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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'm currently in a 4-year program at UIUC. For 95% of the things a network admin needs to do, a two year trade school is sufficient. But you learn a lot of useful skills, and learn how things work on a lower level, in a university. For example, in the networking lab class we write our own TCP/IP stack from scratch, so we really understand how things work better. Or in our OS design class we write a software RAID 0+1 driver module for linux. A university degree also makes it a lot easier to get your first job in today's competitive job market.
It depends what you want to do . . ,then the trade school may be far more benifical.
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If your more intrested in the Theory and constructing networks, then the university would be more you thing
However if your more intrested in running systems and their upkeep and maintenance
As for Certs , unfortunatly they have become a nesecity in our day and age
A little bit of paper saying your qualified to do A:B:C:D etc are what many employers look at when selecting candidates to interview , but choose carefully. Some really are total fluff whilst others will give you a really solid grounding in a system.
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
The University will waste your time and money with classes that have no bearing on your job. The University usually focuses on theory and generalizations of concepts with some specifics. Universities are more interested in creating a well rounded educated employee. But, employers don't care if you took Western Civ. They want to know if you can fix their network. Having said that, you do need to understand network theory. Learning how to run a MS based network is different from actually knowing how networks in general operate. This is knowledge that you can pick up through books.
If you KNOW that network admin is what you want, then got to the trade school. They will teach you alot of information that will be very useful in the job market and a lot of their classes will be hands on with networks. If you aren't positive, the course is only two years. When you get out you can try another major. In the mean time you have a degree of some type. This will at least help you get some money rolling in while you decide what you want to do. Never underestimate the need to pay your car note, rent, electric bill and cable.
Going the experience route won't get you anywhere. Very few people are willing to hire someone with no prior experience in networking. Even if a company does hire you, they aren't going to teach you diddly squat. They will expect you to learn on your own, which is great if you can pick it up quickly. If you have problems understanding some concepts they won't be nurturing. They will just fire you.
Well, anecdotal as this is, I'll simply offer this:
I dropped out of the 9th grade and have been pulling down close to six figures since I came of drinking age. That was some time ago. I have a respectable resume and accomplished what I have through nothing more than working hard, being reliable, being productive, learning new concepts and constantly proving myself to people.
The most important skill you can ever have is comprehension. More important than "do you know xyz" is "can you learn xyz". If you can learn new skills as necessary and be a reliable and productive person - that's all anyone will really ask of you. After all, what you learn in school regarding tech is only going to be applicable as long as that is the prevailing technology - which is usually not that long. That said, a degree will help get your foot in the door if you have no other way. But realize that it is not necessarily better. It is merely alternative. If I'd gone for a university education, it would have cost me perhaps $40,000 in tuition, not to mention a few hundred thousand dollars in lost wages that I was making in my career by that time (over four years). And who is to say that after graduating and following the traditional path of internships and such that I'd have landed such a prime offer at all?
The key really seems to be in figuring out what kind of person you are. If you're a hardcore techie that learns on your own - no matter what - and you are a hard worker, maybe there are alternatives. If you need the structure, guidance, etc... then maybe a formal education really is the better path.
Having not gone that rout, I can only speak from the one which I took.
However, be wary of "engineering technology" type degrees. Typically, you'll be wasting your time and money. If you're going to go to college, go for the gold and get a real degree: math, physics, computer science, engineering, etc. These are a lot more impressive than a trade school diploma with B.S. on it. That said, work while in school. Nothing is more worthless than a degree without work experience. There is a delicate balance to strike. Getting a trade school type degree is a quick and easy way to start out but might hamper your future advancement as upper level jobs are almost certain to require a four year degree.
"Nature doesn't care how smart you are. You can still be wrong." - Richard Feynman
My husband (yes, we're a same-sex couple) went back to university to study art in his 40s.
University courses are geared to high-energy teens and twenties people. The workload might not seem all that high at the time, but when you're older it can also be harder to learn new things, at least partly becuase you have to unlearn a lot of assumptions.
A common reason to go back to school is a career change and all that knowledge you picked up doesn't help you as much as you might think.
But if you're going back to study computer science after being a COBOL programmer for twenty years, you'll find that that you have a lot more habits you have to break: getting a degree isn't about getting a job of work done or writing working code, it's about convincing your teachers that you understand what they are telling you, even if you don't agree with it. And that too can be hard.
Even living in a dorm room can be difficult when you're older, if you don't "fit in" very well, depending on the university of course.
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I'm 35 years old and have been working with computers for over 23 of those years. I made the choice to not get a degree in Computer Science. Even though I've had a good career as a Sys Admin and independant consultant, I think my decision to not get a 4 year degree was one of the worst I've made.
I got a 2 year diploma as an electronics technician, which at the time was a good paying job. Tell me, how many jobs are out there for board-level electronics repair today? Network administration will go the same way. Oh sure there'll be some jobs out there, but not necessarily 10 years from now.
Get your degree. It's a small amount of time, and even if you decide to not stick with computers, having that degree opens the doors to everything else.
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