Hey guys,

Im attending Pittsburgh Technical Institute in PA, and Im wanting to make decent money coming out of school. I keep getting these gut feelings that an Associates Deg in IT isnt going to mean sh*t when I got to apply for a job.

Im very interested in computers and cars also. I love engines and everything, but being a mechanic just doesnt pay. Thats why i decided to go with the IT field, it is where I want to be, but i feel that an Associates isnt going to get me anywhere. I havent seen any schools that offer 4 year programs for a bachelors or masters in IT!!

Point is is that I dont want to be the bitch guy carrying computers, working for the Geek Squad with my associates! I want to be in a good company making good money! IE - 60k and up... I dont want to get out of school, expect something decent, and have people offering me 20k a year...

Ive been thinking about Accounting... What would I be doing for a corporation with a bachelors in Accounting?

thanks,
Dustin

 

You can do okay with an Associates degree. Depending on what part of the country you want to work in, $60k and up is certainly doable with an Associates degree. After your first job, it's more about specific experience and skills than your degree anyway.

That having been said, I wouldn't suggest getting an Associates degree simply because you can't find a 4-year program in IT. You're unlikely to find a program in IT because "IT" is just a generic umbrella term covering a bunch of stuff. It's like saying you want to major in "business." Well, what area within business? Most programs are going to be more specific than "IT" or "business." Computer Science or Management Information Systems are always safe bets if you're interested in IT.

Accounting is more specific but there are a bunch of different things there, too. Under financial accounting, you might do payroll, general ledger, etc. There's also managerial accounting, cost accounting, and of course tax accounting.

Really, I wouldn't stress it. Just pick a degree that interests you and is somewhat relevant to what you want to do, then learn whatever other skills are needed on your own. A lot of people end up doing something unrelated to their undergrad degrees anyway. And be realistic -- everyone wants to be hot shit right out of college, but it seldom works out that way. Few hiring managers are going to place new college grads up on a pedestal; you need to earn the right to be up there and a college degree alone won't do it.

 

The people you called "the Geek Squad" are the ones who were willing to put their time and energy into getting an engineering degree. So if you don't want to work for the Geek Squad, why not join their ranks and go for an engineering degree yourself? Sounds like you are willing to go to school to get a bachelor degree in accounting, so why not a BS degree in engineering? Good luck.

 

I think he was talking about the computer techs at Best Buy that fix PCs and set up home networks and stuff. Man, think about all the MILFs those guys must bag!

 

an associates degree in IT will probably land you at the help desk for starters. That's a 20K job...and no where near 60K.

You might want to think about a bachelor's in Management Information Systems. It is technically a business degree, but has a technology focus.

Now, the people making 60K early in their careers are those who have BS degrees in engineering or computer science.

At Pittsburgh Technical Institute you won't learn computer science or engineering. You'll learn how to repair computers, and it will be largely hardware usage focused. engineering is hardware design, computer science software design.

Now, you can make good money with an associate's, but you will need a lot of experience in a VERY specialized area. It will be very difficult as not having a Bachelor's limits your credibility to hiring managers.

 

I can't see you making very much with an Associates degree. As others have said, once you have some experience, it counts more than the original education.

If you want to get into a money-making IT field, take a look at specializing in Security, Data Warehousing, etc. They seem to be hot areas at the moment. I'm sure there are other good areas too, like the medical technician field, but do some research and see what's out there.

See sites like http://www.zdnet.com/ for info.

My current company doesn't even hire newbies, but when I worked at Prudential, they started at around $45k for people coming out of college with a 4-yr degree.

 

Years ago, there were no computer-related degrees and everyone went to technical schools or just learned on their own. In this day and age, however, a degree in computer science or engineering is pretty much necessary to compete at a higher level. Of course, there is no substitute for experience, particularly specialized experience like security. That is the area I'm working in now (as well as configuration management), but I worked for many years in all other areas of software design and maintenance. With an associate degree, I doubt you will be able to start out at the salary you want, unless you have that specialized experience. Good luck!

 

thanks alot guys,

Sounds like what I want to do is go for 2 years in engineering follow my schooling here..

If I did that, would I then have a Bachelors?

 

AA + AS != BS!

 

Figure out if you want to be in tech-support or engineering, then you can decide which degree/certification to get.