Recently an ONETUG member sent me the following question asking for my opinion. Here are my thoughts, what are yours. Post a comment to this blog entry.
Shawn,
I wanted to get your views about Microsoft Certification vs. a Computer Science degree. Specifically, do you think it is worth it to get a MCAD for C#.NET? Do you know of any good training classes or websites? I’m currently enrolled at XXXX as a CS major but am thinking about just trying to get certified so I can start working faster.
Thank You
An Eager Student
Eager Student.
Let me start off by saying this is my personal opinion. I welcome everyone to add to this discussion since my opinion is not the only one that counts, unfortunately. That being said I strongly believe that getting your undergraduate degree is of utmost importance. When I received your email I took an informal poll of the job postings that I have posted to the ONETUG website (http://jobs.onetug.org). Looking at the last 2 dozen or so, almost all of them required a bachelor’s degree. In my experience an undergraduate degree shows potential employers some level of problem solving skills while on the other hand a certification shows that you have mastered one particular skill. For example, if you can pass a certification test then you are telling the employer that you know how to program, but that doesn’t comment about any other skill set. Most jobs that I see not only require some level of programming expertise but also require some knowledge of business process or computer hardware or something else. Things that a bachelor’s degree exposes you to, on the other hand a typical degree program graduate will not be as familiar with a particular language as someone that passed a certification exam. Finally where do you want to be 5 years after graduation? This is an important question as now a day many companies are requiring BS degrees, but like Masters Degrees for those employees that want to enter management. I would recommend staying in school and getting that BS degree. Possibly CS is not the best fit for what you want to do, I know that may schools have CIS or MIS programs that are very popular.
Now I can get off of my soap box about getting a BS degree and say that I do think certification exams are good. Like I said they do, for lack of a better word, certify that you know the topic. Additionally if you are talking .NET then I would defiantly recommend a Microsoft Certification. Everything you ever wanted to know about MSFT learning can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/learning. Here is a list of MSFT Partners in Orlando offering training (click here). One of them is New Horizons where ONETUG used to have meetings, New Horizons has offered ONETUG members discounts in the past, if you contact them ask for Mickey Talley. Additionally there are online or CD based classes like AppDev (http://www.appdev.com). As for me my plan is to finish my master’s degree in Computer Science and then go for some certifications.
Just because you are working towards a BS degree doesn’t mean that you cannot start working. There are many internships, co-op programs, and the like available at most schools that can augment your “book learnin” with real world experience, and they are a great way to get your foot in the door, some are even PAID. Additionally there are programs like http://www.nonprofitways.com that are always looking for volunteers that use there skills to produce applications that would be great fodder for your resume, and great for the non-profit organizations they help.
Hope this helps and Good Luck!