Which is better certification or degree?

Hi,

I am a recently displaced auto engineer who has been working as Microsoft .NET web developer for the last year. I recently attending a one week training session for ASP.NET 3.5 where the instructor advised us to get Microsoft certification.

Later after talking to some of the other developers in class (who were .NET and J2EE developers), I was advised not to do it because they claim that Microsoft certification neither neither carries the prestige that is once did and that would hinder my future career by being "locked into" one specific vendor.

They advised me to find a good distance Master's program versus certification. Can anyone here please advise? Any advice would be greatly appreciate.

Brian,

http://over40overweightindebt.blogspot.com/

 

I have been in IT for almost 20 years. As you already have a degree, in the short term you will benefit more from a Microsoft Certification. Employers tend to disregard graduate degrees and put a lot more emphasis on experience and certifications for developer positions.

However, the IT market is very dynamic and you might need to change field in 10 years from now so a Master's degree can be beneficial for this. In my case, I have a Master of Computer Engineering, at the beginning I was discouraged since my degree wouldn't make a difference for developer positions against people with certifications or BS in Computer Science, but later my degree allowed me to switch to different fields including Networking, Security, Project Management,Architecture and Training. In few words, a degree is a long term investment but certifications can be good for specific jobs but tend to lose value over time. Ideally, you would want to get both if time and money allows.

 

If you know your stuff you should go for the certification. Just taking one Microsoft exam will make you a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), and you can put that on your resume.

You're looking at $125 per exam (cheaper if you can find a discount voucher, I have used http://www.getcertify4less.com to get Cisco and Microsoft vouchers for $99). If you can't find a good cheap voucher, Microsoft will give you a second chance at passing if you fail for free (http://www.microsoft.com/Learning/Mcp/Offers/Secondshot/Default.Mspx). The total cost to you would be how many exams are required (and how many times you have to take them) for your goal certification. The time it would take to achieve would be dependent upon you as well. Stack this against the cost of a Master's program and the time (usually a minimum of one year) it would take to complete. The best ROI is certification.

I work for L-3 Communications, and I'm filling a Network Architecture Design Engineer SME position. I am required per contract to have at a minimum CCIE, MCSE, Security+, and A+. I'm still working on the CCIE (nobody else I work with has it either, I hope to pass my lab in September). I don't know what level you're working at, but normally employers require certain certifications for IT positions. I finished my M.S. degree in the fall and my employer doesn't really care. It's kind of a "Gee, that's nice..." response. Maybe that's just this company, I don't know.

I encourage you to advance your education if you can afford to, but if you know your stuff, and you're looking for higher ROI, certification is the way to go, IMHO.

 

Most companies that I worked for have the same mentality. MS and PhDs in IT are pretty useless for most companies other than government and consulting positions. The BS on the other hand is the minimum requirement for most good paying IT jobs, however, Brian seems to have an engineering degree already so there is not much ROI with a MS in IS or IT for the short term at least.

Most of the MS in IS and IT (At least the ones offered from some popular distance schools) are just too basic and are mainly meant to train people that have no IT backgrounds. The reality is that most of these programs have courses that are dated or very basic for industrial jobs.

Most employers that hire MS graduates look for thesis or graduate projects that show some level of mastery of the IT tools so it would be better to look for a program with a thesis or graduate project component if you want to go this route. Employers tend to be more receptive to the MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering rather than Information Systems, IT or MIS.

 

I would suggest that you get a certification first. Most of the certifications can be done in a 2-3 month period, whereas a Masters degree would take nearly 2 years to finish. MS and Java are good certifications to have as they are widely used.

Good luck.

 

It appears that based on most your responses that certification would be the best solution for me in my present situation. Being relatively new to the IT field, with only 12 months experience specifically in Microsoft web application development, I would need to find out what certifications are available to me with this focus.

If anyone has any additional advice regarding which certification would best service me in this role and the best process or method I could use to achieve this status I would be very appreciative to hear them.

Thanks once again for all the responses and great advice!

 

I just want to jump and say certs for short term and degree for long term. I got my MCSE 4.0 in 1999 and they announced a retirement of the tests. Great cert and no degree. When I got my MCSE my boss had no certifications but a masters degree in computer science from the 80's. She knew NOTHING but had the paper. I went on to get my MS-ITM while earning other certs (MCP+Internet, MCSA 2000, Network+, A+, Server+, Security+, Project+, and i-Net+).

As far as certs for you, have you looked at Microsoft Certified Application Specialist or Microsoft Certified Application Developer or Microsoft Certified Solution Developer ? Do these fit your role?

 

Brian, most of the responses appear to be comparing certification with a degree, but look at this way. Your auto engineer degree you obtained from a four year course from a college qualifies you as an auto engineer while a certification is usually a a confirmation of proficiency in a learned trade. So I do not see that passing a Microsoft .NET web developer test and getting certified as such would in any way harm your career in the future. You can get as many certifications as you improve your IT knowledge, you are right, go ahead and get certified.

 

Actually, these are old certifications. You should look for:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcpd/webdev/default.mspx

You should get yourself a membership with safari books online. There you have plenty books that can prepare you.


Certifications are the way to go for IT jobs. Graduate degrees are normally required if you do a more sophisticated technical jobs (e.g Telecommunications Software Engineering) or if you are looking for managerial jobs (an MBA with IT management might work here).

What I hate about this path is that you are never finished, certifications lose value over time or they expire. If you are looking for a career change, I would go for a more business oriented certification that never expires like CPA. I know these are very boring but much more stable than IT certifications.

 

Due to the upkeep and narrow focus of vendor specific certification I usually recommend folks look at the PMP or the CISSP as these both have been granted ANSI recognition and are vendor neutral. And to agree with RFValve the stability of these certifications is good (in fact often cited as a job requirement).

In my opinion an engineering degree followed by a business/management degree (focused on software development if that is the interest) would make a strong resume.

 

There are some MBAs that allow courses in software/web development. The MBA although is overrated, is a degree that allows you to change fields more easily. I have used my MBA in IT, Finance, Project Management and Operations.

 

That is why I started "collecting" CompTIA certs.