Degree vs Certification: Part 2

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about whether or not getting a college degree was better than getting some IT certifications. This is part two of that thought process. Its been almost two years since I wrote about getting a degree vs certification and I mentioned in the article that I was going to go back to school to finish my degree. Well, I am almost done, this should be my last semester. I will graduate with an Associates Degree in Computer Networking Technologies. It might be considered a basic degree but none the less, I finished. Now I need to decide if I am also going to get some certifications. I am pretty sure that I will, I just need to figure which path to take. Microsoft or Cisco? Or both? Well, I found an article that discusses the topic of possibly getting both, a degree and certifications. And I think I finally agree. Getting both will help me in the long run and I would only need to continue updating my certifications when they expired. My degree will never expire, it will always be there on my wall somewhere showing that I finished it. IT Certifications expire as fast as the technology changes. Study hard folks.....

Here is a link to the article from Microsoft's Born to learn blog: Born to Learn

Microsoft Learning Snacks

Learning Snacks are short, interactive presentations about popular topics created by Microsoft Learning experts. Each Snack is delivered by using innovative Microsoft Silverlight technology and includes various media, such as animations and recorded demos. At the end of each free presentation, you can view more Snacks to learn more about the topic, or visit a related Web site.

Current topics:

Microsoft Silverlight
Virtualization
Windows Server 2008
Windows Vista

Learn more here: Learning Snacks

Degree vs Certification

When I first thought about going into the IT field back in the late 90's, everyone was telling me that all I need to do is get certified and I will make at least $60,000 a year. And the top 3 certifications I thought about were Microsoft MSCE, Cisco CCNA and Comptia A+. So, I listened and began going to Seminole Community College to study the current (at the time) Microsoft track because they offered 2 year degrees working toward certifications. No way did I have the money to pay for an MCSE bootcamp.


So technically, I was doing both, getting a degree and studying for a certification within the degree itself. I continued for the next 4 yrs taking basically every MCSE related course and 6 semesters of Cisco course content as well. And while I did manage to get my MCP in Windows NT Workstation (yeah, I know, but I did say the late 90's), I would still have to take 6 more certification tests to become MCSE. No money = No test taking. Each test cost around $100-125 per test. At the time, I could not continue to finish my certifications. Their were other students in my same position. But it did help get me a job in the IT field beginning at the IT help desk level. After about 4 months of that, while still studying and learning more about Windows NT/2000/XP and Cisco, I got promoted to a Desktop Support Technician where I am currently at level 3 now.


So what am I getting at....unfortunately, without a degree or an actual current certification (my MCP actually expired a few years ago), I probably will not get promoted again. Yes, I do work for a government agency and I've discovered that its even harder to get promoted because a degree or certification is still a big part of what's needed to apply to most agencies. There are people where I work, who have a 4 year degree that have basically walked into their promotion knowing.....yup, nothing about the new position. Which, in my opinion can be good or bad. If employers are just looking to give someone with a degree a chance to make a name for themselves...but if someone without a degree or maybe has a certification or two but still no degree is better qualified for the position, that person should be hired. But it all depends on the agency's employment policies.


So, its come down to this for me....go back to school and finish my degree in Computer Networking, or start studying for Microsoft and Cisco again.

Continue reading to see what I decided to do about getting a degree or certification.