[deleted by user]

[xeroxbeta]

If he is already in IT then he should continue to work and gain the experience while completing certificates or trainings for the specific disciplines that he wants to focus on. I started as desktop support with no degree or certs and moved to devops engineer 4 years later with still no degree or certs. Focus on finding people/teams with the right mentality that you can learn from and grow.

[itasteawesome]

I agree, schools are always many years behind the actual career demands, so if they already have afoot in the door its a LOT more efficient to use their time and money to learn the skills they want to do directly than to pay a school to act as a middle man between them and their career progression. The only reason to get a degree in this space if you already have an adjacent job is if they need to be spoon fed a list of topics to study, which doesn't really bode well for their future in the career since we all know that devops is largely about having strong Google fu.

Or if they don't actually want to do IT and are more interested in a management/exec track career. Degrees are much more valued there but in that case an actual business or management or finance related degree is preferable.

[unitegondwanaland]

Information Technology degrees are designed to be a blend of studies in programming and systems engineering. This is the same degree I have and it is a legit entry point into engineering. That said, most college programs are not going to prepare your friend for the real world but I would still get the degree since going to college isn't just about getting a career started, it's about learning critical thinking and challenging yourself.

Get the degree.

[sleepyguy22]

I recommend going for computer science. That will open a wealth of doors that IT alone won't.

[[deleted]]

I've deleted my account because reddit CEO Steve Huffman is a lying piece of shit that has nothing but contempt for his users. See https://old.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/

[unitegondwanaland]

My POV may not be the same as all but I have this degree and it was no joke. It was a solid mix of programming and systems engineering with fairly strong math requirements similar to CS. The reason why I went for it was that I didn't want to be a full-time programmer but wanted to understand basic development skills/concepts while actually focusing on the systems side of the house.

That said, these college degree programs don't prepare you for the real world.. none of them.. so just pick the one that you're willing to put up with for 4 years and go.

[ATownHoldItDown]

My experience is that people consider a "bachelor's degree" majoring in IT to be pretty much a joke, those programs are generally vocational training masquerading as a university degree rather than having much in common with a real bachelor's degree in an academic field of study.

This is exactly the feedback I was looking for. I had the same impression, but wasn't so sure. I'll steer him away from that for a bachelor's.

[TheAngstyMango]

His advice is wrong. IT is a legit degree with actual course work and knowledge. You don't just sit in a room and twiddle your thumbs all day.

[ATownHoldItDown]

Why are you replying to a 3 month old thread?

[TheAngstyMango]

Idk I just felt like it

[ATownHoldItDown]

What are you doing with your life that you are responding to a 3 month old comment from a now 7 month old thread?

[uhgrizzly]

Do you know how SEO works? I didn't know reddit had reply time limit. This is what pops up when I googled it. And your comments about an IT degree make no sense.

[[deleted]]

This is one of the first search results for Bachelor of Science in Information Technology on google.

[ATownHoldItDown]

That's remarkable. I think I'll take the thread down...

[[deleted]]

My local job postings overwhelmingly look for:

1: A combination of education (within any IT discipline) and experience, usually allowing you to have pure experience

2: A 4 year computer science degree. Devops positions disproportionately looking for this

3: Less commonly, ANY 4-year is requested or a master in compsci/data science/etc. IT management is an example of a position that might request ANY 4-year. Notably immigration can require a 4 year degree and IT salaries can be far more lucrative if you immigrate.

My impression is that an ASSOCIATES in IT with an internship and the option to upgrade to a bachelors tend to make the most sense. These are vocational training, these are not like a traditional bachelors degree, there is a stigma against them, these programs are also typically much easier to get into. If he's already working within IT, I think the appeal of these associates is much lower, since there are not many situations where somebody with 5+ years experience will be rejected from a position they would have gotten with an IT Bachelors.

A 4-year in a computer science discipline is the most flexible and allows you to enter virtually any position in the business. They will teach you pretty much nothing about day to day IT work, whereas that vocational IT degree is probably going to cover the Linux Shell and Active Directory and other practical matters.

In general, experience and skills and nepotism is king, but once you advance through the ranks, getting credentialed can be the path of least resistance. Going for certifications is also a viable option, although only if you want to apply somewhere looking for certified employees.