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Education Qualifications for a Network Admin?
Volkov137 asks: "As I ponder where to go after high school for a future job in Network Administration, I have a couple of choices. Either go to a University and get a 4-year bachelors degree in Computer Networking and Administration, or go to a 2-year trade school that will be much more focused on what I need to know. Is the University really worth paying for, and will it mean anything more in today's IT world? Also, how important are certifications (Network+, Cisco, Linux+, etc) when entering this job market?"
I have a better idea.
Jump right in somewhere that is willing to hire you. Work hard, establish a good chunk of resume material from that company and then move onward if necessary after a couple years. Nothing beats real world experience and I've found that people who learned what they know through their own passion and desire (and real world implementation) tend to be far more enthusiastic and adaptable and quick to learn new concepts and skills and frameworks than people who just sat in a chair at a university or trade school for a handful of years, learning soon to be outdated material from professors or instructors who rarely implement their own knowledge in a real environment.
Not to mention, things in the real work environment are rarely anything like what you've learned in school and you'll have to be broken of your old habits.
;) I wouldnt count on that totaly , The trade schools can be very good and give you a more solid view of the way the industry really does work . ;) doing both may be an idea.
Universitys are wonderfull things for broadening your horizons to many things and giving you a good expanse of knowlidge on a plethora of topics.
However if you really want to get down to working , you will be far better with Work training.
That said
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
The problem is that it's difficult to find truly credible technical schools (unless you want to spend as much or more than you would have spent on a university education in the first place). A lot of them present themselves one way to the public and to the government accrediting agencies, but are little more than mills on the inside. Prepare to be bored to death.
Then again, if you can find a place that's both affordable and respected, go for it. But you're still just going to be learning things that you could learn faster and grasp better if you were doing it in the real world for a living.
As far as the university stuff goes - in this day and age, there's no point in specializing. Take a path of "general education" in school. It will simply make you a more rounded person, though it won't really directly apply to any one career choice. However, with that you can then establish your footing in whatever chosen career you might have at one time or another by taking additional specialized classes later on.
I'm a bit biased, as I've made a relatively successful career without any formal education to speak of. I'm one of those guys who simply loves technology, educated himself, worked his way into a position with a great company and learned everything necessary while I was there. I wouldn't trade it for sitting in a classroom with a text book and some guy lecturing me about network topologies and file systems who himself hasn't had a real tech job in a decade.
Open the classified's section of your local paper and look for a decent job. Notice how many, many jobs require a B.A./B.S. That is the reality. You can't really plan on securing one job and keeping it forever. You also can't really guarantee (in most cases) that you will always be doing the type of work you planned. You need to be flexible.
The content - the specific details - that you learn in school may or may not be applicable in 5-10 years. However, your ability to retrain yourself and gain new skills will always apply when you are motivated. Make sure you education is flexible enough to serve you long-term.
I'd say go to a university, and take a few business courses along with your network administration courses. If you can make sound business cases for why you need equipment or personnel, your professional life will be so much easier. Also, should you ever decide to do a start-up, the business knowledge may very well prove invaluable. And as the parent said, it broadens your thinking and helps you grow as a person. Take some art or philosphy courses too, mabye. You'll discover things that you never knew you were interested in and be a more interesting person for it.
Also, don't forget that the older you get, the harder it is to go to school.
How so? The older you get, the more advanced you probably are in your career and the more money you probably have saved up. Rather than starving and living on top ramen for four years, you could probably take significant time off work (having a better relationship with your employer due to seniority by this time, perhaps) and afford all of your tuition and text books. Much easier than scrounging around living in a cramped little studio apartment where you can barely pay rent and working two or three jobs while cramming your education into it.
I guess it's harder, if you've done something stupid like get married and knock out some gets and sink yourself into a mortgage and maybe have an exwife and child support and alimoney to deal with before the age or 30... But in that case, you've got bigger problems with maturity and wisdom than you do with dealing with an education.
Not to mention, by about 30, you'll have a far better concept of what a university education is worth, whether to specialize or generalize, what your true interests are and what you want to do with your life. I'd rather do that than decide in highschool that I want to be a rocket scientist, go to a university, spend four years aiming toward rocket science, graduate, get a job doign tech support for AOL or something and then realizing that what I really want to do with my life is own my own business... and go back to the drawing board all over again.
Also, a degree is very helpful in getting your foot in the door if you have little or no history. But if you have a great resume and work history, nobody is going to turn you down just because you didn't get a degree ten or fifteen years before (unless it's something that obviously requires one like... oh, I don't know - fucking brain surgery).
I've been considering going to a university even though I'm getting a bit aged now - but there are just no programs of interest. Look at your average school's offerings... They have degree programs for... nursing, teaching, business - maybe chemistry. Quite a limit to the variety of programs. Hell, I'd even consider changing careers at this point in my life - but going into debt for an education that will land you a job in a field that doesn't pay nearly as well as the tech field seems kind of silly. I don't know a lot of teachers or MBAs making six figures. In fact, all the MBAs I know are just boring middle-management schmoes or pie-in-the-sky guys with ideas that they can never properly capitalize on.
I love computers and love coding. I try to do what open source coding I can. I got a 1st in computer science and then.... I decided to do a PhD in engineering.
I'm now researching making holograms while studying physics in my own time. I rarely use a computer except to read slashdot and hobbiest coding (which is the best sort of coding).
Funny how life changes. A degree can open up your options.
It always annoys me when people present college and "real-world experience" as they they were a mutually exclusive dichotomy.
How do you think many people pay for college? You don't have to get a crappy job in the school cafeteria. Plenty of people find "real-world" jobs that they can work at part-time while getting their four-year degree. Yes, in total you'll have a bit less experience than the people from two-year schools, but you won't be completely bereft of it.
Disclaimer: I know nothing about computer network, I just know plenty of people who held real jobs that they could actually put on their resume during college, including myself.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
That is really the best point of all. Going into college, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do. After working in two labs doing that, I realized that I was wrong. I'm now on my way to a field that I had never considered at 18 (though it's related), and I'll be getting my PhD in something I hadn't even heard of then.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
Passion and charisma are all well and good--and they're code words for "youth." And when those folks who follow the advice of going for the bucks and the experience now get older, and need to change jobs because some multinational conglomerate made their shop redundant, they might find their "passion and charisma" less appreicated in their 40s than in their 20s.
Why bother learning lots of theory, higher math, abstract concepts and higher level thinking skills that you will never need?
Answer: Because he may want to do something else later in his life. A 4 year degree may not solve everything and land you the cushy job or whatever, but it will give you a more diverse background.
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I have never met anyone who went to university and regretted it later. I have met quite a few people who did not go to university and do regret that.
--- These are not words: wierd, genious, rediculous