A question for IT pros from a prospective student

[razorwire]

I am currently researching programs in my area to get into networking and security. I have spoken to someone at a Microsoft IT Academy, and I have also looked into getting degrees from a few tech schools. After speaking to several individuals already in the IT field, the consensus seems to be to get my degree first and worry about the certifications as they are needed by employers, although I have heard some say to get the certifications first.

Can anyone that is actually in the field (or even does the hiring) help shed some light on what most companies look for in an entry level IT candidate? As far as an actual career goes, I am not focused on anything specific at this time.

Also, I have been looking into both ITT-Tech and ECPI for the degree programs. Has anyone had any experience with either school and if so, which one would you recommend?

Thankyou so much for your help.

 

[elitesoldier]

Okay, listen to me very closely on this one.

ITT-tech + ECPI are FOR PROFIT schools meaning they do not focus on making sure their graduates are able to get jobs using their degrees. It basically means you will be wasting your money going to that school. What you need to do is go to an ABET accredited school. Check on www.abet.org to see if the school's programs are ABET accredited. You could either go straight to a four year university or go two years at a community college and two years at the four year to get your BS degree.

As for what employers look for, I think it goes like this:
Relevant work experience (Get internships while in college!!)
A college degree from an ABET accredited institution
Certs
and a lot of other misc things.

Check on the job search sites and see what employers are asking for, that is a good indicator on what you should be working on getting.

 

[razorwire]

Thankyou so much for the info! Fortunately, there is an ABET accredited school just 30 minutes from me, so I will certainly check them out.

When I went to ITT-Tech to check out the facilities, I spoke to a woman in career services who had a personal goal of placing more than 80% of the graduating class into jobs in their field. Perhaps this is an unusual perk in this particular facility?