I've got a B.S. in C.S. (2002) and the only reason I have a job now is because I got real lucky. I was sending out 10-20 resumes a week and wasn't getting any responses for over a year. I was working as a projectionist in a movie theater making $13/hr. I had everyone looking for me too and my break came when my mother (a teacher) was talking to her school's IT person and found out her husband worked in the industry. He took a look at my resume and loved it (actually, he showed it to his son, a junior in HS at the time, and said 'this is what your resume should look like in 5 years'). Now I work for him.
My advice, put your education below your experience on your resume. Apply for jobs that want a B.S anyway. If you have an A.S. with 8 years experience, you should be qualified for a job that wants a B.S. with 5-6 years experience.
However, if you don't have any computer experience, going back go school is probably the only option. It could be in the form of a B.S. degree or perhaps certifications. For example a MCSE certification weights very heavily in the IT field.
The most important thing in the IT field right now is experience. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter what degree you have. At least thats the way it is here in Mass. Companies are downsizing, outsourcing, etc. and the people that are left are doing the jobs that 10 people would have done 5 years ago. This is the only reason that companies are producing profits. Their employees are scared shitless that they will be layed off and replaced by cheap labor in Israel and India.
I've got a B.S. in C.S. (2002) and the only reason I have a job now is because I got real lucky. I was sending out 10-20 resumes a week and wasn't getting any responses for over a year. I was working as a projectionist in a movie theater making $13/hr. I had everyone looking for me too and my break came when my mother (a teacher) was talking to her school's IT person and found out her husband worked in the industry. He took a look at my resume and loved it (actually, he showed it to his son, a junior in HS at the time, and said 'this is what your resume should look like in 5 years'). Now I work for him.
My advice, put your education below your experience on your resume. Apply for jobs that want a B.S anyway. If you have an A.S. with 8 years experience, you should be qualified for a job that wants a B.S. with 5-6 years experience.
However, if you don't have any computer experience, going back go school is probably the only option. It could be in the form of a B.S. degree or perhaps certifications. For example a MCSE certification weights very heavily in the IT field.
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jersey_emt
Member
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- 04 MSM #1089
It took me 8 months to find a job after receiving my BS in Computer Science. And that was with 2 1/2 years of experience in the field.
The market is bad right now, but is starting to turn around. I'd still go for the 4-year degree though.
The market is bad right now, but is starting to turn around. I'd still go for the 4-year degree though.
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- 2003.5 Titanium Gray MSP #1699
It probably isn't the computer field that you're looking for, but I am going to school for Computer Animation & it only takes 3 years to get a BFA. I've been in school for 3 years now, so I transferred in with 1 year already done 
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.I've been working in the IT field since December 01. I started off in helpdesk and worked my way up to Network Admin in 6 months. Experience is what matters most. Degree's are very good also, but companies want people with experience.
Don't be afraid to start at a wage less than 50k, I started off @ 30k in helpdesk, and have worked my way up a little since.
Don't be afraid to start at a wage less than 50k, I started off @ 30k in helpdesk, and have worked my way up a little since.
all depends on location. Where I live, the computer field is very bad right now. No jobs anywhere. And the jobs that might pop up are the type of jobs that the company is looking for someone with so many different types of skills it's pathetic. I mean in order to fill some job requirements out there you would need to in school for 10 yrs to do them. I swear some HR idiots just put down every computer acronym on a page and hope for the best.
It is a challenging field. I love it. But, it's not secure anymore. it's flooded with a lot of jerks that don't know anything but still know enough to make it seem like they do and fool those same HR idiots into thinking they deserve all the jobs.
Lan admin can also be extremely stressfull. Matter of fact I've seen stress studies that show lan admin positions as one of the most stressfull jobs out there right up with docters and air traffic control guys. Long hours are a common thing. I know guys that are on their 3rd wife because all the other ones were fed up with them never being home and always at work. When a company relies on it's computers for EVERYTHING to make money daily, all the stress is in your lap everyday. Then there's the constant learning curve, things changing so fast, always having to re-train or learn another OS, another language, another piece of hardware and so on.
I've been fiddling with computers since I was 6. So it was a no brainer to me to go into IT. But, I must say, there are times I could walk away from it. Honestly, unless you love computers and technology, find something else. That's my advice.
It is a challenging field. I love it. But, it's not secure anymore. it's flooded with a lot of jerks that don't know anything but still know enough to make it seem like they do and fool those same HR idiots into thinking they deserve all the jobs.
Lan admin can also be extremely stressfull. Matter of fact I've seen stress studies that show lan admin positions as one of the most stressfull jobs out there right up with docters and air traffic control guys. Long hours are a common thing. I know guys that are on their 3rd wife because all the other ones were fed up with them never being home and always at work. When a company relies on it's computers for EVERYTHING to make money daily, all the stress is in your lap everyday. Then there's the constant learning curve, things changing so fast, always having to re-train or learn another OS, another language, another piece of hardware and so on.
I've been fiddling with computers since I was 6. So it was a no brainer to me to go into IT. But, I must say, there are times I could walk away from it. Honestly, unless you love computers and technology, find something else. That's my advice.
He's hit the nail right on the head. If you don't like computers, don't get into this line of work. I've had plenty of frustrating moments. You will learn the joys of dealing with multiple hardware and software vendors for support. Not to mention impossible projects which seem to have no end.
Still, I love what I do - I do it 7 days a week, and I hardly ever take a day off. I'm at work right now.
Still, I love what I do - I do it 7 days a week, and I hardly ever take a day off. I'm at work right now.
as for me i've gotten a few cert's and still have no job, you need experience to get a decent job which is a catch 22. no one will give you a chance... very frustrating, especially if you know that in the work enviroment full time you could learn anything they needed!
You are right, and you are wrong.dosle said:
I have no certs. All I have is a High School Diploma. If you don't have experience you need to be willing to work for low wages. I'm talking about sometimes as low as $7-8 an hour. Make it up with overtime. Don't complain about the substandard wage, just work your ass off and show them what you are worth. I managed to get my salary bumped up quite nicely following that advice which came from my brother who also works in the IT industry doing the same thing I do. He went to school, and he has a few certs - he's been in the industry a few years longer than I have, and of course makes a couple thousand more than I do.
Still, it's not a bad profession.
Personally, I refuse to take any certs. If a company wanted to pay for them, sure I would take the course and the test. I just think it's a racket now. Cisco certs are still fairly reputable but the only ones that are worth having are very very hard.
My last job interview - which got me the consultants position where I am at this very moment - the guy never even asked if I had any certs. He and I went back and forth discussing hardware and software - and I got the job. Familiarize yourself with as much hardware as you can. Read whitepapers and spec sheets on HP's website. If you have the means, purchase and install a used DLT drive and learn to use backup software such as Veritas and Brightstor. Learn Raid, subnetting, vpn, voip, and most importantly get a basic understanding of cisco hardware. When you can put all that on your resume - you should not have a hard time finding a job.
My last job interview - which got me the consultants position where I am at this very moment - the guy never even asked if I had any certs. He and I went back and forth discussing hardware and software - and I got the job. Familiarize yourself with as much hardware as you can. Read whitepapers and spec sheets on HP's website. If you have the means, purchase and install a used DLT drive and learn to use backup software such as Veritas and Brightstor. Learn Raid, subnetting, vpn, voip, and most importantly get a basic understanding of cisco hardware. When you can put all that on your resume - you should not have a hard time finding a job.
Hey! I work for CA, the makers of Brightstor! I didn't know it was such a standard in the IT world. I'm currently developing eTrust Antivirus for Mac OS X.Micah said:
I've got a friend that knows his way around cisco routers and is an expert with Solaris. He dropped out of college a few years back, worked for a local ISP, then was hired by Genu!ty (who was bought by Level3 then bought by CSC). He eventually got laid off by CSC and now he works as a consultant for SUN. Anyway, moral of the story...experience is what pays. I think he has one of the SUN Certs but thats all in the way of education.
I'm a junior in highschool. I have my A+ and CCNA so far... not bad I guess considering it was free... I still don't know what I want to do though... I don't wanna be a lan admin stuck solving every dumass problem everybody has... it's a very thankless job. People don't even notice you when things are working right, but by god the second something goes wrong.... it's all on YOUR ass! I also wouldn't waste any time programming. I hate to say it, but I think it's all gonna go offshore. I'm not really one to say I guess... Anyways but ya.
(hand)chuyler1 said:
yep, I was thinking the same thing.
That type of attitude where people want gratification for their work is what leads to job related stress. I work 7 days a week, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 8pm. I don't get stressed, I still get out to see my friends, and I even sleep a few hours each night.
I enjoy what I do, and I will stay late when I need to, but it's just a job. It's what I do so that I can pay off bills and buy the crap I want. I do take pride in my work, but it's IT. The work will always be there. If you could fix everything - you would work yourself right out of a job.
Ya tru I guess... I just don't wanna be the "IT guy" that everyone wants to kill. Ever see that that SNL skit... Nick Burns, The company's computer guy... (rofl2)ya exactly! If I could get a position Networking that would be great. Not networking and being everyones b****.chuyler1 said:
Well if your only vision of IT professionals is from a SNL skit then you need to wake up.
Besides, Nick Burns' job isn't exactly in Networking, its in "being everyone's b****". Networking IT professionals spend more time configuring networks, installing servers, providing connectivity to users, and other things. There should be a seperate person in the IT department who handles helpdesk issues (fixing computers, trouble shooting user problems, explaining to users that they should drop their laptops, etc...).
I suppose if you work for a small company or a public school you'll end up wearing multiple hats but if you truely want to work in Networking, an A+ certificate is the wrong direction. As people have mentioned, Cisco certifications, SUN certifications, and courses in Networking (TCP/IP, routing, load balancing, unix administration) instead of Windows desktop troubleshooting will get you in the right direction.
For starters, install Linux on your machine (if you haven't already) or a spare machine and try to get things working on it. Start with Apache, FTP, and Samba then move on to more complex things like configuring a DHCP server, a firewall, make samba your Windows Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and so forth. Become familiar with unix. Then pick up an old Sun sparc machine and do the same with Solaris. (You can get a SparcStation and a copy of Solaris 7 or 8 on ebay cheap).
Besides, Nick Burns' job isn't exactly in Networking, its in "being everyone's b****". Networking IT professionals spend more time configuring networks, installing servers, providing connectivity to users, and other things. There should be a seperate person in the IT department who handles helpdesk issues (fixing computers, trouble shooting user problems, explaining to users that they should drop their laptops, etc...).
I suppose if you work for a small company or a public school you'll end up wearing multiple hats but if you truely want to work in Networking, an A+ certificate is the wrong direction. As people have mentioned, Cisco certifications, SUN certifications, and courses in Networking (TCP/IP, routing, load balancing, unix administration) instead of Windows desktop troubleshooting will get you in the right direction.
For starters, install Linux on your machine (if you haven't already) or a spare machine and try to get things working on it. Start with Apache, FTP, and Samba then move on to more complex things like configuring a DHCP server, a firewall, make samba your Windows Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and so forth. Become familiar with unix. Then pick up an old Sun sparc machine and do the same with Solaris. (You can get a SparcStation and a copy of Solaris 7 or 8 on ebay cheap).
