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Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus to Joe12345678

Premium Member

to Joe12345678

Re: What Specialization Would You Choose Now?

said by Joe12345678:

"Higher education is approaching bubble status. The costs have risen rapidly, beyond the ability of most families to pay. Debt is being taken on at unprecedented levels and in an economic climate that is not providing the high-paying jobs necessary for that debt to be retired. At the same time, employers complain of a skills gap: the inability to hire employees with the skills needed to perform these new technologically demanding jobs."

And I'm frequently seeing college grads who have no idea how to do a job that their degree says they're qualified for. How can you spend four years getting a degree in something and not know how to do basic tasks.

We interviewed folks who didn't understand what a subnet mask was. I just don't see people getting their money's worth out of their degrees with the costs.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

Ya, I recently opted to go back to college to finish what I'd started.
the junior college I had gone to before only have a comp maintenance degree (but I had taken 4 classes in cisco networking as "electives")

Well at the place I'm going now they have a CiS degree, but looking over the classes it just doesn't look like it covers much networking. (and annoyingly they only accepted 3 out of 35 credit hours, because they didn't see a direct equivalent for the cisco classes or the other networking classes I already had.)

So ya I can fully see how someone that gets a CiS degree would be ill-equipped to be a network admin.

Also the school considers "leadership" a technical degree.

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

I just wish there were schools that had prepped people to go into IT jobs.

I think that four years is enough time to take someone and turn them into world-class experts on a particular field. Four years of networking, four years of Sys Admin, four years of programming.

I don't understand.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Joe12345678

Member

said by Exodus:

I just wish there were schools that had prepped people to go into IT jobs.

I think that four years is enough time to take someone and turn them into world-class experts on a particular field. Four years of networking, four years of Sys Admin, four years of programming.

I don't understand.

The old college system is not built for that and sadly the tech schools are roped in to that system.

"accepted 3 out of 35 credit hours"

Lot's of schools do that just have you pay to take there classes it's got so bad that some states have laws saying you must take Community College credits.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix to Exodus

Premium Member

to Exodus
said by Exodus:

I just wish there were schools that had prepped people to go into IT jobs.

I think that four years is enough time to take someone and turn them into world-class experts on a particular field. Four years of networking, four years of Sys Admin, four years of programming.

I don't understand.

I'll see about posting a list of the classes in the "plan" for CiS (which is the closest to a networking degree I could find.)

outside of the core classes (pre-cal, cal, 2 natural sciences, history, writing, ect) one of the classes is logistics.

then there are maybe 2-3 classes that are related to app dev. um this is CiS not CS.

IMO they need to focus more on networking.

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

All IT courses need to have a Networking basics class at a minimum. This is why it's so difficult for me to recommend college for people who want to to get into IT when they can do it so much more effectively and cheaper elsewhere.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

Ya I know, the only reason I opted to go back and get a degree is work is willing to reimburse me and I figure I'll help some.

But I feel the 4 cisco classes and the 4 networking classes (admin windows server 2003, internship, and 2 others) were valuable enough the current one should take them.

Exodus
Your Daddy
Premium Member
join:2001-11-26
Earth

Exodus

Premium Member

If someone else is paying for it, it is hard to turn down. If you have to pay for it in full, it is hard to justify paying for it.

I know most of you are network admins and I'm in the sys admin role. As a sys admin, I still have to understand networking a significant depth, but not at the levels you guys do.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

Ya, I just have to keep my grades up to 3.0 or better I think (might need to re-read the policy) and not go over the per semester amount they're willing to pay.

Downside is I can only take them so long as it doesn't interfere with work. (or till they hire more IT for the location)

and I must stay with the company for atleast 1 year after earning my degree.

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

Nightfall to Exodus

MVM

to Exodus
said by Exodus:

said by Joe12345678:

"Higher education is approaching bubble status. The costs have risen rapidly, beyond the ability of most families to pay. Debt is being taken on at unprecedented levels and in an economic climate that is not providing the high-paying jobs necessary for that debt to be retired. At the same time, employers complain of a skills gap: the inability to hire employees with the skills needed to perform these new technologically demanding jobs."

And I'm frequently seeing college grads who have no idea how to do a job that their degree says they're qualified for. How can you spend four years getting a degree in something and not know how to do basic tasks.

We interviewed folks who didn't understand what a subnet mask was. I just don't see people getting their money's worth out of their degrees with the costs.

You get out of a school what you put into it.

When I was getting my degree in 1997, I learned more of my higher tech at the time from the computer labs where I worked on campus. I learned Novell, routers, switches, and so on through many hours of sitting in front of a terminal. Most of my classmates never got a job in IT through college. I was better prepared than many of them.

Fast forward to today and its incredibly hard to find people who are motivated as a whole. I don't understand how anyone can go to school for 4 years and have little to no expertise in IT when they graduate.

In short, the school or method of training isn't the problem. The person is the problem.

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

YA, IMO alot aren't interested in thinking of "how do I use this post college"

for instance even at the junior college I didn't need 16 credit hours of electives (cisco classes) I took it because I knew it would help me.

so IMO people should not "apply for graduation" in the year when they have what they need, they should instead look for electives that will help them in the real world. (so my plan is get all the classes for the degree then hunt for more useful classes.)