Certification - December 2008 - (Page 38) IT CUlTURE The Total Cost of an IT Education shAWN CONAWAY In today’s tight job market, IT professionals must be more technically qualified than ever. Pursuing an IT education is increasingly essential, but as belts tighten, students must accurately weigh the costs and benefits to maximize their investments. Information technology is one of the fastest-growing industries. And with fast growth comes a greater demand for jobs. Employment of computer and information systems managers is expected to grow 16 percent between 2006 and 2016 — faster than average for all occupations — according to projections by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ (BLS) “Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition.” Network systems analysts, data communications analysts and computer software engineers are particularly in demand. But while a healthy industry is great, aspiring IT professionals still must develop their technical chops in order to take advantage of it. There are many ways to do this, but the most common can be lumped into several categories: full-time college, part-time college, technical classes and boot camps. Of course, a combination of some or all of these is ideal, as the Holy Grail of marketability is to have a degree, significant work experience and a few meaningful certifications. realizes not only that going to school is a way to better your life, but also that not holding a degree is a barrier to employment. One IT recruiting firm indicated that education can play a big difference in hiring, indicating that even candidates boasting more than 20 years of experience but no degree can get frustrated looking for work. That said, a full-time education has its challenges. One of the most significant hurdles is the fact that a student is not earning an income while getting an education. The College Board’s annual “Trends in College Pricing” report says many students in both public and private four-year colleges take more than four years to complete their degrees. A full-time student also has to consider that he or she is not developing any work experience while in school. After graduation, likely in five to six years, he or she still will have to take an entry-level job. On the plus side, a full-time student usually has more time to explore other interests and develop a well-rounded resume. The Full-Time Experience The percentage of people opting for a post-secondary education has been growing gradually for the past century. It was not uncommon for someone from “The Greatest Generation” — generally billed to be those born between 1901 and 1924 — to drop out of high school to continue working on the family farm. The emphasis on education is completely different now. The increase in college attendance rates is indicative of the country’s swing away from primary reliance on agricultural and manufacturing jobs to white-collar service jobs such as IT. Today’s student 8 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE December 2008 Part Time Plays a Role College isn’t just for recent high school graduates. Many people decide to return to school for a degree after being in the workforce for a while. But it’s a difficult balancing act between competing responsibilities for work, family, self-improvement and enjoying life. These competing forces can make it impractical or impossible to go back to school full time. As a result, the returning student often chooses to go back to school part time. The “Trends in College Pricing” report states that the average cost of tuition in a public four-year college for http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/trends/trends_pricing_07.pdf http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/trends/trends_pricing_07.pdf
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