Schooling for computer related degrees...

[tsantsa]

Ok, I was about to enroll in a school when I decided to look around and think a little bit. Does it matter (when it comes to tech degrees that is) if you were to get a degree from DeVry or ITT as opposed to Purdue North Central or IUN, say?

I have many reason to ask this, but chief among them are time. In the Devry classes (ITT too I think) you can get your BA in just 2 years time (full time schooling that is) but in the traditional universities it takes twice that. However, I notice that DeVry and ITT are much more per credit hour than my other 2 options. I was also wondering if it looks bad that you have X Degree from DeVry or ITT as opposed to traditional universities...quality of education. I have been looking around on the net for some information in regards to this, but I keep coming up blank...Any help would truly be appreciated.

[ozymango]

I was also wondering if it looks bad that you have X Degree from DeVry or ITT as opposed to traditional universities...quality of education.

It never looks bad to have any degree, so I think you'll be safe no matter which school you go to.

But like all things, it depends, mostly on your course of study and whether you get a particular skill-set type of degree -- if you're studying programming languages nobody's gonna care where you got your degree, they'll want to see your work. I work for a university (in tech support), and so I see both sides of this situation, people working here as IT people and people going to school to become IT people. In pretty much every case, the degree is nice but your work background and experience in the "real world" is most often the deciding factor. So wherever you take classes, look also for related work-study or similar jobs in whatever are you're studying and get all the hands-on experience you can.

Good luck!

[Lucifers_Ghost]

I'll agree with ozy on this one.

Most companies want to see that you have a degree to essentially prove that you can "learn at a high level" for lack of a better term. At the end of the day, as with what has been said already, experience is the deciding factor.

I know a few people who have History and Psychology degrees but work in IT (mostly because there is more of a demand for it, not out of desire) but they had good work experience in the past, so they got the job over someone else who HAD an IT degree but no experience.

Take that for whats it worth though ...

LG

[Prot]

I'm currently back in school for a degee in Network Administration. I already have a Bachelor's degree earned over 20 years ago, so an Associates in Applied Science will suffice for me.
But what is just as important, if not more, are the certifications I will be getting: A+, Network+, CCNA, MCSA, and MCP....to say the least.

Employers will prefer the education to go along with the certifications, as opposed to just the certifications themselves.

[tsantsa]

Thanks for the encouraging news gentlemen...I just assumed that places like DeVry and ITT were looked down upon.

[tsantsa]

What about an associates degree? I had only been considering a bachelors but I figure if I get my associates and maybe get the certs I can do well with that then go back for the bachelors after I get a decent job.

Any thoughts on that?

[smearbrick1]

The bad thing about Devry and ITT is that their credits are non-transferrable to other institutions. So, if you get a two year associate's degree at one of those schools, you can't go on to a four year school (transfer program) to get a bachelor's degree. You can, however, get a "specialized" bachelor's degree from ITT. Although they provide a hands-on education (at a premium price) it may be better to consider a four year college or maybe a transfer program at a local community college if your budget won't allow for four year college.

[ROF]

Very good point on transferability. However, most of your credits at DeVry are transferable. There are a few "speciality" courses where those credits are not transferable so you'd have to take some equivalent or even elective courses if you decide to continue in your degree program. Experience and knowledge of your potential or current employers job functions will determine whether you get hired, promoted, or otherwise advance in your field. Experience counts big time in the real world. However the hands on offered at DeVry is much better and more in line with what current employers are looking for as opposed to the sanitized environments of quite a few universities.

Check into all of them. Visit the campuses. Ask alot of questions. Base your decision on which schooling you believe will help you get, maintain, and advance in your chosen job field.

[thevoelk]

Go for a four year degree, whether it be at DeVry/ITT or a traditional four year college. Up until recently, most "Computer related degrees" were heavy into programming. Many 4 year schools do offer variants, like a BS in Systems Administration, Network Management, (obviously still) Software Engineering, etc.

If you plan on going for a Certification, I'd suggest skipping your MCSE altogether and get into something like CISSP or CFE, security/IA related. I'm working on my Masters of Science in Information Assurance and COmputer Security. For every class I've taken of my Masters program, I've gotten a bigger raise than for the certifications I've gotten. Certifications expire or at least become less valued as the field changes, but a college (Bachelors and Masters) degree shows much more hard work, determination, and a focus towards a long-term goal. Employers like that.