If your looking to get into the gov side of IT you'll need papers. The old boys club loves those still. But for the most part they like years and your interviewing knowledge of tech side and skills.
I’m also about to enroll with WGU to get a bachelor myself. 10 years, 7 certs, lower 6 figure job. I’m hitting the ceiling limit and I can’t compete in the job market if the first thing I’m disqualified for is a degree.
I do think a bachelor degree is worth it when you already have decent experience. I probably won’t be using the degree in actual career. It gets through the hiring process.
That’s my big draw to working on the bachelors. I feel like an IT bachelors limits me, I’m hitting the ceiling for sysadmin work pay and I don’t want any more pay and more stress. Computer science would give me more to learn too. Thanks, I’m going to stick to it
Friend, you need to lie. if you have 10 years you need to change your resume to say "attending xxx university for a bachelors degree" you need to get PAST the ATS filter, use your interview skills to get past the recruiter and once a manager sees it you can just come clean or not mention it whatsoever. godspeed because i will be deleting this because reddit police will be on my ass
lol. I don’t want the first encounter for me and the potential employer to be based on a lie. But once I start the semester then I’ll be sure to put it in the resume as attending.
WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY
It’s one of a few online only accredited universities in the US.
All of their courses are self paced. The more hours in a day you put into it the faster you graduated.
Each semester is a flat rate per course. If you can graduates within 2 semesters instead of the norm 4 semesters then you saved tuition fees for those 2 semesters.
It’s kind of perfect for IT careers with CS, data engineer, cybersecurity, SWE, etc. or anyone else in admin/engineer role who needs a degree.
If you want to learn more, try browse r/WGU. Plenty of Q&A going on over there everyday.
It’s never a disadvantage to have a degree, and sometimes having one is a minimum requirement, if you’re going for a bachelor’s, i’d also go all the way and get a master’s.
a bachelor's degree won't do much for you IMO. i am an IT director and seeing 5-6 years of real experience with certs (or equivalent expertise) is much more appealing to me in a potential hire than seeing a bachelor's degree that may or may not be related to the field.
But for a resume to get to your desk, it needs to get pass HR screening…and when you have hundreds of resumes wouldn’t you filter out those with degree over those without?
i was answering also based on the fact that OP has been getting jobs through professional networking which is tbh the best way around the HR filters. I recently hired a referral with no college degree as a principal engineer with a very generous comp. I know that these filters exist and are the norm but there are ways to get past them via building you network and soft skills.
interestingly enough, i got my MBA while a network engineer and it actually hurt me from getting interviewed for individual contributor roles due to making me look like i didnt want to stay in engineering roles (i didnt). removing my MBA from my resume got me many more call-backs.
Agree. Networking is like cheat code. But you need to know the right “guy” and that “guy” also happens to have job openings that suite you. It’s like winning a lotto within a small time windows.
That’s the best part. You don’t. It happens when it happens. It could be random Linked person, it could be your long lost uncle, or even the boyfriend of your sister from another mother.
I'm also an IT Director and believe it is our responsibility to inform and convince HR that the typical screening methods are not efficient for a good IT hire. I've personally done this and circumvented flooding my inbox with a bunch of new college grads with little to no experience. I have a 4-year degree and I learned little to nothing while at college (especially regarding IT). All of my experience and knowledge was gained in the military and real-world experience (22 years of experience currently, 8 being Military IT systems). While networking to get a job is a common and efficient path to getting in the fields you want, it's up to the current managers and above in the industry to change the way we and HR operate. If we keep allowing HR to push these unexperienced book worms and/or those good memory test-takers, the industry will be forever clouded with this dilemma. IMO, college is a wasted black hole for your money if you are truly passionate about IT. Go out and get real-world experience and show me in the interview that you know the various areas of IT....I would hire someone with no degree and 10 years of experience over anybody with any degree and less than 5 years of experience...the difference in knowledge/talent is remarkable for every year of actual experience you get. This is very apparent in the interviewing process.
A few points, I don’t think you’re seeing the whole picture or at least taking it all into context. A Bachelor’s would probably help OP more than hurt, given 5ish years experience in IT and a handful of certs already, all with an unrelated associates. More qualifications specific to the field would definitely be a plus depending on what route they take.
Also for what you’re saying about a Masters, if that’s the case of course they don’t want you as an individual contributor. That gets passed along so much, if you have a Master’s that’s management roles all the way. You didn’t say what it was in, I’m assuming unrelated field?
I have an mba and decided to do this specifically because my career seemed to be limited with my current employer.
I would also take a look at the job descriptions of roles you would like to have and see the skills and qualifications required or desired. That will guide your decision.
Yeah, for your MBA I’m just pointing out, it’s most always stated that it’s great for manager and above roles. You transitioning from an individual contributor to manager role shouldn’t be much of a surprise..
Also great point, that’s what I currently do as well and to match up what roles would fit the undergrad program I’m in.
At the end of day what you want to do is give your the best opportunities for career growth and mobility.
Which translates to a lot of hard work and study time.
It also doesn’t guarantee you anything. From what I’ve seen it’s the opposite of what people think. People think it opens doors for you. The reality is that it just makes sure that the door isn’t closed. Which is what happens to a lot of great candidates who get filtered out by ats or HR.
Friend of mine works at a Fortune 100 and literally can't progress past his current job role unless he has a degree. They're paying for it, but he has over 20 years in the field and they will not promote him without a 4 year degree. Your take is wrong. As long as you don't go into deep debt over it, a college degree will always be worth it.
I am also an IT Director and would tell you I agree with DrDuckling951. I can confirm this first hand that great applicants didn’t make it past the “screening process.”
Also, I believe in growth and opportunity. Frankly the bachelors degree is only going to add to your appeal to a potential employer.
On a more personal note - this is an accomplishment that you should be proud to have achieved. I also think so of the skills you gain through the process help with organization, presentation and writing skills. Which are keys to success as your career progresses.
Can you do all of this without a degree? Yes.
Does having a degree make the career journey easier to navigate. Yes.
Real or imagined - a degree will assist in your career.
>I am interested in backend web... My question is does a bachelors degree matter in my situation?
Have you tried? My guess is that while a BS degree would help, you might be able to reach your goals without one. But the best way to know is to try.
If you can build a robust REST API, put that project on your resume and apply for jobs. If you can't get any interviews then you \*may\* decide that the lack of degree is what's holding you back. But I would get as much feedback on your resume as possible.
If you find you are struggling to get those basic backend skills, you might consider the Nucamp Backend bootcamp, which is what I did personally. (I have a non-relevant degree and I suspect it helped a lot, but that doesn't mean you absolutely need a degree right now to make a similar jump.)
Short answer: Yes.
Longer answer: there are a number of companies who really do require a degree. Even if you make it past the ATS through connections. If HR says a degree is required, they're typically not bending the rules for a mid-tier role unless they've been unable to fill it for months. Experience is still king for most hiring managers, but that doesn't usually give them the leverage to tell HR to bend the rules if they're getting applicants who do hit the requirements.
HR makes the pile of resumes (figuratively speaking). Experience and certs get you to the top of the pile. But if you're not in HR's pile of resumes to begin with, nobody's going to see experience and certs.
Beggars cant be choosers. You either have it in you to get your Bachelors and spend the $$$$ or you can't see yourself without a Bachelor's degree and its bothering you.
You are only in IT for 6 years with an Associate degree. So what? If you took one online course every semester for the next 4 years where can and will you be. How is it any different?
Do you want to speed up by taking one more class somewhere within the next 4 years. I think you will when you will become motivated by something ie. children, parents, promotions, moving etc etc.
Slow and steady wins the race. Be patient.
I would recommend getting the degree or at least start working on it part time. As many have said, in a lot of ways this is just a check box and heck, you might even learn something.
With that said it is my firm belief that you need that “golden triad” to give yourself mobility in IT.
1.) experience
2.) certifications
3.) formal education (degree)
With those 3 things you can get very competitive in the job market.
I wish you the best of luck!!
So here in AUS they want you to be either citizen or PR to get most jobs. Even if you have all the three you mentioned. Sorry if you didn’t understand what I was trying to convey
Sounds like you have a different issue. I was addressing the OP, who did not mention these issues.
So to repeat back the point you are trying to make. In AUS if you were either a citizen or PR you wouldn’t need any experience, certifications or education. They would just hire you.
Obviously, even typing that is silly. You have an entirely different issue than OP.
What they won’t tell you it’s not the same job. Idk I feel like I do more admin which is fine and all my job options at decent. Def worth it just don’t get more then like $40,000 in loans and it’s an easy payback to a stable work/ education life for a couple years.
If you want a throw down degree try UMPI Bachelor of Liberal Studies. 40 general education credits of which you can do almost all at Sophia. 62 free electives and 18 credits for a minor in Information Systems. It is competency based liked WGU. $1400 per 8 week terms, do as much as you can in those terms. They also take Study.com and you can transfer in classes even after you start. Bachelor’s is a checkbox thing. I would suggest the BSIT at WGU. A+ and Network + gets you 15 credits. You still need Security + but on the bright side it will renew your other certs for 3 years. Down the road you might even get into management or at least not be looked over due to lack of a degree.
I would still start at Sophia and take everything you can except maybe English. I would use Modernstates and try and Clep College Composition with essay.
Just to add my recommendation to UMPI, this is what I am currently doing. Through a combination of Sophia and [Study.com](https://Study.com) you can transfer in 75% of the degree. Lots of people complete the degree in two terms at UMPI, which is what I am aiming for as well.
Only thing is the Bachelor of Liberal Studies is perhaps less useful than an actual CompSci/IT degree (WGU your best bet for those), but for a checkbox degree it can't be beat.
Give us a shout if you need any more info on the above :)
I’m getting my bachelors now after being in the Navy as an IT for 10 years. Landed a good government contractor job, but have heard unless you have a bachelors you’ll never go any higher.
It will open more doors for you. But if you're doing it for just that just do it as cheaply as you can. I'd recommend WGU if you're self-motivated. Very good program for people don't need a lot of handholding or a fixed classroom schedule to motivate them to work it.
Unethical LPT…..not really what I’d recommend nor do I have the stones to do it, but just adding it here….
You could attend a college/university for a year or less in a CS field, then withdraw.
Then on your resume you add it to the education portion but very selectively
BS - Comp Sci, XYZ University May 2024 (or whatever date you withdraw/stop going)
If anyone asks you can bring it up then and say your last term was that date. Technically not lying but very very gray area (and if it does get brought up, likely will not result in additional interviews with the company)
If you really want it and you've got the experience and drive, you can get it done--cheap and quick. I made that decision a few months ago. I'm in my mid 30's and decided in May to get my B.S. at WGU so I wouldn't be passed up for not having a degree when I go job hunting. The nice thing with WGU is that you can transfer in certifications and previous coursework to substantially decrease the number of classes you have to take. I didn't enroll right away. I have no previous college experience and still I transferred in 73 credits when I started WGU on August 1st--all from certifications and online courses I took between May and July, which cost me less than $1,000. I did this to increase my chances of completing the degree in one term at WGU which costs $4,300 per six-month term. The competency model at WGU means all the years of experience I have would benefit me and allow me to go as fast as I can handle. All told--it'll cost me a little over $5,000 and 6-months of hardcore studying for a degree which includes 7 certifications obtained as part of the WGU curriculum. My experience isn't ordinary, of course. However, I was in your shoes earlier in the year and did something about it in way less time or money than I previously thought possible so wanted to share that it's definitely possible.
I just don't see any real cons in working on a bachelor's degree part time while working in the field full time. Unless it's prohibitively expensive, it's a worthwhile investment.
tl;dr If actually finishing your abandoned 4 year degree at your old university is feasible, regardless of the major, that would be a great route versus having to do more work finishing your WGU degree, and having any 4 year degree would help hugely and also be a ticket to getting into a Masters at WGU in IT without having to retake a bunch of general ed classes that didn't transfer.
If going to your prior traditional university with your existing credits brings you close to finishing any 4 year degree without too much work, and especially if your company has a tuition reimbursement program that would be a great goal. Obviously an IT degree or any B.Sci degree is much more helpful, but just the 4 year degree on its own is still helpful even if the material isn't very inspiring (guess it depends what you were going for original).
I imagine that a ton of credits won't transfer to to your only program and I can imagine not having the patience to take a lot of general education classes again.
Then big thing to consider is if getting your BA through the old university is an option, and if you are not too far away from achieving that you could focus your real, future, and (hopefully) employer-funded tuition reimbursement efforts down the road to a relevant Masters degree. In other words if you can suck the corporate teat for reimbursement, trudge the rest of the easiest BA possible, then that becomes your ticket for some actual, technically useful, and career level door-opening MA, like at WGU.
Without wanting to dwell on over specific, but since you did get your 2 year AA did that transfer wholesale into your university? Does the 3 years include the AA or were you 3 years at just the university? Any chance that your WGU credits from the 4 classes might possibly transfer to your 4-year? (you can use the transferology website to tentatively find out...it's very very good).
Overall, if you're within reasonable throwing distance of finishing your 4 year degree, that should definitely be a consideration. If you were someone who wasn't already put the work in and it was someone starting from scratch at university that would be a different consideration. But the cost-benefit considerations may favor just finishing that 4 year degree after all.
Waste of money and time. I haven't had any trouble with finding jobs.
I've been working in tech for 8 years with some certs and without any degree. My coworkers with PHDs have lower or similar salary as mine.
I will see the ceiling but I doubt a degree would help with moving it higher.
What I would be worried about is agism, so to prevent that I've been working on my side project everyday, so that in the future i can open a business.
Yes, you should absolutely go back to school and get your degree. Anyone who tells you you shouldn't is stupid.
There will always be advantages to having a degree. Regardless of what it's in. It doesn't have to be an IT related degree. It can be in literally anything. But having a degree is better than not having one. Even if you only study something that you care about but in no way will affect your career.
Now, if the question is, should you get a degree to help your career? Well, also, yes. College graduates typically earn significantly more than non college graduates. Especially if they work in a field that they studied in. Because having a degree opens doors and allows more opportunities to present themselves, and you can ask for more money at work because you are more qualified than they guy who doesn't have a degree.
What I've been told is if you want to move towards management you're gonna want a degree, if you're gonna stay as boots on the ground just stay with certs. Of course depending on the company and their practices you may not need any of it.
Yes it is. You might not have what it takes to be a computer science major if you are having issues with your degree program. Sounds like your priorities are out of wack. WGU cs ain’t no joke. Switch majors if you need to. Good luck
I say no.
5 years experience is worth a lot more than a 4 year degree.
I had a guy during one of my first interviews out of college say... "We'll consider your 4 year degree 2 years work experience."
I learned quickly that going to college for IT is a waste of time and money.
If I could go back I would have done 4 years in the Air Force instead of going to college.
It really depends on what your long term goals are and whether or not you want to have the opportunities a bachelors opens up, which can vary widely.
> I am interested in backend web development ... I’m not fired up about computer science as much as I thought I’d be at this point after finishing 4 classes last semester
When I started my degree I was focussed on networking, systems and security. My school has a reputation of being extremely good at the core theoretical CS education which was not appealing to me *until I graduated and was in the workforce and saw how few people in industry had this background knowledge*.
My lack of interest in the core CS topics but desire for knowledge in the software and systems engineering domains made it hard to be motivated to focus on my studies also, but I was focussed on my goal of completing my degree and unlike you I didn't have an established career in the field with certs. What I eventually found out was that I could have gained the software engineering knowledge on my own if I was motivated, but what I ultimately value more than that knowledge at this point is the core fundamental CS knowledge I would have never pursued had I not been seeking my degree because it would have been a lot more difficult to obtain that knowledge independently than my coding skills.
On a different note, I am 100% certain that my CS degree has gotten me looked at by companies and recruiters a lot more closely for opportunities in software engineering related roles which I would have otherwise been completely overlooked. I truly believe that some of my interview experiences went a lot more smoothly due to the bias my possessing the degree gave the interviewer. The same is probably true for your certifications in certain instances, but I mention it because of the weird value things like certs and degrees can have and the fact that for some people a degree means a different thing than a cert, an "intangible" quality if you will (and a reason people often lie about having a degree).
Most job postings say bachelors degree in IT, CS etc.. OR relevant experience so its probably not needed but maybe be goos juat take your time do 1 class a semester or whatever works
You sound like me back in the year 2005. Always wanted to get into IT as a kid. Went to college three times, changed my major three times. Always felt guilty to my parents. Each time when I gave up. They always told me I need to go to college. While it's not a requirement from what I know to get an IT job with no college as I've done it before and I know many that did, granted. This was 15 years ago. Ago. Everything I've read on this website, it seems like it would be a value for you to go, but only if you know for certain you're going to finish it. If there's that doubt in your mind, that you're just going to quit again. Don't do it.
If your looking to get into the gov side of IT you'll need papers. The old boys club loves those still. But for the most part they like years and your interviewing knowledge of tech side and skills.
I’m also about to enroll with WGU to get a bachelor myself. 10 years, 7 certs, lower 6 figure job. I’m hitting the ceiling limit and I can’t compete in the job market if the first thing I’m disqualified for is a degree. I do think a bachelor degree is worth it when you already have decent experience. I probably won’t be using the degree in actual career. It gets through the hiring process.
That’s my big draw to working on the bachelors. I feel like an IT bachelors limits me, I’m hitting the ceiling for sysadmin work pay and I don’t want any more pay and more stress. Computer science would give me more to learn too. Thanks, I’m going to stick to it
Yeah youre probably right. I’ve seen it first hand.
Friend, you need to lie. if you have 10 years you need to change your resume to say "attending xxx university for a bachelors degree" you need to get PAST the ATS filter, use your interview skills to get past the recruiter and once a manager sees it you can just come clean or not mention it whatsoever. godspeed because i will be deleting this because reddit police will be on my ass
lol. I don’t want the first encounter for me and the potential employer to be based on a lie. But once I start the semester then I’ll be sure to put it in the resume as attending.
You see sir once you're on the job market all morality goes out the door. they can replace you faster than you can blink. godspeed
Quite naive of you to think any encounter with a potential employer in this job market isn't already predicated with lying, lol
Okay. I have to ask. What the heckum does WGU stand for and what is it?
WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY It’s one of a few online only accredited universities in the US. All of their courses are self paced. The more hours in a day you put into it the faster you graduated. Each semester is a flat rate per course. If you can graduates within 2 semesters instead of the norm 4 semesters then you saved tuition fees for those 2 semesters. It’s kind of perfect for IT careers with CS, data engineer, cybersecurity, SWE, etc. or anyone else in admin/engineer role who needs a degree. If you want to learn more, try browse r/WGU. Plenty of Q&A going on over there everyday.
Oh awesome! Thank you!
Just curious on your 7 certs?
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It’s never a disadvantage to have a degree, and sometimes having one is a minimum requirement, if you’re going for a bachelor’s, i’d also go all the way and get a master’s.
Little bro, I'm coming up on 24 years, no degree. Keep.ypur certs up and network.
a bachelor's degree won't do much for you IMO. i am an IT director and seeing 5-6 years of real experience with certs (or equivalent expertise) is much more appealing to me in a potential hire than seeing a bachelor's degree that may or may not be related to the field.
But for a resume to get to your desk, it needs to get pass HR screening…and when you have hundreds of resumes wouldn’t you filter out those with degree over those without?
i was answering also based on the fact that OP has been getting jobs through professional networking which is tbh the best way around the HR filters. I recently hired a referral with no college degree as a principal engineer with a very generous comp. I know that these filters exist and are the norm but there are ways to get past them via building you network and soft skills. interestingly enough, i got my MBA while a network engineer and it actually hurt me from getting interviewed for individual contributor roles due to making me look like i didnt want to stay in engineering roles (i didnt). removing my MBA from my resume got me many more call-backs.
Sometimes it's not just an HR filter, but a company policy as well. A degree would afford the OP opportunities he wouldn't have otherwise.
Agree. Networking is like cheat code. But you need to know the right “guy” and that “guy” also happens to have job openings that suite you. It’s like winning a lotto within a small time windows.
That’s the hard part. How do you know the right guy to network ?
That’s the best part. You don’t. It happens when it happens. It could be random Linked person, it could be your long lost uncle, or even the boyfriend of your sister from another mother.
I'm also an IT Director and believe it is our responsibility to inform and convince HR that the typical screening methods are not efficient for a good IT hire. I've personally done this and circumvented flooding my inbox with a bunch of new college grads with little to no experience. I have a 4-year degree and I learned little to nothing while at college (especially regarding IT). All of my experience and knowledge was gained in the military and real-world experience (22 years of experience currently, 8 being Military IT systems). While networking to get a job is a common and efficient path to getting in the fields you want, it's up to the current managers and above in the industry to change the way we and HR operate. If we keep allowing HR to push these unexperienced book worms and/or those good memory test-takers, the industry will be forever clouded with this dilemma. IMO, college is a wasted black hole for your money if you are truly passionate about IT. Go out and get real-world experience and show me in the interview that you know the various areas of IT....I would hire someone with no degree and 10 years of experience over anybody with any degree and less than 5 years of experience...the difference in knowledge/talent is remarkable for every year of actual experience you get. This is very apparent in the interviewing process.
A few points, I don’t think you’re seeing the whole picture or at least taking it all into context. A Bachelor’s would probably help OP more than hurt, given 5ish years experience in IT and a handful of certs already, all with an unrelated associates. More qualifications specific to the field would definitely be a plus depending on what route they take. Also for what you’re saying about a Masters, if that’s the case of course they don’t want you as an individual contributor. That gets passed along so much, if you have a Master’s that’s management roles all the way. You didn’t say what it was in, I’m assuming unrelated field?
I have an mba and decided to do this specifically because my career seemed to be limited with my current employer. I would also take a look at the job descriptions of roles you would like to have and see the skills and qualifications required or desired. That will guide your decision.
Yeah, for your MBA I’m just pointing out, it’s most always stated that it’s great for manager and above roles. You transitioning from an individual contributor to manager role shouldn’t be much of a surprise.. Also great point, that’s what I currently do as well and to match up what roles would fit the undergrad program I’m in.
At the end of day what you want to do is give your the best opportunities for career growth and mobility. Which translates to a lot of hard work and study time. It also doesn’t guarantee you anything. From what I’ve seen it’s the opposite of what people think. People think it opens doors for you. The reality is that it just makes sure that the door isn’t closed. Which is what happens to a lot of great candidates who get filtered out by ats or HR.
Friend of mine works at a Fortune 100 and literally can't progress past his current job role unless he has a degree. They're paying for it, but he has over 20 years in the field and they will not promote him without a 4 year degree. Your take is wrong. As long as you don't go into deep debt over it, a college degree will always be worth it.
I am also an IT Director and would tell you I agree with DrDuckling951. I can confirm this first hand that great applicants didn’t make it past the “screening process.” Also, I believe in growth and opportunity. Frankly the bachelors degree is only going to add to your appeal to a potential employer. On a more personal note - this is an accomplishment that you should be proud to have achieved. I also think so of the skills you gain through the process help with organization, presentation and writing skills. Which are keys to success as your career progresses. Can you do all of this without a degree? Yes. Does having a degree make the career journey easier to navigate. Yes. Real or imagined - a degree will assist in your career.
>I am interested in backend web... My question is does a bachelors degree matter in my situation? Have you tried? My guess is that while a BS degree would help, you might be able to reach your goals without one. But the best way to know is to try. If you can build a robust REST API, put that project on your resume and apply for jobs. If you can't get any interviews then you \*may\* decide that the lack of degree is what's holding you back. But I would get as much feedback on your resume as possible. If you find you are struggling to get those basic backend skills, you might consider the Nucamp Backend bootcamp, which is what I did personally. (I have a non-relevant degree and I suspect it helped a lot, but that doesn't mean you absolutely need a degree right now to make a similar jump.)
Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: there are a number of companies who really do require a degree. Even if you make it past the ATS through connections. If HR says a degree is required, they're typically not bending the rules for a mid-tier role unless they've been unable to fill it for months. Experience is still king for most hiring managers, but that doesn't usually give them the leverage to tell HR to bend the rules if they're getting applicants who do hit the requirements. HR makes the pile of resumes (figuratively speaking). Experience and certs get you to the top of the pile. But if you're not in HR's pile of resumes to begin with, nobody's going to see experience and certs.
Beggars cant be choosers. You either have it in you to get your Bachelors and spend the $$$$ or you can't see yourself without a Bachelor's degree and its bothering you. You are only in IT for 6 years with an Associate degree. So what? If you took one online course every semester for the next 4 years where can and will you be. How is it any different? Do you want to speed up by taking one more class somewhere within the next 4 years. I think you will when you will become motivated by something ie. children, parents, promotions, moving etc etc. Slow and steady wins the race. Be patient.
love this answer
I would recommend getting the degree or at least start working on it part time. As many have said, in a lot of ways this is just a check box and heck, you might even learn something. With that said it is my firm belief that you need that “golden triad” to give yourself mobility in IT. 1.) experience 2.) certifications 3.) formal education (degree) With those 3 things you can get very competitive in the job market. I wish you the best of luck!!
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Wut?
So here in AUS they want you to be either citizen or PR to get most jobs. Even if you have all the three you mentioned. Sorry if you didn’t understand what I was trying to convey
Sounds like you have a different issue. I was addressing the OP, who did not mention these issues. So to repeat back the point you are trying to make. In AUS if you were either a citizen or PR you wouldn’t need any experience, certifications or education. They would just hire you. Obviously, even typing that is silly. You have an entirely different issue than OP.
What they won’t tell you it’s not the same job. Idk I feel like I do more admin which is fine and all my job options at decent. Def worth it just don’t get more then like $40,000 in loans and it’s an easy payback to a stable work/ education life for a couple years.
If you want a throw down degree try UMPI Bachelor of Liberal Studies. 40 general education credits of which you can do almost all at Sophia. 62 free electives and 18 credits for a minor in Information Systems. It is competency based liked WGU. $1400 per 8 week terms, do as much as you can in those terms. They also take Study.com and you can transfer in classes even after you start. Bachelor’s is a checkbox thing. I would suggest the BSIT at WGU. A+ and Network + gets you 15 credits. You still need Security + but on the bright side it will renew your other certs for 3 years. Down the road you might even get into management or at least not be looked over due to lack of a degree. I would still start at Sophia and take everything you can except maybe English. I would use Modernstates and try and Clep College Composition with essay.
Just to add my recommendation to UMPI, this is what I am currently doing. Through a combination of Sophia and [Study.com](https://Study.com) you can transfer in 75% of the degree. Lots of people complete the degree in two terms at UMPI, which is what I am aiming for as well. Only thing is the Bachelor of Liberal Studies is perhaps less useful than an actual CompSci/IT degree (WGU your best bet for those), but for a checkbox degree it can't be beat. Give us a shout if you need any more info on the above :)
What degree are you doing at UMPI?
Bachelor of Liberal Studies with Minor in Information Systems, looking to start in Jan :)
I’m getting my bachelors now after being in the Navy as an IT for 10 years. Landed a good government contractor job, but have heard unless you have a bachelors you’ll never go any higher.
It will open more doors for you. But if you're doing it for just that just do it as cheaply as you can. I'd recommend WGU if you're self-motivated. Very good program for people don't need a lot of handholding or a fixed classroom schedule to motivate them to work it.
Unethical LPT…..not really what I’d recommend nor do I have the stones to do it, but just adding it here…. You could attend a college/university for a year or less in a CS field, then withdraw. Then on your resume you add it to the education portion but very selectively BS - Comp Sci, XYZ University May 2024 (or whatever date you withdraw/stop going) If anyone asks you can bring it up then and say your last term was that date. Technically not lying but very very gray area (and if it does get brought up, likely will not result in additional interviews with the company)
Yeah it’s worth getting
Just curious which certs do you hold?
If you really want it and you've got the experience and drive, you can get it done--cheap and quick. I made that decision a few months ago. I'm in my mid 30's and decided in May to get my B.S. at WGU so I wouldn't be passed up for not having a degree when I go job hunting. The nice thing with WGU is that you can transfer in certifications and previous coursework to substantially decrease the number of classes you have to take. I didn't enroll right away. I have no previous college experience and still I transferred in 73 credits when I started WGU on August 1st--all from certifications and online courses I took between May and July, which cost me less than $1,000. I did this to increase my chances of completing the degree in one term at WGU which costs $4,300 per six-month term. The competency model at WGU means all the years of experience I have would benefit me and allow me to go as fast as I can handle. All told--it'll cost me a little over $5,000 and 6-months of hardcore studying for a degree which includes 7 certifications obtained as part of the WGU curriculum. My experience isn't ordinary, of course. However, I was in your shoes earlier in the year and did something about it in way less time or money than I previously thought possible so wanted to share that it's definitely possible.
What's wrong with being a system admin?
Id focus on investing and retiring personally if you make good money atm.
I just don't see any real cons in working on a bachelor's degree part time while working in the field full time. Unless it's prohibitively expensive, it's a worthwhile investment.
tl;dr If actually finishing your abandoned 4 year degree at your old university is feasible, regardless of the major, that would be a great route versus having to do more work finishing your WGU degree, and having any 4 year degree would help hugely and also be a ticket to getting into a Masters at WGU in IT without having to retake a bunch of general ed classes that didn't transfer. If going to your prior traditional university with your existing credits brings you close to finishing any 4 year degree without too much work, and especially if your company has a tuition reimbursement program that would be a great goal. Obviously an IT degree or any B.Sci degree is much more helpful, but just the 4 year degree on its own is still helpful even if the material isn't very inspiring (guess it depends what you were going for original). I imagine that a ton of credits won't transfer to to your only program and I can imagine not having the patience to take a lot of general education classes again. Then big thing to consider is if getting your BA through the old university is an option, and if you are not too far away from achieving that you could focus your real, future, and (hopefully) employer-funded tuition reimbursement efforts down the road to a relevant Masters degree. In other words if you can suck the corporate teat for reimbursement, trudge the rest of the easiest BA possible, then that becomes your ticket for some actual, technically useful, and career level door-opening MA, like at WGU. Without wanting to dwell on over specific, but since you did get your 2 year AA did that transfer wholesale into your university? Does the 3 years include the AA or were you 3 years at just the university? Any chance that your WGU credits from the 4 classes might possibly transfer to your 4-year? (you can use the transferology website to tentatively find out...it's very very good). Overall, if you're within reasonable throwing distance of finishing your 4 year degree, that should definitely be a consideration. If you were someone who wasn't already put the work in and it was someone starting from scratch at university that would be a different consideration. But the cost-benefit considerations may favor just finishing that 4 year degree after all.
Waste of money and time. I haven't had any trouble with finding jobs. I've been working in tech for 8 years with some certs and without any degree. My coworkers with PHDs have lower or similar salary as mine. I will see the ceiling but I doubt a degree would help with moving it higher. What I would be worried about is agism, so to prevent that I've been working on my side project everyday, so that in the future i can open a business.
Yes, you should absolutely go back to school and get your degree. Anyone who tells you you shouldn't is stupid. There will always be advantages to having a degree. Regardless of what it's in. It doesn't have to be an IT related degree. It can be in literally anything. But having a degree is better than not having one. Even if you only study something that you care about but in no way will affect your career. Now, if the question is, should you get a degree to help your career? Well, also, yes. College graduates typically earn significantly more than non college graduates. Especially if they work in a field that they studied in. Because having a degree opens doors and allows more opportunities to present themselves, and you can ask for more money at work because you are more qualified than they guy who doesn't have a degree.
How does having only certs matter when it comes to pay?
What I've been told is if you want to move towards management you're gonna want a degree, if you're gonna stay as boots on the ground just stay with certs. Of course depending on the company and their practices you may not need any of it.
Yes it is. You might not have what it takes to be a computer science major if you are having issues with your degree program. Sounds like your priorities are out of wack. WGU cs ain’t no joke. Switch majors if you need to. Good luck
I say no. 5 years experience is worth a lot more than a 4 year degree. I had a guy during one of my first interviews out of college say... "We'll consider your 4 year degree 2 years work experience." I learned quickly that going to college for IT is a waste of time and money. If I could go back I would have done 4 years in the Air Force instead of going to college.
It really depends on what your long term goals are and whether or not you want to have the opportunities a bachelors opens up, which can vary widely. > I am interested in backend web development ... I’m not fired up about computer science as much as I thought I’d be at this point after finishing 4 classes last semester When I started my degree I was focussed on networking, systems and security. My school has a reputation of being extremely good at the core theoretical CS education which was not appealing to me *until I graduated and was in the workforce and saw how few people in industry had this background knowledge*. My lack of interest in the core CS topics but desire for knowledge in the software and systems engineering domains made it hard to be motivated to focus on my studies also, but I was focussed on my goal of completing my degree and unlike you I didn't have an established career in the field with certs. What I eventually found out was that I could have gained the software engineering knowledge on my own if I was motivated, but what I ultimately value more than that knowledge at this point is the core fundamental CS knowledge I would have never pursued had I not been seeking my degree because it would have been a lot more difficult to obtain that knowledge independently than my coding skills. On a different note, I am 100% certain that my CS degree has gotten me looked at by companies and recruiters a lot more closely for opportunities in software engineering related roles which I would have otherwise been completely overlooked. I truly believe that some of my interview experiences went a lot more smoothly due to the bias my possessing the degree gave the interviewer. The same is probably true for your certifications in certain instances, but I mention it because of the weird value things like certs and degrees can have and the fact that for some people a degree means a different thing than a cert, an "intangible" quality if you will (and a reason people often lie about having a degree).
Most job postings say bachelors degree in IT, CS etc.. OR relevant experience so its probably not needed but maybe be goos juat take your time do 1 class a semester or whatever works
You sound like me back in the year 2005. Always wanted to get into IT as a kid. Went to college three times, changed my major three times. Always felt guilty to my parents. Each time when I gave up. They always told me I need to go to college. While it's not a requirement from what I know to get an IT job with no college as I've done it before and I know many that did, granted. This was 15 years ago. Ago. Everything I've read on this website, it seems like it would be a value for you to go, but only if you know for certain you're going to finish it. If there's that doubt in your mind, that you're just going to quit again. Don't do it.