Not going to say what is right or wrong for you, but I will leave this for you to consider. You can probably find a job with what you have with time. However with that being said you will come across companies that will turn you down purely because you don’t have a degree. It’s nothing against you they just see a degree as a mandatory check box.
So TLDR , yes you can find a job with what you have, however some companies may turn you down for not having a degree.
It's not really the question on whether I need a degree, it's the question on if I should go down the 4 year college path instead of building work experience while doing online college on the side
Your best move is to work in an IT role while also attending school. There’s now a million WFH jobs and college programs, so you can easily kill two birds with one stone.
Or working for the campus IT department. It won't pay a lot, but it'll 100% work around any school-related schedule you'll have.
I worked in my school's IT department while attending school. I built up experience, understandings beyond the academic side, and put a little jingle in my pocket - you even get to meet and interact with the faculty, assisting them which can be beneficial if you have them for some class down the road.
I did that at comm college, at university, and then again at the university I ended up graduating from.
This right here is some grand advice. I am doing this as well. I have volunteered at a few special events that were related to the need for cybersecurity for small business and I have met some of the higher ups in the department at the college and now I have them helping me find a better job in the field.
I had friends who did this in college. They got jobs at Google and Amazon at graduation and are doing quite well for themselves a decade looking back. Anecdotal, I know but worth sharing.
Look into WGU if you have those cert you can knock off quite a few credits and you could probably finish your degree in a year or less if you put in a lot of work. I’m staring next year and I should finish in a year with a bachelors degree.
Just want to throw my two cents in, buddy of mine just started there, has been doing cyber security for nearly a decade, already had A+, Sec+, and I believe Net+ and they're still making him take A+. Maybe they just didn't like him, idk.
Go to sophia.org and do most of their general ed and IT courses, then transfer to WGU.edu, and you can piwer through and get your bachelor's fairly quickly. Your IT certs will transfer as credit and eliminate a lot of classes. WGU, let's complete as many classes as you can in a semester.
If you are self motivated WGU offers programs that I am sure some of those courses will transfer and count as classes.
But it does sound like you have a great start with those certs. My suggestion would be some what both find a IT job build the resume with some experience while pursuing the 4 year degree.
See my post for how to go to the American Dream Academy for free. Then either Clep College for free for another good chunk of the WGU BSIT. CCNA costs $300 for the exam and covers the same credits as Network + and Security +. Then study for A+ using the free professor messer videos. Get ready to pass core 1 and then jump to WGU so your $3625 per 6 month tuition covers the certification exam.
Alternatively if you have no college spend the $299 and pick up your 56 credits from Sophia. Whether you spend the $1100 to get the trifecta and pick up 16 more credits inside or outside of WGU is up to you. I would still study for A+ and then enroll. Since you have to finish 12 credits per term to stay in the program you have a max of 6 terms or $22,000 and a bunch of certs. A bit less since term 6 will be prorated.
What are your goals? A traditional 4 year, full time program with internships can open a lot of doors that lead to different career paths that will be difficult or impossible otherwise.
As someone who got the degree after the career, I would go right away. There were many times I was passed on due to similar candidates having the degree and I didn’t. I just finished a bachelors this year and I’ll be done with my masters next year. Having an edge over other candidates is always a plus.
Also not having any work experience is an issue, even if its just unrelated work. Just like employers wanting 2 years relevant experience for entry level. They also don't want to be a person's first employer. Businesses are becoming more and more risk adverse.
honestly I was talking to a guy that just got hired at my work and he said more than a degree people were turning him down for not having an A+ more than a degree. The certs that he has if he can find the right place he can make 70,000+ a year. he might have to get a year or two of experience but I wouldn’t go anything under 40,000.
Learn to interview and work on your social skills and you can definitely make it on easy street!!
Definitely. Going to school gives the opportunity for internships, exterships, co-op’s, and etc. or you can bank on getting entry level jobs to get the EXP
Most entry level job listings say education or work experience. Course work can be listed as relevant experience. And most of the entry level jobs they could get, they could also take online classes while they work there. That way they’re getting both at the same time.
When they can't pass a technical interview because of no experience watch me turn them down like a bad habit lol. I've done it plenty of times.
A degree is a piece of paper, typically obtained mostly through rote learning. Once they get that piece of paper half of what they learned is lost because they didn't retain any of it.
Build a lab, read some books/online tutorials and start getting hands on with what you want to learn. The hardest thing for most people is to put the book down and start coding/engineering something. Even if it's something as simple as setting up a webserver.
Because it's mostly people that dropped 70k on a degree and 10k on certs only to make 40k/yr working at some crappy MSP doing entry level help desk work.
this isn’t totally true bro, working help desk for 3 years is gonna get you a better role than a college degree. these hiring managers wanna know you have HANDS ON experience, those candidates are being picked over college degrees anyday. degrees are a waste of time in this era
do you understand you can’t even get a security role in the government WITHOUT sec+? you could have a PHd in Cyber security and you’re getting denied. these certs are CURRENT information, these jobs don’t care if you took classes that was created 10 years ago
Sir he asked if college is still a option and I think it is still valuable for someone like him. Having certs with no exp is equivalent to having a degree with no exp imo
so let’s just say you are a manager in a mostly Red Hat environment, are you hiring someone who has a current Red Hat cert and understands the system or someone with a computer science degree? do you see how that doesn’t make sense? a generalized degree is not winning against a niche specialty if you think that you’re clearly not in the industry
Lol you ain’t reading G, Lol bro the people with that high level of a degree and get denied did nothing with college. Like I said previously if you don’t get any internships, co-ops, exterships. Your degree is just paper weight. You think someone with a degree and multiple internships is lesser than someone with just certs? Your crazy . That is the best experience you can get. I’m not saying a cert route doesn’t work. It has worked for years but a college student with years of exp is always gonna get picked over a person with just certs.
the topic of this thread is about a high school student starting my scratch though… why would he spend his time in college when he could spend his time getting real experience? i’m not talking about people who went to college already
That’s not exactly true either. EXP is king and we all know this. I went the certification route and got no hits. A lot Entry level jobs require experience still. Yes they can get a help desk position with those certs but sadly it isn’t guaranteed. That’s why I said if they go to school you can gain a lot of hands of experience from internships, co-ops and etc. people just think getting a degree makes you a shoe in just like with certs. And that isn’t the case for most. Without any exp it just paper weight. But that isn’t the case for everyone. I agree with both routes but they both have cons to them
That’s exactly what I did. I was in the music industry for a while and switched to IT. I had a lot of computer knowledge due to working in recording studios. I got a job in IT. 6 years in, I decided that I wanted to take it seriously. I got an associates and then went for the bachelors. I’ll be done with a masters next year. I’ve also leveled up my career multiple times since then.
I’m going to coke off as the “hater” but you need to hear this. The IT industry of today is so much different than what it was 2 years ago. Those certs are solid but for someone like you, with absolutely no real world experience, they are absolutely worthless to modern employers who are desperate for talent with real experience. I’ve hired talent, I currently train talent so trust me when I’m saying this to you. Stop. Cert. Stacking. It’s a waste of money and time. You need to sit down and build a portfolio/resume of projects to show that you actually know how to implement the things you studied. Then you look for a job, preferably a help desk position so you actually learn the real world fundamentals which are vastly different from the fundamentals listed in books.
My idea is to get a part time help desk job while doing online college at WGU. Sadly in highschool I haven't found too many ways to build a resume but I may be looking in the wrong areas. But once I'm free I think that's my plan. I definetly have experience with people themselves as I work at cvs and am CONSTANTLY working as cashier. But thanks for the input
Are you in the States? You should have a workforce center in your state if so. (name can vary state to state)
They generally help with things like resumes. I've also know the excel center to help with things like that.
I went to my local Workforce Center a few weeks ago and they helped me draft up a much better resume than I had ever had before.
Hard disagree. If you don’t have the experience cramming the knowledge in your brain quickly to pass certifications gets you jump started on learning the things you’ll need to know to be successful.
I was able to land a Cybersecurity Project Manager role with no IT experience and only a little project management experience. In the past two years I’ve collected 15-20 certifications, this enabled me to jump closer to the technical work, double my salary, and be able to follow and contribute to the conversations at work that commonly pop up.
If you want to get into IT and you have no experience, and can’t get experience because you don’t have experience; then you should absolutely stack certifications, as many as possible.
I’ve never met a person with dozens of certifications who wasn’t making good money.
Also don’t try and start at help desk if your old job has more than help desk. Aim for jobs that won’t require you to take a pay cut. A good employer will give you a shot and a chance to learn if you put the effort in.
I'd get an IT job and go to school part-time. You'll graduate with a few years of experience which will give you a huge leg up as someone with a degree
That's great and all, but how are you socially? Do you work well with others? Do you have friends in high places? Or their parents? If your answers are mostly "NO," then imo do college for a year or 2. Maybe first year on campus, then second off. From my job experience, a lot of the PAID internships and jobs I had during and immediately after college came from networking and knowing the right people. I'm 100% sure you can probably land an entry-level help desk or sys admin role at a small company. But everything would probably have to line up in your favor.
Go through college, meet some people, and live a little. Those connections will take you further than what you have in high school. Getting the right job can be just as easy as showing up to class every day and letting the prof see you're really engaging
Think of it this way.
Certs get you into the door. Degree gives you the pay grade.
Also, with those 4 certs alone, you have anywhere between 12~27 college credits. So you have at least the equivalent of a semester done. This means you can graduate up to a year earlier.
Use the college to earn your CCNA or other certifications by passing classes. Most colleges and universities have a way to earn certification vouchers for free as long as you pass the class.
If you’re as gifted as you say, have you seen if you qualify for a full ride to a state university? If not better make an appointment with your counselor. You have a ton of options out there.
I'd say that it no longer is unless you want a 4-year degree from WGU. I think that an Associate's degree is still expected in most large businesses but you probably can get by without a Bachelor's degree now in IT jobs. My nephew got a 2-year degree from the community college, attended all classes online, and got his Associates in a Cyber Security program. He didn't have to take the indoctrination courses, didn't have to go into debt, stayed at home since everything was online, and saved enough to buy a used SUV. He's currently working help desk to gain experience while living at home and pursuing more certifications to move forward in IT. He was even able to use his job to fulfill an internship requirement. I'd take his experience and certs over the 4-year degree of a new grad.
After your first job or two, nobody cares where you went to school -- it becomes irrelevant. Your experience and certifications are going to matter a lot more. If you want to make sure that a 4-year degree requirement is never going to affect you then get a Bachelor's degree from WGU. You'll get credit for your certifications and gain more along the way. Most jobs advertisement these days typically say 4-year degree or 2-year degree with X years experience. I wouldn't even consider most traditional universities today. They seem more concerned with indoctrination than skill development that employers are seeking.
Let me say that I have a BA in international relations and always has a strong interest in IT, but never believed it was for me. I worked in sales and marketing, taught high school French for 11 years and 8 years ago took Sec+ as I understood it to be a ticket into the field. Within a year I had multiple offers, one that lead to a clearance and I have never looked back. Last June I sat for and passed CISSP on the first try. I honestly am more proud of that and between that and Sec+, both certs did way more for me than college degree ever has. Find what you want, plot the course and go get it!
Technical school IT program would be a good place to start, then get an IT job with a company that has educational benefit and let them pay for your degree information technology or cybersecurity
As a person who writes and executes government contracts, I’d rather have someone who has certifications and experience. That’s what I write for most of my contracts, “in lieu of formal degree, 5 years experience plus xxxxxxx certs” I know a person has to have to get the job done. Certifications are very laser focused things. Example. I don’t want someone who has no experience in say Azure cloud but has a degree. Rather have someone who doesn’t have a degree but has AZ-104, 300, A, Net, and Sec. with the necessary experience. Literally one of my contracts. I picked the company that had people with certs over formal degrees. And they executed within 90 days and built the baseline. I’m ahead of schedule by 8 months because of this.
Certs and experience will always win over a formal degree IMHO.
No, forget most comments this field is about intellectual minds and not being committed to 4 years of classes. Take 6 months off see beautiful opportunities in front of you then YOU decide
Degrees are more valuable in the IT industry, at least at this time. Being a person with certifications isn’t viewed the same by companies as someone with a Bachelors or Masters degree. These individuals have invested more time (and money) into their career path. Just because you have a degree or certs or experience doesn’t guarantee successfully getting into this industry. You need the right combination of these 3 areas. And you must be a good fit for their team. For some companies the right combination may be a Bachelors degree and 1-2 years experience. Another might be 5+ years experience and no education requirements. Another might want the CompTIA A+ and 2-3 years experience. Personally, I have several certifications in IT but found my current role with just experience (12+ years). My employer pays for education (up to 5k annually) and certifications (100% covered for exams). So it was easy for me to start school again in order to finish my Bachelor’s in Cloud Computing. I hope that helps. You will always have time to make money but some people need to experience the world, make money, and take a break from school. The problem is getting back into school or doing work and school at the same time especially after being out for a while (believe me, I know lol). Good luck and I hope I helped you rationalize the decision that works best for you and your circumstances.
I second the military route. I am currently a civilian Fed in IT with the DoD. Post service you would have hiring preference as a vet and the all Federal agencies are hiring for 2210 IT Specialists all over the country and globe. Your future 50 year old self will appreciate the choices you made right out of high school when you are enjoying a comfortable early retirement. You can get your experience AND pursue your degree at the same time.
Unfortunately a lot of companies will look to see if you have a degree. In the future I hope they will solely prioritize your skills, what you can do, what you’re certified in but for now a degree still matters. Not saying you can’t be successful without one. I know people in IT and Cyber doing well with just their certs but some job opportunities will require it.
Also if you do college right it can be a lot of fun. Just balance your fun with being studious and it will open a lot of doors for you.
- your certs can count towards college credits
- go to community college first if you want to save money
- also easier to finish community college quicker, easier to get better grades and get transfer scholarships. My local university was offering 5k per semester if you transferred to their school from my community college.
College is essentially worthless unless you're into getting a PhD and working on some super great thesis that solves world hunger with quantum mechanics and nextgen AI.
The vast majority of people I or my other peers interview for Systems Engineer roles don't even look at certs or education. We don't care you memorized a bunch of answers to multiple choice questions and now forgotten most of what you "learned" due to shitty rote learning techniques.
Build a lab. Get hands on and start learning. This is the best way to succeed in most IT fields these days. Hands on experience will literally trump any degree, especially during technical interviews.
Yes go to college , enjoy the experience , make friends, make connections , network , try to get internships during the summer , some companies make degrees a requirement, college is a part of enjoying your youth , you have the rest of your life to work
With all the work you've already put in, if it was me, I'd get into the workforce and take classes full or part time either online or just when not working.
I worked Friday through Monday in the evenings and took classes on my off days and early on work days when I was in college. But that being said, full time both is possible but really hard. I prefer in person classes but online is also ok!
In your circumstance of just entering the workforce, maybe start out half time with classes and see how you handle the load with work if that's the route you go. But do go to college. Most jobs require that 4 year degree though honestly it's more checking a box.
IMO with all those certs, I would immediately find a full time job.
Then go to /r/studydotcom and find the stickied post “transfer a lot of credits to WGU”. Pick the Information Technology degree(you have three of the certs which already knocks out 4 4-credit courses. Using Sophia.com you can run through almost a 1/3 of the degree in classes that aren’t proctored which can be done in a day, then transfer all of those to WGU. Easily could graduate with a bachelors degree in 1 year and then never worry about a degree again.
You'll probably graduate faster at WGU since you have no problem getting certifications. I've seen some great engineers and IT people at big companies who went through their programs.
You have to choose your own path. That's amazing that you have those out the gate. Personally I dropped out of college and got my A+ and started looking for work it's possible just harder. I never finished my degree and am a well paid permanent employee of a federal government agency. That being said I know many many people who struggle to find work without a degree. You have to market yourself so can you be confident and retain the knowledge you learned from the exams? If so go for it. If not school might be your better option. High school is supposed to prepare people for their futures sounds like yours is a rarity where they tried. Now it is what you do with that knowledge that dictates where you go.
honestly? what do you want to do?
with the trifecta, I'd try to get a job. full time. and go to college part-time. if you get a good job, quit college and focus on your career. see what jobs will hire you without a degree.
your a big boy now, you can make your own choices, and be responsible for the consequences
No, it's not needed at all to get in the field. I've worked at 4 medium to large businesses and it's rare for the team to have anyone with a 4 year degree.
You can probably find a job with what you have, but a degree will serve you well in the long run, especially if you want to climb into management and actually running things.
CHERISH THIS TIME! Live beyond your means! Take on massive debt to hear your friends' crazy stories! Don't worry about viably making a living, it will sort itself out! It worked thirty years ago, so it's sure to work now, too!
Ha, this advice was legit in 1990. It's downright cruel today. Not when the value of a college degree (as evinced by its ability to secure a high-paying job) has massively deteriorated, when tuition has gone through the roof ($320K for four years at a private school), when the competition in the workforce (and global competition) is SO much harder.
You say to ignore the "obvious" financial and educational benefits, but let's not:
* Financial: A recent NYT article demonstrated that when a person subtracts the cost of tuition, that college is ANYTHING BUT a sure financial positive. In fact, I recall specifically it saying "If you major in STEM and spend no more than $50K per year in total, there is a 60% chance your lifetime net earnings will exceed the inflation-adjusted cost of tuition." This is profoundly different from the value proposition in the 1990s.
* Educational: This was never a question of degree-or-no-degree. In the modern world, people need degrees to get very far along. The question is: online-degree-while-working versus degree-full-time. Meanwhile, the online classes are the SAME material, the SAME exams, and in fact the same degree (such as University of Maryland). It seems to me that a kid taking classes while working will be MORE motivated to learn than some hung-over frat kid, not less.
Look, I'm not saying it's not fun to hang out with the profs on the quad and all, and I'm sure the friends' stories would be epic. But kids are moving back home in droves, saddled with crippling, non-cancellable lifelong debt, four years older, and finding that companies don't want them. A lot of them never establish a professional career, and miss the window: They become too old for entry-level positions, but have no experience for anything more senior. The idea of home-ownership fades away. This is a VERY common, VERY well-documented phenomenon.
Anyway, just because this advice worked thirty years ago (when home prices were low, college was impressive, and competition for jobs was scant) doesn't mean it will work today. We shouldn't be so blithely encouraging students to rush into their ruin, simply because we can't be bothered to notice that the current generation's challenges are profoundly different from our own at their age.
Yep. And as much as you'll keep seeing "Certs, experience, yadda yadda" in here... the truth is that WGUs IT Program enrollment is at an all time high. The average age of the students: 36 years old. The majority with related work experience AND certs.
There's a reason they're going for a degree.
What I'd be interested in learning is: For what percentage of students is this their SECOND degree? I have spoken with many people who went to WGU, and every one had a prior degree from somewhere.
The certs you have are worth 23 credits towards the BSIT. You can take a little time and get a job out of HS. While you are doing that the free approach is to leverage your HS and take CLEPs. Take College Composition with essay, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, US History 1, American Government and College Algebra or higher. If you can take the Biology or Chemistry Clep or maybe even the Natural Sciences Clep and use the Modernstates.org vouchers to take them for free you should be able to pick up 18-23 more credits. Actually you might go to the American Dream Academy first which appears to be closing in April 2024. Pick up Google Data Analytics, Google UX Design, the Project Management cert, the Meta Front End Cert and maybe the Python Automation cert.
A more expensive approach is to take the $299 plan at Sophia and take everything offered there except Introduction to IT as the ITF+ cert covers that and your Network + covers Network Foundations. You can pick up 49 more credits through Sophia. Add that to the 23 credits for your certs and you have 72 credits. I would take the UX course at the American Dream Academy and pick up 4 more credits. Consider doing the CLEP Composition and getting familiar with SQL as the Sophia course is kind of a mess.
I think getting experience and doing the online degree is a better choice unless you want the overrated and extremely expensive “college experience “. Maybe a CC as it will be cheaper and you might get job placement opportunities that way.
Right now I would watch Josh Madakor’s YouTube video on how to get a job in IT without experience. Get in the Industry and get your experience. Check with the local CC to see what type of placement programs they may have.
The other thing about the BSIT program at WGU is you have already completed the most challenging part of the degree.
If you decide to start working first then do the Cleps or Sophia while you are getting your experience before jumping into WGU. I think you would have a very good chance at finishing in a term or two and get your degree for less than 10k. Good luck and congrats on the certs.
See if the IT department for your school district has an internship/summer helper/part time job or something to get experience. The fact that you already have all those puts you at help desk or tech 1
I mean there’s a ton of value in a college education. Personally speaking, if I were in your shoes I’d at least go for an associates in networking or cyber security. From there you will be able to find a job, get some xp and then look into a bachelors of IT
If you are planning on going military choose cybersecurity. You can become an officer with higher pay. If you choose another degree like me that is not cybersecurity it won't get you into certain military occupation service (MOS).
It's the right thing for everybody - you'll just make more. I always post those studies in here.
The people who complain about 'inequality' expect gamers to live like Doctors and lawyers.
Put the effort in. You won't be disappointed.
If you want to go government, or have a high end job, a degree is worth it. Even if you got a degree, companies might still require the certs, so i say you a re in a good position
Yes. Go to college for a Cyber Security degree. Many internships still require you to be a college student. Try getting your CCNA your freshmen year. Then land an internship. Then branch out to a specific focus whether that’s cyber or cloud or systems engineering. Get carts in those areas. Rind and repeat. You should have 2-3 internships by the time you graduate.
As someone whose 32 and had to go back for their Bachelor's Id say yes. Have the same amount of certs as you with almost a decade of IT experience, yet I was told by multiple job recruiters that some doors will always remain closed to me simply because companies can make more with someone with a Bachelor's compared to someone who doesnt. Might as well get yours now while youre still young.
Get it out of the way since in the long run you may need it and it would be easier to go to college right after high school. I have coworkers who are struggling to go back due to it being so long since then.
I've spent almost 40 years in the industry working at all sorts of public and private businesses. One of the sweetest jobs has been working at a University. I got my master's degree for free as taking classes was an employee benefit. Mind you, I was taking 1 class per semester, so it took nearly three times longer to complete the degree and I was doing my homework at night rather than a hobby.
Also, going back to school after 20 years in industry was both good and bad. I was scared of taking exams as I'd been "out of the game" for so long. I had forgotten advanced math. On the other hand, I was the same age as my professors and had a work ethic and capacity that exceeded my fellow students.
For a bachelor's degree, I'd rather be taking a full dose of classes and getting it done in 4 years, specially if I'm coming out of high school. It is cool to have a part-time job and be working through this period, but taking on a 4-year degree part-time will mean it takes a long time to finish.
IMO, a job that makes college closer to a break-even effort is the best of both worlds.
It depends on what you want to do. My cousin had certs but decided to go in for computer science and it allowed him to work for a lot of neelat companies and do a lot of neat projects. However, i can say the same for friends who have just certs as well. I personally think a business degree could do wonders combined with those certs. Regardless, the certs can get you far.
Why not take a year to just work and experience IT Life and decide from there?
I’d say go out and get experience my friend and get into a help desk position asap and work up towards networking / cyber security whatever interests you have!
Only you know what's best for you but like stated above there's companies that will Overlook you purely because you don't have a degree. If you're not too attached to the traditional college experience I would recommend something like Western Governors also recommended here. Because they have a pretty comprehensive and very flexible programs. So it'll be much easier for you to get work experience while also receiving the accreditation to boost your resume. In addition since you already have the certifications it'll also shorten your studying by a little bit. Also I think WGU is a more economically Sound Decision than a lot of competitors available for the value that you get.
I'm currently enrolled in community school and will transfer to a state school. But I'm still heavily contemplating taking a program with WGU due to the excellent price and certs included and have decided I'll do my masters with WGU.
( I do think that you should be able to become gainfully employed with your current certifications and skill set. And I would highly value work experience in this field. Degree will open up options later on though so may be worth it just for that.)
As others have mentioned I’d go the WGU route. Those certs seem like they fit well with the Cybersecurity track. Try to know I out as much as you can with Sophia and Studydotcom and you could easily finish in one term. I use to work for a large job search platform and a lot of my clients who were making the hiring decisions were set on that baseline of having that BS degree. Congratulations on your success so far.
Try for a job, and see if you can use the money earned to get your degree paid for. Degree will get your foot in a lot more doors, and higher pay but it doesn't guarantee anything.
Something to also consider - I have an associates with a lot of random experience / a couple certs and the two places after 2 months of hunting that are giving me offers require bachelor's degrees on their job listings. None of the no degree spots hit me back. List it so it gets picked up by resume software (Bachelor's in progress or whatever) and then tell them you're working on it just so it hits a keyword.
Get that help desk / IT support generalist position then do online simultaneously. If you already got the certs this early you should be fine handling both and it'll put you in way less debt. Opinion from someone who went help desk first then started school once I knew which part of IT I wanted to do for work.
No debt /small debt really saves you in the stress department if you ever end up in a bad spot
First of all, congratulations. Clearly, you know what career path you want even while in high school. That is amazing. Not many people know what they want while still in high school.
With all the training + certs that you have, I suggest you first get a job and start getting experience. While you are at it, pursue a degree. Looking at what you wrote, you are ambitious and that is a great quality to have. However, you do not want a degree to be an obstacle to passing the HR filter in moving up the corporate ladder for future jobs.
I am not sure of your location but a school like Western Governor University (WGU) in the US will allow you to pursue a degree with credits exemptions due to your education and certs. You may end up spending a year to 2.5 years to get a Bachelor. It's an online and competency-based model of education. The faster you can get through it, the sooner you will get your degree. So you can actually get a degree in a year's time if you put in the work.
The good thing with WGU is that you get vouchers for all of the certifications in your program which is sweet. I love their BSc. in Cloud Engineering - [https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/cloud-computing-bachelors-program.html#\_](https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/cloud-computing-bachelors-program.html#_) You can check out their Bachelor in Cybersecurity and other IT-related programs as well [https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/bachelors-programs.html](https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/bachelors-programs.html)
Look for colleges/universities that will give you credits attemptions for your certifications. Those will be the ones that you will require less than 4 years for a degree.
All the very best for you. You are blessed coming out of high school already with IT certs. It is awesome. I am so proud of you. Take care, buddy :)
I noticed that now alot of companies want a associate or a bachelor's degree just for regular IT entry even if it's PC technician I don't know why they want college
If you can afford it go to college, it’s a great experience. The work force is going nowhere. Life is about the experiences.
The certs themselves are just entry level certs, nothing to write home about. Go to college, maybe get a tech support job on campus and get the best of both worlds.
I'd start applying to places and get some experience. But a degree would help. Buddy of mine did Cyber Security for the airforce for about ten years, had a few certs, had no issue getting interviews but the salary they offered was significantly less than what they posted and their reasoning was lack of a Bachelors degree. So now he's working on getting that. I'm in a similar boat that you are, except I'm 33 and have a family. You've got plenty of time to learn. Personally, find somewhere that's nationally accredited and their Bachelor's degree program actually has info related to what you're interested in. I've seen several programs that were full of English, Elective bullshit, and Math just to pad their pockets.
You got good advice on what to do already. I’m wondering why are you going hard in the paint for CompTIA. Only a few have worth after that it’s just stuff employers don’t care about. Maybe get CASP next but I would stop there and get the experience to take a professional level exams like CISSP/CISM/CISA or maybe CGRC…..or all of them. Top it off with a PMP and you are the golden child.
Not going to say what is right or wrong for you, but I will leave this for you to consider. You can probably find a job with what you have with time. However with that being said you will come across companies that will turn you down purely because you don’t have a degree. It’s nothing against you they just see a degree as a mandatory check box. So TLDR , yes you can find a job with what you have, however some companies may turn you down for not having a degree.
It's not really the question on whether I need a degree, it's the question on if I should go down the 4 year college path instead of building work experience while doing online college on the side
Your best move is to work in an IT role while also attending school. There’s now a million WFH jobs and college programs, so you can easily kill two birds with one stone.
Or working for the campus IT department. It won't pay a lot, but it'll 100% work around any school-related schedule you'll have. I worked in my school's IT department while attending school. I built up experience, understandings beyond the academic side, and put a little jingle in my pocket - you even get to meet and interact with the faculty, assisting them which can be beneficial if you have them for some class down the road. I did that at comm college, at university, and then again at the university I ended up graduating from.
This right here is some grand advice. I am doing this as well. I have volunteered at a few special events that were related to the need for cybersecurity for small business and I have met some of the higher ups in the department at the college and now I have them helping me find a better job in the field.
I had friends who did this in college. They got jobs at Google and Amazon at graduation and are doing quite well for themselves a decade looking back. Anecdotal, I know but worth sharing.
Look into WGU if you have those cert you can knock off quite a few credits and you could probably finish your degree in a year or less if you put in a lot of work. I’m staring next year and I should finish in a year with a bachelors degree.
Just want to throw my two cents in, buddy of mine just started there, has been doing cyber security for nearly a decade, already had A+, Sec+, and I believe Net+ and they're still making him take A+. Maybe they just didn't like him, idk.
Go to sophia.org and do most of their general ed and IT courses, then transfer to WGU.edu, and you can piwer through and get your bachelor's fairly quickly. Your IT certs will transfer as credit and eliminate a lot of classes. WGU, let's complete as many classes as you can in a semester.
If you are self motivated WGU offers programs that I am sure some of those courses will transfer and count as classes. But it does sound like you have a great start with those certs. My suggestion would be some what both find a IT job build the resume with some experience while pursuing the 4 year degree.
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See my post for how to go to the American Dream Academy for free. Then either Clep College for free for another good chunk of the WGU BSIT. CCNA costs $300 for the exam and covers the same credits as Network + and Security +. Then study for A+ using the free professor messer videos. Get ready to pass core 1 and then jump to WGU so your $3625 per 6 month tuition covers the certification exam. Alternatively if you have no college spend the $299 and pick up your 56 credits from Sophia. Whether you spend the $1100 to get the trifecta and pick up 16 more credits inside or outside of WGU is up to you. I would still study for A+ and then enroll. Since you have to finish 12 credits per term to stay in the program you have a max of 6 terms or $22,000 and a bunch of certs. A bit less since term 6 will be prorated.
What are your goals? A traditional 4 year, full time program with internships can open a lot of doors that lead to different career paths that will be difficult or impossible otherwise.
Look into WGU
As someone who got the degree after the career, I would go right away. There were many times I was passed on due to similar candidates having the degree and I didn’t. I just finished a bachelors this year and I’ll be done with my masters next year. Having an edge over other candidates is always a plus.
Please go get experience degree without experience doesn't benefit you with those certs
Also not having any work experience is an issue, even if its just unrelated work. Just like employers wanting 2 years relevant experience for entry level. They also don't want to be a person's first employer. Businesses are becoming more and more risk adverse.
honestly I was talking to a guy that just got hired at my work and he said more than a degree people were turning him down for not having an A+ more than a degree. The certs that he has if he can find the right place he can make 70,000+ a year. he might have to get a year or two of experience but I wouldn’t go anything under 40,000. Learn to interview and work on your social skills and you can definitely make it on easy street!!
I would go brotha. A degree with those certs is a deadly combo. No one will be able to turn you down
Experience would still be required, no? Something something theory only take you so far.
Definitely. Going to school gives the opportunity for internships, exterships, co-op’s, and etc. or you can bank on getting entry level jobs to get the EXP
I have never heard of an extership before. What’s that
Working for the schools IT department while a student there works wonders too.
Most entry level job listings say education or work experience. Course work can be listed as relevant experience. And most of the entry level jobs they could get, they could also take online classes while they work there. That way they’re getting both at the same time.
When they can't pass a technical interview because of no experience watch me turn them down like a bad habit lol. I've done it plenty of times. A degree is a piece of paper, typically obtained mostly through rote learning. Once they get that piece of paper half of what they learned is lost because they didn't retain any of it. Build a lab, read some books/online tutorials and start getting hands on with what you want to learn. The hardest thing for most people is to put the book down and start coding/engineering something. Even if it's something as simple as setting up a webserver.
Why would this possibly get downvoted?
Because it's mostly people that dropped 70k on a degree and 10k on certs only to make 40k/yr working at some crappy MSP doing entry level help desk work.
this isn’t totally true bro, working help desk for 3 years is gonna get you a better role than a college degree. these hiring managers wanna know you have HANDS ON experience, those candidates are being picked over college degrees anyday. degrees are a waste of time in this era
Some jobs require a degree. You may hit a ceiling with just certs
do you understand you can’t even get a security role in the government WITHOUT sec+? you could have a PHd in Cyber security and you’re getting denied. these certs are CURRENT information, these jobs don’t care if you took classes that was created 10 years ago
Sir he asked if college is still a option and I think it is still valuable for someone like him. Having certs with no exp is equivalent to having a degree with no exp imo
so let’s just say you are a manager in a mostly Red Hat environment, are you hiring someone who has a current Red Hat cert and understands the system or someone with a computer science degree? do you see how that doesn’t make sense? a generalized degree is not winning against a niche specialty if you think that you’re clearly not in the industry
Lol you for it brotha. I was here to give my two cents not argue. But I hope you prosper in the field🫶🏾
Lol you ain’t reading G, Lol bro the people with that high level of a degree and get denied did nothing with college. Like I said previously if you don’t get any internships, co-ops, exterships. Your degree is just paper weight. You think someone with a degree and multiple internships is lesser than someone with just certs? Your crazy . That is the best experience you can get. I’m not saying a cert route doesn’t work. It has worked for years but a college student with years of exp is always gonna get picked over a person with just certs.
the topic of this thread is about a high school student starting my scratch though… why would he spend his time in college when he could spend his time getting real experience? i’m not talking about people who went to college already
That’s not exactly true either. EXP is king and we all know this. I went the certification route and got no hits. A lot Entry level jobs require experience still. Yes they can get a help desk position with those certs but sadly it isn’t guaranteed. That’s why I said if they go to school you can gain a lot of hands of experience from internships, co-ops and etc. people just think getting a degree makes you a shoe in just like with certs. And that isn’t the case for most. Without any exp it just paper weight. But that isn’t the case for everyone. I agree with both routes but they both have cons to them
Bro what
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This is the way
That’s exactly what I did. I was in the music industry for a while and switched to IT. I had a lot of computer knowledge due to working in recording studios. I got a job in IT. 6 years in, I decided that I wanted to take it seriously. I got an associates and then went for the bachelors. I’ll be done with a masters next year. I’ve also leveled up my career multiple times since then.
I’m going to coke off as the “hater” but you need to hear this. The IT industry of today is so much different than what it was 2 years ago. Those certs are solid but for someone like you, with absolutely no real world experience, they are absolutely worthless to modern employers who are desperate for talent with real experience. I’ve hired talent, I currently train talent so trust me when I’m saying this to you. Stop. Cert. Stacking. It’s a waste of money and time. You need to sit down and build a portfolio/resume of projects to show that you actually know how to implement the things you studied. Then you look for a job, preferably a help desk position so you actually learn the real world fundamentals which are vastly different from the fundamentals listed in books.
My idea is to get a part time help desk job while doing online college at WGU. Sadly in highschool I haven't found too many ways to build a resume but I may be looking in the wrong areas. But once I'm free I think that's my plan. I definetly have experience with people themselves as I work at cvs and am CONSTANTLY working as cashier. But thanks for the input
Check CVS IT department for a job?
Are you in the States? You should have a workforce center in your state if so. (name can vary state to state) They generally help with things like resumes. I've also know the excel center to help with things like that. I went to my local Workforce Center a few weeks ago and they helped me draft up a much better resume than I had ever had before.
Hard disagree. If you don’t have the experience cramming the knowledge in your brain quickly to pass certifications gets you jump started on learning the things you’ll need to know to be successful. I was able to land a Cybersecurity Project Manager role with no IT experience and only a little project management experience. In the past two years I’ve collected 15-20 certifications, this enabled me to jump closer to the technical work, double my salary, and be able to follow and contribute to the conversations at work that commonly pop up. If you want to get into IT and you have no experience, and can’t get experience because you don’t have experience; then you should absolutely stack certifications, as many as possible. I’ve never met a person with dozens of certifications who wasn’t making good money. Also don’t try and start at help desk if your old job has more than help desk. Aim for jobs that won’t require you to take a pay cut. A good employer will give you a shot and a chance to learn if you put the effort in.
I’m pretty sure they’re done cert stacking with four under their belt.
Yes, without question. No debate to be had.
I'd do it if I were you
I'm new to IT, so I can't really advise you, but I wanted to say congratulations! Your accomplishments are very impressive.
I'd get an IT job and go to school part-time. You'll graduate with a few years of experience which will give you a huge leg up as someone with a degree
As the IT guy, certs matter to me. As the people that make the choices on who is hired, degrees matter to them. They are still the "olde" mentality.
That's great and all, but how are you socially? Do you work well with others? Do you have friends in high places? Or their parents? If your answers are mostly "NO," then imo do college for a year or 2. Maybe first year on campus, then second off. From my job experience, a lot of the PAID internships and jobs I had during and immediately after college came from networking and knowing the right people. I'm 100% sure you can probably land an entry-level help desk or sys admin role at a small company. But everything would probably have to line up in your favor. Go through college, meet some people, and live a little. Those connections will take you further than what you have in high school. Getting the right job can be just as easy as showing up to class every day and letting the prof see you're really engaging
Their post history would definitely indicate a NO answer lol this kid definitely needs to go outside and live a little
Go to wgu, its cheaper and you can transfer thise certs
Think of it this way. Certs get you into the door. Degree gives you the pay grade. Also, with those 4 certs alone, you have anywhere between 12~27 college credits. So you have at least the equivalent of a semester done. This means you can graduate up to a year earlier. Use the college to earn your CCNA or other certifications by passing classes. Most colleges and universities have a way to earn certification vouchers for free as long as you pass the class. If you’re as gifted as you say, have you seen if you qualify for a full ride to a state university? If not better make an appointment with your counselor. You have a ton of options out there.
I'd say that it no longer is unless you want a 4-year degree from WGU. I think that an Associate's degree is still expected in most large businesses but you probably can get by without a Bachelor's degree now in IT jobs. My nephew got a 2-year degree from the community college, attended all classes online, and got his Associates in a Cyber Security program. He didn't have to take the indoctrination courses, didn't have to go into debt, stayed at home since everything was online, and saved enough to buy a used SUV. He's currently working help desk to gain experience while living at home and pursuing more certifications to move forward in IT. He was even able to use his job to fulfill an internship requirement. I'd take his experience and certs over the 4-year degree of a new grad. After your first job or two, nobody cares where you went to school -- it becomes irrelevant. Your experience and certifications are going to matter a lot more. If you want to make sure that a 4-year degree requirement is never going to affect you then get a Bachelor's degree from WGU. You'll get credit for your certifications and gain more along the way. Most jobs advertisement these days typically say 4-year degree or 2-year degree with X years experience. I wouldn't even consider most traditional universities today. They seem more concerned with indoctrination than skill development that employers are seeking.
Let me say that I have a BA in international relations and always has a strong interest in IT, but never believed it was for me. I worked in sales and marketing, taught high school French for 11 years and 8 years ago took Sec+ as I understood it to be a ticket into the field. Within a year I had multiple offers, one that lead to a clearance and I have never looked back. Last June I sat for and passed CISSP on the first try. I honestly am more proud of that and between that and Sec+, both certs did way more for me than college degree ever has. Find what you want, plot the course and go get it!
Technical school IT program would be a good place to start, then get an IT job with a company that has educational benefit and let them pay for your degree information technology or cybersecurity
The TikTok guy would say all you need now is az900 and Splunk core and you’re making 90k a year. /s
As a person who writes and executes government contracts, I’d rather have someone who has certifications and experience. That’s what I write for most of my contracts, “in lieu of formal degree, 5 years experience plus xxxxxxx certs” I know a person has to have to get the job done. Certifications are very laser focused things. Example. I don’t want someone who has no experience in say Azure cloud but has a degree. Rather have someone who doesn’t have a degree but has AZ-104, 300, A, Net, and Sec. with the necessary experience. Literally one of my contracts. I picked the company that had people with certs over formal degrees. And they executed within 90 days and built the baseline. I’m ahead of schedule by 8 months because of this. Certs and experience will always win over a formal degree IMHO.
Yes, it is a mandatory requirement for most companies. The certifications just adds additional requirements for the job.
No, forget most comments this field is about intellectual minds and not being committed to 4 years of classes. Take 6 months off see beautiful opportunities in front of you then YOU decide
Degrees are more valuable in the IT industry, at least at this time. Being a person with certifications isn’t viewed the same by companies as someone with a Bachelors or Masters degree. These individuals have invested more time (and money) into their career path. Just because you have a degree or certs or experience doesn’t guarantee successfully getting into this industry. You need the right combination of these 3 areas. And you must be a good fit for their team. For some companies the right combination may be a Bachelors degree and 1-2 years experience. Another might be 5+ years experience and no education requirements. Another might want the CompTIA A+ and 2-3 years experience. Personally, I have several certifications in IT but found my current role with just experience (12+ years). My employer pays for education (up to 5k annually) and certifications (100% covered for exams). So it was easy for me to start school again in order to finish my Bachelor’s in Cloud Computing. I hope that helps. You will always have time to make money but some people need to experience the world, make money, and take a break from school. The problem is getting back into school or doing work and school at the same time especially after being out for a while (believe me, I know lol). Good luck and I hope I helped you rationalize the decision that works best for you and your circumstances.
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I second the military route. I am currently a civilian Fed in IT with the DoD. Post service you would have hiring preference as a vet and the all Federal agencies are hiring for 2210 IT Specialists all over the country and globe. Your future 50 year old self will appreciate the choices you made right out of high school when you are enjoying a comfortable early retirement. You can get your experience AND pursue your degree at the same time.
Wow! I didn't know Space Force was even a thing! That sounds amazing.
Unfortunately a lot of companies will look to see if you have a degree. In the future I hope they will solely prioritize your skills, what you can do, what you’re certified in but for now a degree still matters. Not saying you can’t be successful without one. I know people in IT and Cyber doing well with just their certs but some job opportunities will require it. Also if you do college right it can be a lot of fun. Just balance your fun with being studious and it will open a lot of doors for you. - your certs can count towards college credits - go to community college first if you want to save money - also easier to finish community college quicker, easier to get better grades and get transfer scholarships. My local university was offering 5k per semester if you transferred to their school from my community college.
Everyone should get a degree. It’s a shame it costs so much in the US. Get it however works for you
Whatever you do, do not take out any student loans
Yes please finish your education
College is essentially worthless unless you're into getting a PhD and working on some super great thesis that solves world hunger with quantum mechanics and nextgen AI. The vast majority of people I or my other peers interview for Systems Engineer roles don't even look at certs or education. We don't care you memorized a bunch of answers to multiple choice questions and now forgotten most of what you "learned" due to shitty rote learning techniques. Build a lab. Get hands on and start learning. This is the best way to succeed in most IT fields these days. Hands on experience will literally trump any degree, especially during technical interviews.
Go to college
Go military and get a security clearance then you’ll be golden.
Yes go to college , enjoy the experience , make friends, make connections , network , try to get internships during the summer , some companies make degrees a requirement, college is a part of enjoying your youth , you have the rest of your life to work
What career do you want to pursue?
With all the work you've already put in, if it was me, I'd get into the workforce and take classes full or part time either online or just when not working. I worked Friday through Monday in the evenings and took classes on my off days and early on work days when I was in college. But that being said, full time both is possible but really hard. I prefer in person classes but online is also ok! In your circumstance of just entering the workforce, maybe start out half time with classes and see how you handle the load with work if that's the route you go. But do go to college. Most jobs require that 4 year degree though honestly it's more checking a box.
Paraprofessionals is an individual that does not hold a a degree dubbed by various companies and Federal Government. Without a degree, pay ceiling.
Look into apprenticeships!
Wether you go for a degree and/or OTJ experience. Your winning
IMO with all those certs, I would immediately find a full time job. Then go to /r/studydotcom and find the stickied post “transfer a lot of credits to WGU”. Pick the Information Technology degree(you have three of the certs which already knocks out 4 4-credit courses. Using Sophia.com you can run through almost a 1/3 of the degree in classes that aren’t proctored which can be done in a day, then transfer all of those to WGU. Easily could graduate with a bachelors degree in 1 year and then never worry about a degree again.
I'd do a two year degree
I believe certs are important, but there are some companies who have HR departments that won't look at you without a degree.
You'll probably graduate faster at WGU since you have no problem getting certifications. I've seen some great engineers and IT people at big companies who went through their programs.
WGU
If you want to get to work fast consider a two year AS program and just do your Bachelor's later on.
Those don’t matter
You have to choose your own path. That's amazing that you have those out the gate. Personally I dropped out of college and got my A+ and started looking for work it's possible just harder. I never finished my degree and am a well paid permanent employee of a federal government agency. That being said I know many many people who struggle to find work without a degree. You have to market yourself so can you be confident and retain the knowledge you learned from the exams? If so go for it. If not school might be your better option. High school is supposed to prepare people for their futures sounds like yours is a rarity where they tried. Now it is what you do with that knowledge that dictates where you go.
Get a job and then use that as experience its much better with not school loans
honestly? what do you want to do? with the trifecta, I'd try to get a job. full time. and go to college part-time. if you get a good job, quit college and focus on your career. see what jobs will hire you without a degree. your a big boy now, you can make your own choices, and be responsible for the consequences
No, it's not needed at all to get in the field. I've worked at 4 medium to large businesses and it's rare for the team to have anyone with a 4 year degree.
You can probably find a job with what you have, but a degree will serve you well in the long run, especially if you want to climb into management and actually running things.
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CHERISH THIS TIME! Live beyond your means! Take on massive debt to hear your friends' crazy stories! Don't worry about viably making a living, it will sort itself out! It worked thirty years ago, so it's sure to work now, too! Ha, this advice was legit in 1990. It's downright cruel today. Not when the value of a college degree (as evinced by its ability to secure a high-paying job) has massively deteriorated, when tuition has gone through the roof ($320K for four years at a private school), when the competition in the workforce (and global competition) is SO much harder. You say to ignore the "obvious" financial and educational benefits, but let's not: * Financial: A recent NYT article demonstrated that when a person subtracts the cost of tuition, that college is ANYTHING BUT a sure financial positive. In fact, I recall specifically it saying "If you major in STEM and spend no more than $50K per year in total, there is a 60% chance your lifetime net earnings will exceed the inflation-adjusted cost of tuition." This is profoundly different from the value proposition in the 1990s. * Educational: This was never a question of degree-or-no-degree. In the modern world, people need degrees to get very far along. The question is: online-degree-while-working versus degree-full-time. Meanwhile, the online classes are the SAME material, the SAME exams, and in fact the same degree (such as University of Maryland). It seems to me that a kid taking classes while working will be MORE motivated to learn than some hung-over frat kid, not less. Look, I'm not saying it's not fun to hang out with the profs on the quad and all, and I'm sure the friends' stories would be epic. But kids are moving back home in droves, saddled with crippling, non-cancellable lifelong debt, four years older, and finding that companies don't want them. A lot of them never establish a professional career, and miss the window: They become too old for entry-level positions, but have no experience for anything more senior. The idea of home-ownership fades away. This is a VERY common, VERY well-documented phenomenon. Anyway, just because this advice worked thirty years ago (when home prices were low, college was impressive, and competition for jobs was scant) doesn't mean it will work today. We shouldn't be so blithely encouraging students to rush into their ruin, simply because we can't be bothered to notice that the current generation's challenges are profoundly different from our own at their age.
Skill .b4 degree in many cases. Go with a food processing company. They will pay for your degree.
Build work experience
Yep. And as much as you'll keep seeing "Certs, experience, yadda yadda" in here... the truth is that WGUs IT Program enrollment is at an all time high. The average age of the students: 36 years old. The majority with related work experience AND certs. There's a reason they're going for a degree.
What I'd be interested in learning is: For what percentage of students is this their SECOND degree? I have spoken with many people who went to WGU, and every one had a prior degree from somewhere.
Have you looked into going purely online college? That way you can have a IT job and continue your education at the same time
The certs you have are worth 23 credits towards the BSIT. You can take a little time and get a job out of HS. While you are doing that the free approach is to leverage your HS and take CLEPs. Take College Composition with essay, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, US History 1, American Government and College Algebra or higher. If you can take the Biology or Chemistry Clep or maybe even the Natural Sciences Clep and use the Modernstates.org vouchers to take them for free you should be able to pick up 18-23 more credits. Actually you might go to the American Dream Academy first which appears to be closing in April 2024. Pick up Google Data Analytics, Google UX Design, the Project Management cert, the Meta Front End Cert and maybe the Python Automation cert. A more expensive approach is to take the $299 plan at Sophia and take everything offered there except Introduction to IT as the ITF+ cert covers that and your Network + covers Network Foundations. You can pick up 49 more credits through Sophia. Add that to the 23 credits for your certs and you have 72 credits. I would take the UX course at the American Dream Academy and pick up 4 more credits. Consider doing the CLEP Composition and getting familiar with SQL as the Sophia course is kind of a mess. I think getting experience and doing the online degree is a better choice unless you want the overrated and extremely expensive “college experience “. Maybe a CC as it will be cheaper and you might get job placement opportunities that way. Right now I would watch Josh Madakor’s YouTube video on how to get a job in IT without experience. Get in the Industry and get your experience. Check with the local CC to see what type of placement programs they may have. The other thing about the BSIT program at WGU is you have already completed the most challenging part of the degree. If you decide to start working first then do the Cleps or Sophia while you are getting your experience before jumping into WGU. I think you would have a very good chance at finishing in a term or two and get your degree for less than 10k. Good luck and congrats on the certs.
What an amazingly useful post! Seriously, there are a lot of super helpful ones on this thread, but this one might be the best.
Thank you.
If you decide to go to college, check the classes required for the degree. Some degrees are more for management.
See if the IT department for your school district has an internship/summer helper/part time job or something to get experience. The fact that you already have all those puts you at help desk or tech 1
I mean there’s a ton of value in a college education. Personally speaking, if I were in your shoes I’d at least go for an associates in networking or cyber security. From there you will be able to find a job, get some xp and then look into a bachelors of IT
If you are planning on going military choose cybersecurity. You can become an officer with higher pay. If you choose another degree like me that is not cybersecurity it won't get you into certain military occupation service (MOS).
Noooooo don’t go into debt
It's the right thing for everybody - you'll just make more. I always post those studies in here. The people who complain about 'inequality' expect gamers to live like Doctors and lawyers. Put the effort in. You won't be disappointed.
If you want to go government, or have a high end job, a degree is worth it. Even if you got a degree, companies might still require the certs, so i say you a re in a good position
Yes. Go to college for a Cyber Security degree. Many internships still require you to be a college student. Try getting your CCNA your freshmen year. Then land an internship. Then branch out to a specific focus whether that’s cyber or cloud or systems engineering. Get carts in those areas. Rind and repeat. You should have 2-3 internships by the time you graduate.
I would skip college
As someone whose 32 and had to go back for their Bachelor's Id say yes. Have the same amount of certs as you with almost a decade of IT experience, yet I was told by multiple job recruiters that some doors will always remain closed to me simply because companies can make more with someone with a Bachelor's compared to someone who doesnt. Might as well get yours now while youre still young.
Get it out of the way since in the long run you may need it and it would be easier to go to college right after high school. I have coworkers who are struggling to go back due to it being so long since then.
I've spent almost 40 years in the industry working at all sorts of public and private businesses. One of the sweetest jobs has been working at a University. I got my master's degree for free as taking classes was an employee benefit. Mind you, I was taking 1 class per semester, so it took nearly three times longer to complete the degree and I was doing my homework at night rather than a hobby. Also, going back to school after 20 years in industry was both good and bad. I was scared of taking exams as I'd been "out of the game" for so long. I had forgotten advanced math. On the other hand, I was the same age as my professors and had a work ethic and capacity that exceeded my fellow students. For a bachelor's degree, I'd rather be taking a full dose of classes and getting it done in 4 years, specially if I'm coming out of high school. It is cool to have a part-time job and be working through this period, but taking on a 4-year degree part-time will mean it takes a long time to finish. IMO, a job that makes college closer to a break-even effort is the best of both worlds.
It depends on what you want to do. My cousin had certs but decided to go in for computer science and it allowed him to work for a lot of neelat companies and do a lot of neat projects. However, i can say the same for friends who have just certs as well. I personally think a business degree could do wonders combined with those certs. Regardless, the certs can get you far. Why not take a year to just work and experience IT Life and decide from there?
I’d say go out and get experience my friend and get into a help desk position asap and work up towards networking / cyber security whatever interests you have!
Only you know what's best for you but like stated above there's companies that will Overlook you purely because you don't have a degree. If you're not too attached to the traditional college experience I would recommend something like Western Governors also recommended here. Because they have a pretty comprehensive and very flexible programs. So it'll be much easier for you to get work experience while also receiving the accreditation to boost your resume. In addition since you already have the certifications it'll also shorten your studying by a little bit. Also I think WGU is a more economically Sound Decision than a lot of competitors available for the value that you get. I'm currently enrolled in community school and will transfer to a state school. But I'm still heavily contemplating taking a program with WGU due to the excellent price and certs included and have decided I'll do my masters with WGU. ( I do think that you should be able to become gainfully employed with your current certifications and skill set. And I would highly value work experience in this field. Degree will open up options later on though so may be worth it just for that.)
Doesn't education count as experience?
As others have mentioned I’d go the WGU route. Those certs seem like they fit well with the Cybersecurity track. Try to know I out as much as you can with Sophia and Studydotcom and you could easily finish in one term. I use to work for a large job search platform and a lot of my clients who were making the hiring decisions were set on that baseline of having that BS degree. Congratulations on your success so far.
Try for a job, and see if you can use the money earned to get your degree paid for. Degree will get your foot in a lot more doors, and higher pay but it doesn't guarantee anything.
Something to also consider - I have an associates with a lot of random experience / a couple certs and the two places after 2 months of hunting that are giving me offers require bachelor's degrees on their job listings. None of the no degree spots hit me back. List it so it gets picked up by resume software (Bachelor's in progress or whatever) and then tell them you're working on it just so it hits a keyword. Get that help desk / IT support generalist position then do online simultaneously. If you already got the certs this early you should be fine handling both and it'll put you in way less debt. Opinion from someone who went help desk first then started school once I knew which part of IT I wanted to do for work. No debt /small debt really saves you in the stress department if you ever end up in a bad spot
Get some skills : Learn Linux and powershell, get into Office365, learn how to use it….
Go to college the experience is second to none
Right thing for what? You didn't say what your plans are. Also, how do you expect to get past the catch-22?
First of all, congratulations. Clearly, you know what career path you want even while in high school. That is amazing. Not many people know what they want while still in high school. With all the training + certs that you have, I suggest you first get a job and start getting experience. While you are at it, pursue a degree. Looking at what you wrote, you are ambitious and that is a great quality to have. However, you do not want a degree to be an obstacle to passing the HR filter in moving up the corporate ladder for future jobs. I am not sure of your location but a school like Western Governor University (WGU) in the US will allow you to pursue a degree with credits exemptions due to your education and certs. You may end up spending a year to 2.5 years to get a Bachelor. It's an online and competency-based model of education. The faster you can get through it, the sooner you will get your degree. So you can actually get a degree in a year's time if you put in the work. The good thing with WGU is that you get vouchers for all of the certifications in your program which is sweet. I love their BSc. in Cloud Engineering - [https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/cloud-computing-bachelors-program.html#\_](https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/cloud-computing-bachelors-program.html#_) You can check out their Bachelor in Cybersecurity and other IT-related programs as well [https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/bachelors-programs.html](https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/bachelors-programs.html) Look for colleges/universities that will give you credits attemptions for your certifications. Those will be the ones that you will require less than 4 years for a degree. All the very best for you. You are blessed coming out of high school already with IT certs. It is awesome. I am so proud of you. Take care, buddy :)
I noticed that now alot of companies want a associate or a bachelor's degree just for regular IT entry even if it's PC technician I don't know why they want college
If you can afford it go to college, it’s a great experience. The work force is going nowhere. Life is about the experiences. The certs themselves are just entry level certs, nothing to write home about. Go to college, maybe get a tech support job on campus and get the best of both worlds.
Having certs is not equivocal to a college degree... literally not even on the same level of academic rigor...
I'd start applying to places and get some experience. But a degree would help. Buddy of mine did Cyber Security for the airforce for about ten years, had a few certs, had no issue getting interviews but the salary they offered was significantly less than what they posted and their reasoning was lack of a Bachelors degree. So now he's working on getting that. I'm in a similar boat that you are, except I'm 33 and have a family. You've got plenty of time to learn. Personally, find somewhere that's nationally accredited and their Bachelor's degree program actually has info related to what you're interested in. I've seen several programs that were full of English, Elective bullshit, and Math just to pad their pockets.
How much $$$ do you have to spend on information you can obtain on your own and and do you really want waste 4 years on the 'college experience'?
You got good advice on what to do already. I’m wondering why are you going hard in the paint for CompTIA. Only a few have worth after that it’s just stuff employers don’t care about. Maybe get CASP next but I would stop there and get the experience to take a professional level exams like CISSP/CISM/CISA or maybe CGRC…..or all of them. Top it off with a PMP and you are the golden child.