I need advice from the experienced

**joeschmo88** · May 9th, 2006, 09:39 PM

i am a senior in high school. soon to be graduating and going on to college. right now, im applying for a JC and i'll go on from there. but i need some advice. in dealing with computers as your major (for me computer security), 1. what should i do while im in college? internship?
2. technical college (DeVry) or regular college, which type would get me a good starting job? or does the college really matter?
3. is it worth the money to go to DeVry? exactly how much is there tuition w/o scholarship, financial aid, grant? (even tho i made my decision to go to JC)
4. certificates? what are these?
5. overall, give some advice to the young guy. anything i should do that you wish you should've done? advice advice advice!!!

**TheBigCarp321** · May 9th, 2006, 09:46 PM

Ok I am not gonna answer all yer questions, but heres how things work where I'm from. I have been a full time computer engineer for 2 years and all I have is an A+ I have a few unemployed friends that have 4 year computer degrees that can't get jobs because they have no certs. I'm going to a JC just to get my associates because that will land me Net+ and CCNA which is part of the curriculum and the company even pays for it WOOT!! Most advaned jobs in my company (Insight Ent) only require that you ahve a cert, but you have to be good, not book good. I believe it depends on the company you wanna work for. Research the company to see what they want and get it. Nice thing about full time job is my company is paying for me to get my Net+ and CCNA so if you can get yer foot in the door with an A+ then I wouldgo for it. Certificates are lil cards that tell an employer you have been trained in a certain field. A+ pretty much means that you have a basic understanding of computer hardware and software, Network+ means same thing only with networks, then you have yer microsoft certs like MCP, MCSA, MCSE which tell employers that you are profiecient with windows or whatever the cert is in. For example you can get your MCP in windows xp which makes you very knowledgeable about xp. A lot of places will hire you if you have MCP (A+ required to take these kinds of tests) and no degree.

Now before those of you that wanna flame me, this is my experience alone and what happens where I live. Feel free to share what happens where you live so he can get a difference in scenarios.

Hope this helps and Welcome to Techimo!

**DeathWish187** · May 9th, 2006, 09:53 PM

ha, just got back from an interview at itt

**GroundZero3** · May 9th, 2006, 09:54 PM

Dont waste your time with the technical schools. Go to a school that is acredited

Technical schools teach you how do stuff with no real network experience. I know dudes getting out of ITT, ECPI, etc where no one will hire them because they have no real world experience. Real World > Labs.

Get yourself into anything that deals with computers to get your foot in the door. Internship, volunteer, ANYTHING to give you hands on.

Certifications thats a tough one, some people go over resumes to see if you have them then look at your experience. Others do the opposite. I would say they wouldnt hurt you.

**SeanC** · May 11th, 2006, 06:04 PM

A nice middle ground is to get your A+ and either Network+ or MCP on WinXP AND like GZ3 said, work in ANYTHING that deals with computers. Including doing volunteer work if you have to.

**TheBigCarp321** · May 11th, 2006, 08:34 PM

Yeah please dont fall into the trap of a tech school. I know we're just some people on a forum, but they don't always teach you what you need to know. I work with people who are CCNA and MCSE from tech schools and couldnt diagnose a floppy if their lives depended on it. Accredited schools is what you need to look for as Ground has mentioned.

Having an A+, Net+, and MCP will make you look real good...
www.comptia.org

**cmptrgydv** · May 11th, 2006, 08:52 PM

Skip collage and go to a tech school, much better training toward your interest,
I got all my ccna classes and lab work in tech school, and A+ classes, and its a lot cheaper, some of the people in my class started in JC and said it was really bad for computer stuff, but that may depend on the school, the tech school I went to was just for computers and electronics, so they where much better at teaching for certs,

now I have a cisco lab in one of my bed rooms, so I can still study,