High school grad trumps peers’ college training with certification

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Lerner, Nov 10, 2014.

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  1. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    High school grad trumps peers’ college training with certification

    Posted on September 12, 2014 by Cody Clark

    For IT I do think that College education /degree + certification is a wining combination.
    But even without a degree, certs do help to get IT job.
     
  2. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    This thing reads like an ad. I never heard of TestOut, and certs do not differentiate you as they used to.

    -- Stan, MCSD, SCJP, CISA, CCNA
     
  3. foobar

    foobar Member

    I'm sure the high school grad's salary expectations might have had a role in his selection.
     
  4. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I can't speak for IT, but I can speak from experience in my own field that while my degree helped me get a few dollars more, but I would be absolutely nowhere without my certification. My brother, on the other hand, who is in IT and has no certifications at all, was offered an $80k salary with benefits right out of college.

    So, this is another "it depends" case.
     
  5. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    This. I've never heard of those certifications. The article sounds fishy.
     
  6. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I checked the site for the certification.
    Its about 495 per cert.
    Basically its can be dual track, If a student passes their Computer pro , they can also take A+

    Network Pro , take Network+ and Security pro take Security +.

    The article is from a publication that aims to promote the sales, could be a true story repackaged as advertisement.
     
  7. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    The article mentioned that the young man graduated from vocational technical high school. So possibly 3 to 4 years of Computer Technology education.

    I'm a graduate of Vocational High school, completing a 4 year trend in Electronics, basically such trend combines regular high school classes with electronics, computers, communications theory, practical labs, drafting and technical English.
    Also at the end of each year we had a national examinations, written exam and lab practical exam, administered by the department of labor.
    A certificate of profession ( a Law in the country) was granted with level. Level 4 was the highest.
    The military, since the draft is mandatory was very happy with such vocational schools, it provided mechanics, electricians, technicians, nurses etc etc etc.
    Employers valued such education, usually after service people continued in to a university to complete a higher level of qualifications.
    At that young age the learned material is engraved in once mind.

    I think the certs helped but vocational school with years of computer technology also played a role.
     
  8. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    "This feature first appeared in the Summer 2014 issue of Certification Magazine."

    Any questions?
     
  9. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Thirty years from now, this will be a preferred model for many Americans in the United States in lieu of a Bachelors degree. By that time, many readers here will either be dead or retired.
     
  10. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    The sad part is that college graduates compete for service technician jobs.
     
  11. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    That's because of the stupid, stupid "college is for everyone" mantra that commenced after WWII and has been kept rolling by rather...shall we say...self-interested academic institutions? and funded by the federal government.

    Two of the best jobs I ever had required no college but DID require licenses or certifications. Both were connected with RF technology and both still exist albeit in greatly modified form.

    Decades later, I acquired my enrolled agent Treasury card with the intent to do IRS representation. No college required. Life intervened and my future looks quite different but the possibility is certainly there for those willing to undertake the exam.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 12, 2014
  12. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I know. It's rough out there for so many people, smh. The article reads more like an indictment on "the institution" of things.
     
  13. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    The number of people with Bachelors degrees is exploding, which lessens the value of those degrees:
    *1960: 6% of the population had a Bachelors degree
    *2014: 42% of the population has a Bachelors degree (more in urban areas and fewer in less developed areas)

    When everyone has something, it is not valued as much. In the next 10-30 years, certifications and technical degrees (like an AAS or an AS) will probably become highly sought after because they open doors to making a living. Having a Bachelors degree in English doesn't offer guaranteed employment, unlike getting highly sought after certifications or technical degrees. Things are a-changin.
     
  14. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    The bachelor degree is becoming the new high school diploma. I'm still working on finishing my BA. I have to admit, I haven't been as driven to finish it lately because it really wouldn't add anything to my salary or advancement opportunities at work. I would have the satisfaction of finally finishing my degree, but I wouldn't really see any financial benefit from it (unless I changed jobs and needed to "check a box" on my application).

    Instead, I have been working on MOOC courses, free online certificates and just reading every business and sales book I can get my hands on. I don't really have the money to bang out my last ten courses/exams right now anyway, so I may as well spend my down time learning something. Plus, its knowledge I can apply to my job and personal life right now.
     
  15. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Last night on TV, there was a commercial for a 100% online Capella MBA that uses flexipath to help paying students graduate. It seems abundantly clear that getting an MBA (or any graduate or undergraduate degree) is now within the reach of many people, as long as they can afford it and are willing to do the rote work. When everyone has one of those degrees, will the value (ROI) decrease significantly?

    Prediction: People with advanced degrees will be found working in lower paying jobs at an unprecedented level in the 21st Century.
     
  16. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    The field of IT has its certifications, especially vendor certifications.
    More vendors now provide certifications with expiration dates. So one needs to constantly re certify on the newer releases.

    With degree people earn it once or twice, they prove their ability they gain knowledge.
    Then years pass and a lot is forgotten. Especially in High Tech were things move fast.
    Old knowledge becomes obsolete.

    Some say its there, the math etc, just need refresher. I think in professional fields the degree is going to remain important but its going to be a combination of skills and training that will be attractive to the employers. I think its already this way.
     
  17. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'm not sure that a substantial increase in the number of degree holders necessarily decreases the value of the degree. I tend to think of it as an indication of a shift in the economy. Once upon a time you didn't even need to be literate to get a job in a factory or on a farm. Then factories and farms became more automated and they required people to be able to read, comprehend and troubleshoot more complex problems. We moved from an agricultural to a manufacturing economy and then, in turn to a service economy with international scope and so people were then required to interact with others all over the world, requiring a more complex understanding of languages, cultures, etc. We are now passing through the service economy and into the information economy. There will always be room for certain kinds of skills. I know a woman who is a farrier and she travels from farm to farm in her truck, shoeing horses and other related things. Her job skills are essentially the same as have been practiced for hundreds, maybe thousand of years but even she has an iphone. I agree with our member who said that the BA is the new H.S. diploma. But that makes it more valuable, not less. There will always be people who make it up the ladder without that piece of paper but they are the exception. Most people will need a college degree to learn certain skills and to simply compete on that level.
     
  18. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    That's very observant of you i.e. the shift from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing economy to a service economy to an international economy and into the information economy. Each economy has its own unique educational requirements.
     
  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    :shhh: I read a book once.
     

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