Certifcations vs. Degrees vs. Experience

[Ropy]

Regarless of where you fall\heading (Strictly technical field, Management, Non-Technical), you are going to need a BSc. Sure you might be able to land a job without one but how far up in the company can you move? CCNA and a lot of other certs expires everything three years, a degree doesn't.

[Technoboy]

None is good on it's own.

Experience must be buttressed by certification etc in today's world. Something of measure, value.

[bassy]

All three are important, go to college and get your degree. While your doing your degree get a couple certifications and gain some experience by interning or even (yes i am gonna say it) do some work for free.

i agree with u go utech get the degree and two certifcation on the side

[davaughe]

I have done the degree thing, twice as a matter of fact, and frankly it's ridiculously daunting and most people that graduate don't know squat. I remember people in my year group (Both business and IT) who left after they completed their study and they still couldn't write a decent program or give competent financial counciling, but hey, they passed right. Certifications however are focused and geared directly at what you wish to do, as opposed to getting a degree from one of the local universities who fill your schedule with crap you don't need instead of focusing all the attention on the field of study. As far as which one is better when trying to get employed, degree+experience is what I think. A lot of companies have been demanding that you be certified of recent however, so I think the views are shifting. Degrees became popular in an age when employees were needed who were more rounded, being able to fill several roles all at once. The business environment today recognizes specialty more than anything else however, being the best in your field counts for a lot. Certifications provide that, they provide you with this specially geared knowledge base making you competent in a specific area which allows you to maximize productivity in the area, and business nowadays recognize this as something important. Your IT Tech no longer needs to be able to do accounting as well, he/she just needs to be the best darn IT Tech there is, ensuring that your systems suffer as little downtime as possible. Just my opinion...

[Technoboy]

^^ Good points...

So by now you would've done xx certs right?

[g2cris]

I have done the degree thing, twice as a matter of fact, and frankly it's ridiculously daunting and most people that graduate don't know squat. I remember people in my year group (Both business and IT) who left after they completed their study and they still couldn't write a decent program or give competent financial counciling, but hey, they passed right. Certifications however are focused and geared directly at what you wish to do, as opposed to getting a degree from one of the local universities who fill your schedule with crap you don't need instead of focusing all the attention on the field of study. As far as which one is better when trying to get employed, degree+experience is what I think. A lot of companies have been demanding that you be certified of recent however, so I think the views are shifting. Degrees became popular in an age when employees were needed who were more rounded, being able to fill several roles all at once. The business environment today recognizes specialty more than anything else however, being the best in your field counts for a lot. Certifications provide that, they provide you with this specially geared knowledge base making you competent in a specific area which allows you to maximize productivity in the area, and business nowadays recognize this as something important. Your IT Tech no longer needs to be able to do accounting as well, he/she just needs to be the best darn IT Tech there is, ensuring that your systems suffer as little downtime as possible. Just my opinion...

A first degree by itself is useless, it guarantees nothing (neither that you will know anything nor that you will be able to achieve greater things once attained), its just that the damn job market has gotten so tough that it has become the defacto academic qualification like what CXCs and A levels used to do for you back in the 70's and 80's.

In another decade or so the Masters degree will become the defacto because everyone will be in possession of a first degree as soon as they hit 23 yrs old simple because it will be pointless to stop at high school level anymore.

If you just want to be proficient in yor respective area of IT then do certs, a degree should either be done straight out of high school or after you have gathered the requisite certifications in your area and/or enough experience where the degree will add that level of needed roundedness that they talk about.

But for those who didnt bother to go staight to college after high school ( especially those who chose tho work like myself) for whatever reason, Its better if you get the certs first and the degrees after (by then it will even be optional).

Trust me, unless your company is paying for it or you are able to afford college on your own (like I was) its pointless racking up debt for school (esp. SLB debt) unless you are just leaving high school and still living with mom and dad (when taking a loan is more their choice than it is yours).

my $0.02

[Ωmega]

A first degree by itself is useless, it guarantees nothing (neither that you will know anything nor that you will be able to achieve greater things once attained), its just that the damn job market has gotten so tough that it has become the defacto academic qualification like what CXCs and A levels used to do for you back in the 70's and 80's.

In another decade or so the Masters degree will become the defacto because everyone will be in possession of a first degree as soon as they hit 23 yrs old simple because it will be pointless to stop at high school level anymore.

If you just want to be proficient in yor respective area of IT then do certs, a degree should either be done straight out of high school or after you have gathered the requisite certifications in your area and/or enough experience where the degree will add that level of needed roundedness that they talk about.

But for those who didnt bother to go staight to college after high school ( especially those who chose tho work like myself) for whatever reason, Its better if you get the certs first and the degrees after (by then it will even be optional).

Trust me, unless your company is paying for it or you are able to afford college on your own (like I was) its pointless racking up debt for school (esp. SLB debt) unless you are just leaving high school and still living with mom and dad (when taking a loan is more their choice than it is yours).

my $0.02

Well said. Now i am not interested in working in the field of IT although i will obviously use IT in the workplace, but I think that EVERYBODY should get a first degree. I work in the field of education and to be honest, a bachelor's degree as stated before is the new "CXC", everybody needs one. You should get it simply because it provides a more readily available gateway to more advanced studies (post grad diplomas carry a lot of weight nowadays though they are a somewhat lesser qualification than a masters).

The reality is that academic qualifications and practical experience go hand in hand. The question is...why would you want to lessen your competitiveness in the job market by neglecting to obtain as much leverage as you can. If you know that having all three will give you the edge, then get all three.

Since most of us are usually strapped for cash, i say do what you can until you can do better. The type of qualification doesnt matter when you are young, just know that eventually you WILL have to obtain a degree and eventually a masters or doctorate if you have the ambition to go to the highest level in your field. Either that or you do like butch stewart

edit: If all you have is experience, thats not such a bad thing. There is something called Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) that allows you to obtain college level credits for experience you have garnered in any way shape or form. Even if all you do is stay at home and cook, clean and fix two computers on the side. As long as you can prove that your experience is equivalent to studies at the college level, obtaining official academic qualification is a singe

[Fana]

Its simple Cert if you are a Techie/Accountant
Degree for almost everything else.

[crazeeplayer]

i think the best bet is to get ur degree and the certfications as you leave college then the experience will eventually come cuz remember u cant gain experience if you dont have degree or certs and you can argue that if you dont have any experience then u cant get a job......... so its ruff neway u take it

but i think that its better to have the certs and not use it instead of needing the certs and dont have it .u cant go wrong with having the certs

plus nowadays even if u have degree u still need certs to be well rounded cuz certain jobs u just have to have the certs cuz couple of ma frens work at a place that have cisco router an switches and the IT manager wont even allow them to configure a single line unless theyre certified

so i believe that the best thing is degree an certifications... u can get the experience later cuz if u dont have the certs or degree u wont even make it past hr to get that " experience"......... an remember everyone has to start from somewhere..... im sure everybody when they started out they had little or no experience.......