CIS degree

Bwah?

Anyone working on, or achieved a degree in CIS.. MIS.. or, CS w/ job exp with CIS,MIS

I took a semester off from HS to work/save money and now, a semester late I will be starting on my BS in CIS.
Basically I am looking for any and all advice on this career for school and in the job world. Of course I have done enough research/have interest in the subject before hand but I figured this would be the place to come for more info.

My schools curriculum supports either a software design path or a network path; I am thinking network.
(The closest class we have to an a+ cert is Hardware & Software) So I will have to do some work on the side for that Cert.

To start I've seen that it's wise to get a lot of certifications (ie: a+,MCP,MCSE, ?CISSP?)

Any and all suggestions, broad or not..it does not matter, will be appreciated!

Thanks HA/!

p.s. CIS curriculum for school

VThornheart

Well, as a recent college graduate with a BS in Computer Science (as opposed to MIS/CIS)...

I can say that, as long as you can prove yourself knowledgeable and personable in the workplace, you'll do fine with a CIS degree.

Some people get on others and say they NEED a BS in CompSci to make it out there. But especially with Networking and Programming, it's just not true. *competency* is the main thing, at least for most companies. If you prove you know what you're talking about and can make your designs become reality, you could have even a Psychology degree if you wanted (I've seen it ).

Of course, having a degree (of some sort) is useful, so I whole-heartedly suggest it. I think Certifications are starting to become less and less important as the pool of available ones widen and the pool of people who have them increases. The degree will help to set you apart.

Just make sure you can be personable with groups and take criticism. I know at our work, we've turned down people who were the most skilled applicant but could obviously not handle taking advice from others or orders from superiors. All the skill in the world becomes moot to a company that knows what its doing on a Human Resources level if the person can't interact with others. So make sure to hone your social skills while honing your professional skills. They'll want to know that you can be told to do a task, and that you won't try to dominate/intimidate/belittle your peers.

Hopefully this helps.

Jimmy King

Go with whichever program sounds more interesting to you. Either one can land you an interesting, high paying job. And really, either one can get you into either line of work as long as you can show that you are competent.

Like VThornheart said, definitely get a degree of some sort. I don't have a degree. I'm 27, a lead developer, and take part in a lot of our systems and operations related work with troubleshooting the network and configuring network hardware. I've taken over most of the duties of the US Director of IT for our company since he left a few months ago. It's been a hell of a lot of work getting here and I really hope I don't have to look for work again any time soon as I think without the degree it'll stll be a bitch to get a decent job. From my experience looking for work, nearly any degree, especially relevant ones but almost any degree, plus a little experience will go a very long way. I'm currently going back to school right now (which reminds me, I need to look at what classes are available next semester very soon here).

As to certifications, well, I'd honestly wait it out a bit. Low level ones like A+, N+, and a basic MCP aren't going to hurt, but they also aren't much help beyond entry level phone support and desktop support. Anything higher level than that really aren't relevant until you've got some experience and in the very least know for sure what you want to do and what you will be working with. You can pass the tests without the experience, but it doesn't mean as much as there's a big difference between being able to do the work, putting the right answers on the test because you truly understand the technology, etc. and being able to put the right answers on the test because you took a bunch of practice tests that have nearly the same questions word for word until you got it memorized.

Scrublet

I wouldn't even mention things like those basic certifications (A+, etc.) anymore. Kick ass in your BS degree and you won't need that bullshit. As far as career paths, I recommend seeing if you can get a job as a software engineer in the defense contracting business (Lockheed, Raytheon, Northrop, etc.). These jobs are extremely lucrative for entry-level grads and beyond.

VThornheart

Aye, I agree with the above two posters. And I wanted to add that if you want to do certification just for the sake of doing it, if you get in with the right employer they may even PAY you to get them (after the fact), so you don't have to pay a dime for them.

I don't have a job like that unfortunately, but I have many peers who graduated with me and ended up getting all sorts of free training and certification, AND got paid while they were doing it. I think you have to go to a company that's already well established to get that kind of stuff (I'm with a startup, and we barely have enough money to pay my paycheck let alone do training ).

Scrublet

VThornheart wrote: »

And I wanted to add that if you want to do certification just for the sake of doing it, if you get in with the right employer they may even PAY you to get them (after the fact), so you don't have to pay a dime for them.

A good point that I totally forgot about...in addition to this, if you get into many big employers, they will pay for you to get your Master's degree (while working full-time mind you, but still). My Master's in CS will be totally free. A great deal.

VThornheart

Scrublet wrote: »

VThornheart wrote: »

And I wanted to add that if you want to do certification just for the sake of doing it, if you get in with the right employer they may even PAY you to get them (after the fact), so you don't have to pay a dime for them.

A good point that I totally forgot about...in addition to this, if you get into many big employers, they will pay for you to get your Master's degree (while working full-time mind you, but still). My Master's in CS will be totally free. A great deal.

That's awesome OP, if you can get your master's degree like this guy is, you're set. That's a great deal. (Damn, I feel like I'm missing the boat working for my current employer )

Bwah?

Great info guys, thanks.

Bump for the holidays.

Anymore advice? Sorry but, hungry for knowledge

Legoman05

As with any field, it's all about who you know.

Talk to guys at your University's various tech organizations. I got a job with the netsec group on campus because I knew the guy's daughter, and now I'm good friends with him, the PR guy, and that gives me another in with a lot of my professors.

So, not only do you have references, but a lot of these people are shareholders with companies who may be looking to hire you down the line.

Be competant, but having these relationships shows that you can work as part of a team and be well liked by your co-workers.

Deviant Hands

VThornheart wrote: »

(Damn, I feel like I'm missing the boat working for my current employer )

Maybe bring it up with your employer. Free Training is something employers provide in order to decrease employee turnover rates.