6 answers
Justin
Student
San Bernardino, California
3
Questions
Asked
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If I complete trade school or something similar, do I still need a college diploma to get into a computer tech job?
#computer-science #computer #technology
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6 answers
Shruti Bangad
Data Engineer
30
Answers
Mountain View, California
Updated
Shruti’s Answer
Many companies in the Bay area are open to hiring people that have not completed college or any diploma.
But what college and diploma is, is a systematic and fun and a very experience rich phenomenon that you may go through to get to the Skill level you want to get to.
Think of it as rowing a boat yourself and crossing the ocean as opposed to paying a cruise ship and letting it take you across the ocean.
In either case you need to work hard.
But the awesome thing about you raising this question is that you understand gaining knowledge is the important thing and not the medium. So no matter what route you end up taking remember to study for knowledge and not for grades.
Visit colleges and ask them question of how they can help you get to your goals
Talk to students who are in college about how is it helping them
But what college and diploma is, is a systematic and fun and a very experience rich phenomenon that you may go through to get to the Skill level you want to get to.
Think of it as rowing a boat yourself and crossing the ocean as opposed to paying a cruise ship and letting it take you across the ocean.
In either case you need to work hard.
But the awesome thing about you raising this question is that you understand gaining knowledge is the important thing and not the medium. So no matter what route you end up taking remember to study for knowledge and not for grades.
Shruti recommends the following next steps:
Toby Genaro
Customer Success Manager
8
Answers
Pasadena, California
Updated
Toby’s Answer
Justin, good question ... I'm a big fan of trade schools. Avoid the expense of major universities and get straight to the point of acquiring skills that
businesses need. Depending on what area of technology you plan to pursue, sometimes a 4-year degree is advantageous. It will give you more upward mobility in the long term ... management, executive roles, etc.
Right now companies are having a hard time finding good software developers. So if that is your goal, investigate which route would be better - trade school or 4-year degree. Software development is actually one of those things that you can learn in school ... and come out being fully qualified for jobs. If you want to get into software design, or customer facing technical rolls ... you can make more money. In your technical career, learn how to talk to customers and translate technical knowledge into layman's terms or executive business terms ... you'll make more money.
Another thought is to go the trade school route, and once employed you can work full-time and do a 4-year degree part-time and your employer will pay for it thru continued education benefits.
Justin, you'll find in life that you only need a career for about 30-40 years ... so choose an industry and a path that exhibits that growth. And your skills will always be in demand, and you will usually be compensated well for your efforts.
Find a mentor who does what you want to do and ask to interview them ... or ask them to be your professional mentor.
Find out what technology companies are looking for in new hires ... and then educate yourself to be that employee.
businesses need. Depending on what area of technology you plan to pursue, sometimes a 4-year degree is advantageous. It will give you more upward mobility in the long term ... management, executive roles, etc.
Right now companies are having a hard time finding good software developers. So if that is your goal, investigate which route would be better - trade school or 4-year degree. Software development is actually one of those things that you can learn in school ... and come out being fully qualified for jobs. If you want to get into software design, or customer facing technical rolls ... you can make more money. In your technical career, learn how to talk to customers and translate technical knowledge into layman's terms or executive business terms ... you'll make more money.
Another thought is to go the trade school route, and once employed you can work full-time and do a 4-year degree part-time and your employer will pay for it thru continued education benefits.
Justin, you'll find in life that you only need a career for about 30-40 years ... so choose an industry and a path that exhibits that growth. And your skills will always be in demand, and you will usually be compensated well for your efforts.
Toby recommends the following next steps:
Gerald Paul
16
Answers
Updated
Gerald’s Answer
Hi, you don't necessarily need to have a college degree to work as a computer technician.
Before I went to college, I graduated from a technical school and that was enough to land a computer programming job.
Most hiring managers want to know whether or not you've been properly trained to do your job. Whether your training and experience come from a college or a technical / trade or business school doesn't matter....I hope that helps.
Before I went to college, I graduated from a technical school and that was enough to land a computer programming job.
Most hiring managers want to know whether or not you've been properly trained to do your job. Whether your training and experience come from a college or a technical / trade or business school doesn't matter....I hope that helps.
Carrie Canova
Product Owner
2
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Carrie’s Answer
Building off of what Shruti shared, many tech companies are recognizing and trying to hire individuals who have experience but maybe not the education.
I would emphasize finding ways to build your experience in portfolio that both demonstrate your computer science skills as well as how you work in a team.
Furthermore, internships are amazing ways to get your foot in the door. Many IT employers hire a fair percentage of their interns for full time employment.
I would emphasize finding ways to build your experience in portfolio that both demonstrate your computer science skills as well as how you work in a team.
Furthermore, internships are amazing ways to get your foot in the door. Many IT employers hire a fair percentage of their interns for full time employment.
Zahid Iqbal
Software Engineer
119
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Zahid’s Answer
Going against what everyone is saying, I will say it depends on where in technology do you plan go. Data analyst, computer engineer, IT management, etc will require some form of education. But if it's software developer then a major in Computer science is nice to have but not required. Some companies will want a degree while others will not. Some will state 4-year degree or equivalent (aka some form education) or equivalent experience in the field.
As for jobs like networking, security, technician, etc. Then these jobs entry can be done through certifications, such as Network+ for beginners into networking, security+ for security field, etc.
So it depends on where in IT do you want to go? some will require some sort of a certification, others will require a BS degree (any degree), while others may not require any of it so long as you can demonstrate knowledge in the field at entry level and independent projects you worked on. Also, you can get into some fields and go for a degree or higher certifications while employed and have the employer pay for it.
With that said, I would suggest looking into what tech fields are out there, what their entry requirements are, which do you want to go after and then plan your strategy of what to do.
To get an idea, here are top 10 entry level IT job titles that candidates search for when they are just starting out :
Entry Level Data Analyst (2,000)
Junior Dev Ops Engineer (600)
Entry Level Data Scientist (500)
Entry Level QA Tester (500)
Entry Level Dev Ops Engineer (400)
Junior Data Scientist (350)
Entry Level Network Administrator (350)
Junior Salesforce Administrator (250)
Entry Level Computer Engineer (200)
IT Intern (150)
As for jobs like networking, security, technician, etc. Then these jobs entry can be done through certifications, such as Network+ for beginners into networking, security+ for security field, etc.
So it depends on where in IT do you want to go? some will require some sort of a certification, others will require a BS degree (any degree), while others may not require any of it so long as you can demonstrate knowledge in the field at entry level and independent projects you worked on. Also, you can get into some fields and go for a degree or higher certifications while employed and have the employer pay for it.
With that said, I would suggest looking into what tech fields are out there, what their entry requirements are, which do you want to go after and then plan your strategy of what to do.
To get an idea, here are top 10 entry level IT job titles that candidates search for when they are just starting out :
Entry Level Data Analyst (2,000)
Junior Dev Ops Engineer (600)
Entry Level Data Scientist (500)
Entry Level QA Tester (500)
Entry Level Dev Ops Engineer (400)
Junior Data Scientist (350)
Entry Level Network Administrator (350)
Junior Salesforce Administrator (250)
Entry Level Computer Engineer (200)
IT Intern (150)
Hagen Finley
Technical Sales DELL Alliances
43
Answers
Fort Collins, CO
Updated
Hagen’s Answer
Ironically, a lot of companies require a college degree (ANY degree - for example I have a 4 year degree in Philosophy and Sociology both) so a college degree in computer science isn't always required although it's certainly a great way to get started. Chances are if you get a couple of years of hands on IT experience without a college degree it will be less of an issue. It helps most at the beginning of your career.
Another way to break into a tech career is to pursue certifications that are in demand. I got my first IT job based on a Microsoft NT4 certification in the late 90s and have worked in IT every since. AWS certifications are hot these days. There are online courses such as A Cloud Guru for AWS, Azure, and Google certifications. The certification route is certainly a lot less time consuming and expensive. A Cloud Guru offers unlimited training access for about $30 a month and it took me about 2 months to prepare for and pass the AWS Cloud Practitioners certification.
There's a great book by Scott Young called Ultralearning. He got the equivalent of a 4 year engineering degree from MIT in 1 year (which is to say he attended all the online courses and 'passed the tests' without enrolling at MIT. That didn't give him a MIT degree but I am sure he learned a lot. Once you've worked a couple of years you'll need to KEEP LEARNING because the rate of change in IT is relentless. It's good to take ownership of your education and skills and LEARN HOW TO LEARN in a manner which is efficient and effective for you.
College degrees are great and maybe even effective but they are definitely not very efficient and they can be stupid expensive these days.
Another way to break into a tech career is to pursue certifications that are in demand. I got my first IT job based on a Microsoft NT4 certification in the late 90s and have worked in IT every since. AWS certifications are hot these days. There are online courses such as A Cloud Guru for AWS, Azure, and Google certifications. The certification route is certainly a lot less time consuming and expensive. A Cloud Guru offers unlimited training access for about $30 a month and it took me about 2 months to prepare for and pass the AWS Cloud Practitioners certification.
There's a great book by Scott Young called Ultralearning. He got the equivalent of a 4 year engineering degree from MIT in 1 year (which is to say he attended all the online courses and 'passed the tests' without enrolling at MIT. That didn't give him a MIT degree but I am sure he learned a lot. Once you've worked a couple of years you'll need to KEEP LEARNING because the rate of change in IT is relentless. It's good to take ownership of your education and skills and LEARN HOW TO LEARN in a manner which is efficient and effective for you.
College degrees are great and maybe even effective but they are definitely not very efficient and they can be stupid expensive these days.