Is college or technical school the best educational path for InfoSec and IT?

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 03:06:09 -0400

Would you say a standard 4 year university is the way to go or a technical school that focuses on the curriculum (meaning there are no pre-reqs like english, art, etc).

I'm taking advice from members on RP and pursuing higher education in my field when I'm young, but I want to get the MOST education, and not more SCHOOLING, if that makes sense. My Army goal is to go Warrant

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 3:07 AM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 03:07:04 -0400

and civilian goal is to own and manage a consulting firm

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 13 at 2016 3:14 AM

PO1 John Miller — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 03:14:14 -0400

Pursue certifications that are consistent with your career path. Make sure you're working in a field that those certs apply to otherwise you're going to lose that knowledge.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jun 13 at 2016 9:09 AM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 09:09:44 -0400

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member because of the fluid and evolving nature of INFOSEC, IT, Cybersecurity, Cyberterrorism, and the computer industry as a whole, I personally believe that one is better served by certifications than a degree.
The problem is that corporate America is slow to embrace change. So a company may want a person with a degree, even if that degree is out dated, and the individual's skills may not be relevant to today's world.
So the sad reality is that if you one is simply looking to increase their skills to make themselves a better tech, certifications are fine. If one is looking for a job, it is likely that a combination of degree and certifications will be needed to get the foot in the door.
To give you a real world example, I was hired with just a Microsoft XP certification. My son has A+, and a degree in Information Technology, and is not able to find a job. I was fortunate. I found a company that I fit in with their IT team, and my boss was willing to take a chance. That was ten years ago. Now, that is not working for my son.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jun 13 at 2016 9:41 AM

CPT Jack Durish — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 09:41:00 -0400

Yes. And self-taught too. I've worked with them all. My son-in-law is a college-educated programmer and has the job everyone would kill for: Lead programmer at Blizzard Entertainment. (I'll see if I can get him to weigh in on this discussion but he's in a crunch right now) I worked as a Director at an international IT consultancy, and interviewed all kinds of programmers. The consultancy preferred college-educated, and I suspect most employer personnel managers will be swayed more by the college degree. Thus, as usual, the college degree will be your ticket to getting a job, but you keep it and earn money on your skills which can be obtained equally well by any method. The most important thing to remember is that whatever route you take, it's only an entry point. You will be required to continue your own education throughout your career. Learn something new every day or be left in the dust.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 9:51 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 09:51:28 -0400

When I read technical school, I am thinking "Associates Degree" and there is still GENEDs to worry about. For what its worth, I have a Master's in IT and am a software developer and I was able to breeze through a lot of my Master's program based on what I learned OJT. That being said, there is a lot of good foundational stuff that you learn in school.

The thing with certificates in my experience is that they don't necessarily cover fundamentals and focus more so on the current technologies or trends. Security+ was a mix of that with some general security practices plus some fundamentals.

I would try to get some sort of degree. I think there are CS Associate's and there may even be Cyber or network security Associate's. That, or you may want to look at undergraduate certificates. Those don't have GENED requirements.

Response by SSgt Ryan Sylvester made Jun 13 at 2016 10:14 AM

SSgt Ryan Sylvester — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 10:14:22 -0400

Alright, I've just gone through this myself, so here's my insight. First, as PO1 Miller said, certifications are critical in this field. You need certs, though some certs you can only get after so much time spent in the field. Second, be mindful of what you actually want to do and find a degree program that matches, because degrees do matter here. If you want to be standard IT, any simple IT Associate's Degree will do. If you want to specialize, find a 4 year degree program that matches what you want to get into. For example, if you want to get into InfoSec, look into an Information Assurance program. That will give you all kinds of management functions on top of IT administration. Third, pick up programming. I don't care what language it is, just get used to it. You will have scripts you need to at least modify, and probably create. Coding is a vital function these days. Fourth, databases. Start learning them, start creating them, start using them. Start making scripts to input data from files into a database.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Jun 13 at 2016 12:11 PM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 12:11:48 -0400

My vote would be for a technical school. I actually went to a technical high school and the curriculum at a technical school was more hands on while the curriculum in college was "here's the book, see you at the end of the semester". I also have a really big issue with Gen Ed requirements fluffing up my schedule instead of providing a focal point on a specific education track.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 4:16 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 16:16:39 -0400

As I get nearing to retirement and having my peers and buddies also retire I can say it depends.
Are you going to do a full 20 years or get out before then?

After 20 years you will want to be paid for your leadership and technical experience. While CCNA/CCNP/CASP/CEH will get you in the door for an interview, the actual experience you have will get you the job. As far as pay and compensation, having a BS/BA will come a long way. If you want the higher rates of pay, you will most likely have supervisory roles and that is when CISSP, PMP and Master's degrees come into play as well.
The real truth though is that degrees do not have a recertification fee or test and last for a lifetime. TA is there while you are in. I would take advantage of it if I were you.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 14 at 2016 2:46 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 02:46:54 -0400

Certs are gold in the IT realm. Remember there are different level of certs and each cert branches off into its own path of IT. Asking if you should go to a tech school vs a university is like asking do you want water with your poweraid. You want a degree with a university. It will gie you a better oppurtunity to negotiate your pay in the outside world. If you follow a tech degree you will take classes that allign with certificatons. Take the class do some self study then take the cert. If you go through umuc its already set up and aligned for you to do that.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Mar 19 at 2021 10:00 AM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 10:00:28 -0400

My grandson works in IT security for a private sector company in Chicago area. His certifications were a major consideration in getting hired with only 1 year experience. He has an associate degree in IT security from a community college. Got most certifications through community college. Some on line.

Later on a bachelors degree might be necessary to advance into management and moving up to Chief Information Officer for larger private or public sector.