certs or degree

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Certs or degree?

This argument has being going on for ages, and I just want ppls opinions.

I think degree is the best cause its education and certs anyone can get.

 

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depends. A degree used to guarantee you a good future it doesn't anymore.

If I could go back in time I would have got certs and a job and done a degree part time.

 

It depends. I think if you're going for your first job then a degree looks more favourable over someone with an A+. However, if you're going for a senior position then experience/higher level certs look better.

 

They are two separate things. You haven't actually said what you are comparing them for. Better for what?

 

Degrees show you can learn, certifications show that you have learned/experienced that technology/software/hardware.

I think a mixture of both is the best way to go.

 

In france a degree in IT from a good university is key to getting your foot in the door. So if you are ever looking to work over here think about having a good degree + experience!!
A lot of the good jobs in France expect you to have BAC+5 as a minimum, i.e 5 years of university studying IT including time in a company and or specialising in an particular part of IT.

A lot of the top companies just put your CV in the bin if you dont have the magic bac+5 on it.

I think you can do both - certs and degree - not forgetting having a fun time being a student studying something you enjoy Also university will open you up to lost of new ideas, people and experiences.

D

 

I find that each Job posting has it's own requirements, I've seen some ask for a degree, but it was preferred and not a requirement, I've seen other postings require a degree, those are mostly school boards though... I've been in IT for almost 5 years and from what I've gathered, experience is the number 1 qualification that employers look for, degrees or certifications not so much, they always seem to be optional in a requirement for a job posting. With that said, there jobs that would rather hire candidates with some qualification on paper. Thing is, having a degree is definitely a big plus and I think it's important, but for someone who's starting out, the degree is not going to work miracles, you could get an entry level job, but that's about it.

A lot of users on these forums advocate that a degree will become important when you start progressing into management roles, etc.. which is obviously going to be years later. With certification, it's a little different because you can start out with basic certs and with experience gain higher level certs. Degree right of the back is higher education so it's definitely more advanced than a lot of the certifications but don't mistake degrees to bee equivalent to certifications because they're definitely not the same so it's not really comparing apples to apples if you know what I mean. You see, certifications are specific to a technology or a specific field, like PC repair or System administration... Degrees encompass not just your major, i.e computer programming, etc.. but also other courses like time management, math, etc...

In my eyes, either one is great to have, but they're not the same and if you ask me, I think to have both would definitely be an advantage.

 

+1 for working (&obtaining certs) & part time uni / OU

I love the OU.. I've been plodding along whilst working (10-12 hour days) and now I'm doing two modules at once.. (allbeit, one module is piece of piss.) and tbh I still have a lot of personal time. Obviously certain things have been sacrificed (game playing, forum reading etc) but it's still doable with roughly the same amount of social..

I wouldn't have changed my path so far..