by Timothy Justice

Created on: January 24, 2009

A few years ago, I told someone that there are two things potential IT students need to know before embarking on a career in IT. Those two things are as follows:

1. If you are looking for a 9 to 5 job, look elsewhere.

2. If you are looking for a job where you simply earn your degree and your education is over, look elsewhere.

Information technology is a rewarding field, but it is also a very demanding field. Servers run 24/7, and because of the international nature of 21st century businesses, the infrastructure must be maintained at all times. If something is down at 10 o'clock at night, someone needs to be addressing the problem at 10 o'clock at night, not at 9 the next morning.

A good deal of IT professionals are quite proud of the fact that they have never attended college. While it is certainly is true that you can have a very successful career in the field without a degree, you will also have a great deal of trial and error that may cost you a good deal in building a long term business. A degree in the field provides you with a fuller understanding of the management aspects and the business side of IT, where certifications assess your technical skill. People are promoted to management regularly without degrees, but it is fair to say that in the larger corporate environment, if you don't possess the degree, the company will almost always opt for a candidate with a degree, if they are available. You never want to be the candidate of last resort.

If you are a hardware person, however, you may find your best path to success is through community college courses that help you acquire the skills you need to be competitive in the field. You should follow those community college courses with certifications, though, as the educational standards of these colleges vary widely from place to place.

Everyone familiar with the IT field can point to a number of highly successful people in the industry who did not possess degrees when they started business. Michael Dell and Bill Gates are frequently cited. But it must be noted that for every Michael Dell and Bill Gates, there are millions of kids living in their parents' basement and basking in the glow of their LCD monitors. If you want to be successful without a degree, you can do it, but you will find yourself with extra mountains to climb.

The question of whether to pursue a degree in computers or information technology depends largely on your goals and whether the degree offers tools that will help you pursue those goals. But if you have the interest and the aptitude, it's a great field to be in. Opportunities are expanding in the field, and there are good careers to be had for dedicated employees.

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