IT certifications versus college degrees

which is better for an IT career so

you're considering a career in

information technology and have to

decide what kind of training is best for

you when you started your research you

probably felt swamped by all of the

options that pop up in reality there are

really just two major ways that future

IT pros get the training they need to

become qualified for an IT career IT

certifications or a college degree in

information technology how do you know

which one is right for you here we will

weigh the two options and uncover which

path is the best one what exactly is an

IT certification IT certification is a

training process that occurs either in

person or online

over the course of generally a couple of

months you'll learn the ins and outs of

specific programs in order to obtain a

high level of IT skills some of the IT

certifications are vendor specific for

example from Microsoft and some of the

IT certifications are vendor neutral for

example from compte ia once you have

completed the training program you will

have to take an exam to ensure that you

have a firm grasp of the material this

is a great way for potential employers

to know that you have mastered the IT

systems they use for their company what

do I need to know about IT college

degrees when it comes to a degree in

information technology they go by

several names in addition to a college

degree in information technology some

colleges name their IT programs things

like computer science business

technology and several others you can

earn an IT degree at all levels of

college instruction IT associate's

degree an associate's degree is

generally a two-year degree and often

earned from a community college

completion of an associate's degree will

generally lead you to an entry-level

position in an IT career you can then

they

upon your degree with industry

experience note that an associate's

degree will only allow you to rise so

high in the IT field IT bachelor's

degree a bachelor's degree in

information technologies a four-year

degree earned from a college or

university completion of a bachelor's

degree will often leave to a mid-level

position in the IT field the curriculum

in a bachelor's program is considerably

more rigorous than that of an

associate's program so you will learn

more over the course of study this will

prepare you for more growth once you

begin your career IT master's or

doctoral degrees if you have visions of

high-level IT positions specifically as

a manager director or a specialist in a

specific area of IT a graduate IT degree

might be best for you master's programs

are between two to three years and most

doctoral programs are a minimum of four

years in some cases

five to six graduate degrees in IT are

for those people who plan to rise to the

highest ranks in an IT company or

government position note that most

people who earn a graduate degree in

this area often pair it with

certifications strengths of an IT

certification information technology

certifications have a number of benefits

and perks possibly the biggest strengths

is that there are a number of employers

who now prefer certifications to college

degrees because certifications require

an assessment or test that proves you

have a mastery of the material employers

will have confidence that you know what

you are doing another great aspect of

most certification courses is that you

have the ability to work at your own

pace the best certification programs

allow you to create a timeline that

works for you some of the additional

strengths include IT certificates help

you land jobs earning a certificate in

the most cutting-edge areas of IT makes

you an attractive candidate to potential

employers by earning one or more you can

prove to employers that you have the

skills they are looking for

certification and very

areas of information technology also

broadens your career options for example

there are companies and employment

sectors like the federal cybersecurity

sector that will only consider IT pros

with certification IT certificates lead

to higher salaries by earning a

certification technology professionals

often earn considerably higher salaries

than their non certified counterparts

there are certifications that can help

you earn upwards of 130 thousand dollars

annually according to global knowledge

is 2017 IT skills and salary survey in

2017 there were more than 10 IT

certifications that earned more than 100

thousand US dollars annually IT

certificates help you as a consultant

not all IT professionals want to march

right in and get a job working for

someone else there is a rising

percentage of the IT workforce that

plans to or already work as an

independent contractor or consultant

freelance IT professionals are a growing

group that work for themselves instead

of a corporation or government agency

having certifications in the areas you

plan to work helps show potential

clients that you are an expert that can

help you earn more business IT

certificates can lead to promotions

perhaps you already work in the field

and can't seem to rise any higher than

you have been for years adding a

certification to your resume might be

the thing you need to shake up your

career working towards a certification

can pay off big when you earn a

promotion weaknesses of an IT

certification with the ups come the

downs there are a limited number of

weaknesses of IT certification since

many of these programs are offered

solely online it is very important to

earn yours from a source that's

reputable here is the problem not all

training programs are designed equally

there are an unfortunate number of

programs available that do not have the

rigor or robustness that you need to be

successful in your IT career another

weakness of choosing certification over

a college degree is that there

some employers that still want to see

that college degree on your resume

strengths of an IT college degree a

college degree has been around for so

many years it seems like the standard

for an IT career traditionally if you

plan to enter a white-collar career you

graduate high school and head right to

college because the system has been a

long time tradition some employers won't

consider someone without a college

degree this means that if you have your

college degree and a little experience

you might be the candidate that rises to

the top one more benefit to a college

degree in information technology is that

many programs will now give you college

credits for professional experience that

you already have weaknesses of an IT

college degree the flip side of the coin

is that there are many employers that

now prefer those with certifications

this seems to be a shift experienced

throughout the IT field lower salary

one more drawback is that IT pros with a

college degree make less money on

average than those would pertinent

certifications some studies indicate

that those with certifications earn

significantly more than those with a

college degree perhaps as much as 75%

more college takes time probably the

biggest drawback is that you have to

complete an entire course of study

college programs come with a list of

requirements that must be completed

before graduation in addition to your

science and tech courses you will also

have to fulfill language social science

and several other requirements to earn

your degree this doesn't appeal to

everyone which is better for an IT

career in reality there are employers

who will move your resume to the note

pile just because you do not have a

college degree there will be a similar

number who do the same because you lack

certifications what surveys have shown

is that most employers are trending

towards favoring IT certifications over

a college degree because IT certificate

courses can rapidly change as the

technology changes they have

competitive edge over college programs

that are a little slower to respond

changing the curriculum of an online

course is much simpler than adapting an

entire college course since more

employers are looking for certifications

in the areas of technology they use this

seems to be the preferable route another

emerging trend is that potential

employees with IT certifications earn

more money than those who don't so not

only will these certifications move you

to the top of the pile of candidates

they will also help you advance in your

career and earn top dollar the bottom

line if you have the time and the

resources to earn your college degree

then complementing it with relevant

certifications will be the ideal

scenario unfortunately most of us live

in the real world with limits to our

time and money in order to get the most

bang for your buck and reach greater

heights in your career IT certifications

will help you get there quicker thanks

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