I have an associates in engineering, several certifications and work as the CTO of a $300 mil a year business. I am intimately involved in the interviews and hiring of each and every new member (directors to help desk) of the (40 man) IT department. As many commenters have pointed out, experience trumps everything. In fact a degree makes an impression on me at the entry level positions but doesn't really matter to me when i am looking for skilled candidates. And unless it is a hard degree (math, computer science, engineering) I don't really consider it at all. I am just as likely to be impressed with certifications as with degrees.
The gist is. If you have a well put together resume, have followed the normal procedure for applying (i don't respond to cold emails with resumes attached) and show clearly within your resume that you have a real passion for your particular area of IT I will bring you in for an interview. I believe in tough technical interviews so be prepared to back up what you put on your resume (Don't say you are a networking expert if you've never heard of the OSI model. Don't try to BS an answer; if you truly don't know it admit that and explain what you would do to find the answer). Make sure you check your resume for typos (don't just assume that the spell check fixed them correctly, especially on technical resumes).
All of that said. I have never hired a level 1 help desk with a degree. I have also never hired an entry level programmer. But I have promoted help desk folks to development positions. You may have to get into the department before you can get into your core specialty. Just make sure that once you've proven yourself in the job you got that you make it clear what the job you want is.
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I have an associates in engineering, several certifications and work as the CTO of a $300 mil a year business. I am intimately involved in the interviews and hiring of each and every new member (directors to help desk) of the (40 man) IT department. As many commenters have pointed out, experience trumps everything. In fact a degree makes an impression on me at the entry level positions but doesn't really matter to me when i am looking for skilled candidates. And unless it is a hard degree (math, computer science, engineering) I don't really consider it at all. I am just as likely to be impressed with certifications as with degrees. The gist is. If you have a well put together resume, have followed the normal procedure for applying (i don't respond to cold emails with resumes attached) and show clearly within your resume that you have a real passion for your particular area of IT I will bring you in for an interview. I believe in tough technical interviews so be prepared to back up what you put on your resume (Don't say you are a networking expert if you've never heard of the OSI model. Don't try to BS an answer; if you truly don't know it admit that and explain what you would do to find the answer). Make sure you check your resume for typos (don't just assume that the spell check fixed them correctly, especially on technical resumes). All of that said. I have never hired a level 1 help desk with a degree. I have also never hired an entry level programmer. But I have promoted help desk folks to development positions. You may have to get into the department before you can get into your core specialty. Just make sure that once you've proven yourself in the job you got that you make it clear what the job you want is.