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A friend and I was talking about this the other day. He attending a 4 year college but he not currently working to get his certifications. I’m at a two college that work with to get your certifications. So my qusetion which is more important the degree or the certifications?

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I think it all depends on what you want to do for a carreer.

My experience is that 2-year degrees and certs are aimed at technicians and engineers. Those of us who like to get our hands dirty.

The 4 year degrees tend to be more theory, programming, and management related.

There are always exceptions to the rule, of course, but that is my experience.

The thing to remember is when you are searching for new employment, often the job posting will state " Bachelor degree in xxxxxxx or equivalent experience". If you do not have the 4-year degree, the certs + experience can help to get you past the HR cops who are scanning the resumes.

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I am relatively new to IT and have a degree, but not in IT. I have an A+ certification and I have a full time job as tech support. But I look at job ads all the time and the majority want some type of degree. So I would say having a degree is a major stepping stone to getting your foot in the door for the interview and having certifications, especially upper level ones (i.e. Cisco certified, etc.) are just icing on the cake for the interview.

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I have a 2 year, no certs (programming not as important as networking). I personally believe its a fancy expensive piece of paper, your education is only what you make of it.

With that said, it really comes down to what the employer wants.

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Most job postings I see require a 4 year degree (or equivalent experience 1 years experience for each college year). I was on the 2 year degree plan with certs like you till I started to notice the trend. However, I think if you can land an interview and can show your experience off I’d consider a 2 year degree and cert candidate over a 4 year, no certs candidate, with no hesitation.

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Forced to choose, I’d say the degree is worth more over a longer period of time. Most, but not all, certifications have a tendency to come and go. Also, depending on the certification, many of them can be gamed or dumps can be used. I’d say the degree has more lasting value.

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As much as I hate to say it, the 4 year degree will probably get your foot in more doors. Most HR people know little or nothing about which certifications mean what but they do know that a bachelor’s degree means you had the drive and tenacity to drink beer for 4 years.

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I have to go with the majority of you who said college over a certification role.

You could get your certs pretty easy - but college shows you are dedicated to something. (Even we all know that its not all work and its just a fancy paper that says you paid $40k for)

I say go to the military, let them train you and get your certs while in the military. Once you’re done with the service they will pay you to go to school and pay for your school. Now you dont have to suffer through making those $400/month payments for a piece of paper that no one really ever looks at.

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Chris says it perfectly!!! Being a vet and just finishing up my 4 year degree, I can’t say how nice those GI Benefits are and how much needless debt they have saved me from.

Also, most HR offices only use degrees as screening requirments in order to drop the number of resumes they have to manually look over. That fact that you have a degree is all they really care about.

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From what I know it depends on the company. I was interviewing for a place and all they cared about was the certs. I asked about tuition reimbursement and they guy told me that they do not do it but will pay for any certification that I wanted to get. So bottom line is that it depends on what you want to do and what company you are going to be working for.

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I got my degree, and I feel like it is useless waste of money.

I think it depends on what you compare to. Obviously, entry level Certs aren’t going to hold any weight over a fancy degree.

I agree with Jason4599, the people in HR only know what a degree is, they do not understand anything else. So, it is a must if you seek high level position or just want to work for a large company.

Certifications can get you where you want to go, if you are into Networking, Cisco Certs can open alot of doors.

Last I checked, CCIE’s are in high demand and can easily make 100K and up.

I wish I was a Cisco Expert… that is my goal for the future. There are only about 20,000 in the world right now.

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Your probably not going to like this, but BOTH.

Some things to consider . . .

First, what do you want to do? Be specific. Now is the time to figure out what you want to specialize in. To figure out what you’re good at. We all know tech savvy individuals that seem to be able to work magic on all levels, but that’s usually the result of time / experience. Around my little slice of heaven I’m known as the “Computer Whisperer”, but my focus started out with an affinity for hardware / software. One of the things that college offers is a smorgasbord, which will offer you, among other things, the ability to realize your strengths and weaknesses and chart a course accordingly.

Second, once you have a specialization (e.g. Hardware, Software, Security, Networking, ect., ect.) do some job searching through Monster, FlipDog, and the like. See what employers are looking for from someone with your specialization. Not only whether they want / require more formal education or certification, but what kind of formal education or certification.

Third, it’s been my experience that certifications are only as good as the experience that goes along with them. Certifications are good, but anyone can buy a book and purchase test questions from TestKing, CertifyMe, or the like and then pass the exam. College offers the ability to offer student work, independent study, capstone classes, internships, and the like. If the formal route is not your thing. Build local lab(s), local LAN(s), and the like. Then break them. Then fix them. Record everything you do.

My best suggestion: Create and maintain a portfolio that links formal education, classroom training, certificates, certifications, and experience. It’s a great tool to document your . . . Path / Expertise.

P.S. If you decide to go with formal education . . . Make sure the institution is accredited. You won’t regret that decision later.

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Kiya3838 wrote:

A friend and I was talking about this the other day. He attending a 4 year college but he not currently working to get his certifications. I’m at a two college that work with to get your certifications. So my qusetion which is more important the degree or the certifications?

If your thing is security . . . Definitely, military is the way to go. The security clearance is well worth the effort.

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BMoore wrote:

I got my degree, and I feel like it is useless waste of money.

I think it depends on what you compare to. Obviously, entry level Certs aren’t going to hold any weight over a fancy degree.

I agree with Jason4599, the people in HR only know what a degree is, they do not understand anything else. So, it is a must if you seek high level position or just want to work for a large company.

Certifications can get you where you want to go, if you are into Networking, Cisco Certs can open alot of doors.

Last I checked, CCIE’s are in high demand and can easily make 100K and up.

I wish I was a Cisco Expert… that is my goal for the future. There are only about 20,000 in the world right now.

If networking is your thing . . . Definitely, CISCO certification.

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That depends, I have a bachelor’s degree and that didn’t help me at all get into this field. I went to a 2 year technical school for an associates and that made getting a job easier.

Also it depends on the field you want to work in. If it’s going to be something technical, I would go with a 2 year program, as in my experience the technical school already will have companies looking to hire. At least at ITT that was how it worked. The school had a working relationship with different companies and sent over resumes of new graduates. That will get your foot in the door, and if you do well, then the company will pay for you to advance your education if you so choose.

Now this might not be true of all companies, but with my experience that is how it has gone.

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Over the long haul, especially if your aim is management, 4 year degree. @ year if you love the trenches, and certs to prove you’re staying current and to help back up you claim that I know what I’m talking about.

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rmuniz9336 wrote:

Over the long haul, especially if your aim is management, 4 year degree. @ year if you love the trenches, and certs to prove you’re staying current and to help back up you claim that I know what I’m talking about.

Sounds like what I’ve seen… I couldn’t personally attest to either, as I’ve not managed either. (I don’t care what anyone says, the A+ was a complete and total waste of time. The others probably aren’t, but I’m still pissed that I couldn’t get a refund on that waste of time)

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As some others have said, a 4 year degree tells the employer a lot about you. With a degree like this you’re going to have done a broad range of topics, you’re going to have done project work and you’re going to have done a large project in your final year culminating in a dissertation.

From this an employer can assume, rightly or wrongly, that you are persistent, you can think analytically, you can think creatively, you can work to deadlines and you can work under pressure. Its also an assurance you’ve attained a minimum level of education that they want.

Certifications on the other hand are largely geared toward a particular product, cisco, MS, Redhat etc. etc. While this means you are educated on current technologies it’s only useful while those technologies are current and you’re relying on the employer to have those technologies in-house to be an attractive candidate for a position.

So with a 2 year degree (or diploma over here) and certs you’re likely to be in with a good shot at getting the job, but then so is the guy with a 4 year degree and no certs. If the guy with the 4 year degree has gotten some certs too then he’s going to be tough to beat in the jobs race.

I believe the true value of a bachelors degree is that you’re much more likely to get a job in difficult times such as these. I’m absolutely positive that if I didn’t have my degree I’d be really struggling to get by right now, probably living on benefits.

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You can have both. I’m a student at wgu.edu in their B.S. Information Technology—Networks Design and Management degree. In a year I will have my Bachelors as well as the following certs included in the program:

Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Enterprise Administrator
CIW Web Foundations Associate
CIW JavaScript Specialist
CompTIA A+
CompTIA Networks+
CompTIA Project+
CompTIA Security+
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Windows 7 – Configuration
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Windows OS Fundamentals
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Networking Fundamentals
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Security Fundamentals
Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Web Development Fundamentals

Online IT Degrees – Information Technology Bachelor’s Programs | WGU for more info.

Chuck

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BMoore wrote:

Certifications can get you where you want to go, if you are into Networking, Cisco Certs can open alot of doors.

Last I checked, CCIE’s are in high demand and can easily make 100K and up.

I wish I was a Cisco Expert… that is my goal for the future. There are only about 20,000 in the world right now.

Cisco is good, but not always easy. Especially the CCIE. The exam is insane - it’s a two hour theory test & an 8 hour lab. You need to get around 80% & it costs ~$1500. That said, it’d be awesome to get. :slight_smile: