College counts SO much more than certifications (which expire). College
degrees do not expire. I went through the same thing in college getting my
Novell Certification while working and studying college. Just look at it
now...my college degree still gets me a job but being certified in Novell
3.11 doesn't count for much at all these days ;)
Focus on college primarily and if you have free time, work on your Cisco
certs then. You've got a year and a half along with breaks between
semesters to do that. Dedication will pay off if you stick with it. You
may even find a side job while in school working in IT where you have the
ability to learn hands on Cisco (that's how I learned). Just work your way
up after college out of IT and you'll have a much better understanding of
the network from the bottom up. So many people only know their little piece
of networking. They may know Cisco routers better than anyone else around
but sit them in front of a workstation with an unfamiliar O/S and they have
trouble even doing traceroute, netstat, arp, etc to troubleshoot why that
one workstation can't get on the network.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Con Fused"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 3:06 PM
Subject: Way off subject [7:9997]
> Im in a dilemma. I need some career advice from some experienced
> professionals and anyone else that has been on the same road.
> I am 22 years old I have one more test (CIT) to complete my CCNP. I
have
> been planning on studying for the CCIE and taking the lab within the next
> year and a half but Im not sure now. My problem is that I want to get my
> computer science degree and I dont think I can get both and work at the
same
> time. I am about 2 and a half years from graduating. I also work 40
hours
> a week as a computer tech for an elementary school. I have hands on
> experience with cisco only in a lab enviroment, not in a production
network.
> I feel confident that I want to keep learning networking, but at the
same
> time I feel I am missing something by not having a degree and not having a
> broader understanding of computer systems.
> The longer I work and put off school I know it will be harder for myself
to
> get the degree.
>
> Now I am deciding to go to school full time (after I save up some money)
and
> get the degree done.
> I guess the only reason I feel hesitant about doing this is because I am
> getting closer to getting the CCIE and that has been my focus for the last
> year and a half. But I have been thinking about it and I think having the
> degree behind me will help in the long run if I want to go into management
> or if I decide to maybe get into network programming (which I know nothing
> about but am kinda curious to learn). Part of me wants to get into the
> field now, but the logical part of me is telling myself to wait and get
the
> degree. I dont want to get a cisco related job while going to school
> because that will postpone myself getting the degree or take away from my
> job because I am focusing on school. Any suggestions?
> _________________________________________________________________
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Message Posted at:
http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=10004&t=9997
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