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?"

Comments

Neither!

[Baloo Ursidae]

All you really need if you're serious about a career in networking is:

• High school diploma
• Know your shit

Anything else is more time, money and expense to go through that ultimately won't make you more employable than the guy with the high school diploma who can back up his story convincingly in the interview. I met many college-educated network admin wannabes that failed to get the job because I showed up with a high school diploma and can run circles around the competition in my sleep.

If you make it out of high school and forgot to prepare yourself for an IT career beforehand, go to business school instead, it's too late for you. You should have been thinking about this when you were 16.