What school do I go to? (Connecticut)

[ghostlyshark]

Please help if you can offer advice. I am driving myself crazy looking at schools. I live in Connecticut and the only tech school around is Porter and Chester. I am also considering a community college like Manchester Community College. I work a 40hr job so I need something at night or online. I have a BA in an unrelated field. This is pretty much a fresh start for me. Where the heck do I go?

[nemowolf]

Have you looked at online colleges? Are you familiar with working in online classrooms, would that even appeal to you? Until you find where to go, i highly recommend you start out at the JC and start seeing your councilor regularly. Once you get your GE done, ask to have your department recommend a specific councilor for you and maybe even a mentor.

Cheers!

[LivinLife]

Please help if you can offer advice. I am driving myself crazy looking at schools. I live in Connecticut and the only tech school around is Porter and Chester. I am also considering a community college like Manchester Community College. I work a 40hr job so I need something at night or online. I have a BA in an unrelated field. This is pretty much a fresh start for me. Where the heck do I go?

Hey Ghostlyshark!
I'm not sure what program you are thinking about but you might also consider Asnuntuck Community College. Although MCC is a good school, it is much bigger. ACC offers night classes and online too. Just thought I'd offer my two cents. Good luck! LivinLife

[EXreaction]

Online classes generally are not a good idea unless they are taken from a real college where you plan to go in order to finish the degree (an all online degree is not looked upon highly).

[ghostlyshark]

Online classes generally are not a good idea unless they are taken from a real college where you plan to go in order to finish the degree (an all online degree is not looked upon highly).

Yeah, thanks for the input. that's what I'm thinking too. I'd like a REAL degree that meant something. Also, I know a lot of people probably aren't familiar with Porter and Chester, but that just seems like a year and half to get a few certs and no degree so what's the point? The hands-on lessons? I can break my own computer and figure out how to fix it and buy a few books on amazon and pass the cert tests anyway. The tricky thing is finding a good school in the area so that I can keep my full time job because it a) pays the bills and b) pays most or all of the tuition.

[EXreaction]

Is there a state university nearby? What kind of degree are you looking for?

[nemowolf]

Yeah, thanks for the input. that's what I'm thinking too. I'd like a REAL degree that meant something. Also, I know a lot of people probably aren't familiar with Porter and Chester, but that just seems like a year and half to get a few certs and no degree so what's the point? The hands-on lessons? I can break my own computer and figure out how to fix it and buy a few books on amazon and pass the cert tests anyway. The tricky thing is finding a good school in the area so that I can keep my full time job because it a) pays the bills and b) pays most or all of the tuition.

Something you will learn is that taking apart your own computer and putting it back together is not nearly the experience you need to get into IT. Buying books and passing cert tests are easy; skip the books and finding braindumps can get you that much. Having real experience troubleshooting issues in the real world is something that you cant really equate to being a paper tiger. As many in the industry can probably share, there are many things in the real world that are never covered in books and those will be 80% of your headaches.

[ghostlyshark]

Something you will learn is that taking apart your own computer and putting it back together is not nearly the experience you need to get into IT. Buying books and passing cert tests are easy; skip the books and finding braindumps can get you that much. Having real experience troubleshooting issues in the real world is something that you cant really equate to being a paper tiger. As many in the industry can probably share, there are many things in the real world that are never covered in books and those will be 80% of your headaches.

I can understand that. So let's say that basically all I have is a few nights a weeks to devote to this. What is my best option? 1) Night school to get an associates/bachelors in computer networking. 2) a local tech institute that can offer hands on experience, certs, and possibly job placement after 1.5 yrs. 3) a new or part time job (is it possible to get an entry level job with no experience?). 4) self study

[EXreaction]

Out of that you are probably best off trying to work with a tech school, but you kinda have to be careful with those, their certifications they usually give are pretty much worthless. If you want certifications you will want to get Network+ to start (maybe A+ while you are at it), then you may want to look into the Microsoft or Cisco certifications.

[nemowolf]

I can understand that. So let's say that basically all I have is a few nights a weeks to devote to this. What is my best option? 1) Night school to get an associates/bachelors in computer networking. 2) a local tech institute that can offer hands on experience, certs, and possibly job placement after 1.5 yrs. 3) a new or part time job (is it possible to get an entry level job with no experience?). 4) self study

There is no right way, best way, or even prefered way to do this. It all depends on you, your learning style, financial level, etc.

Ideally, quitting your job and going to college for four years is probably the "classic" way to do it. The "stereo typical" IT guy is a self learner so the self study way is probably the normal start. But what I did or anyone else did is not to say the best way for you. Some of us fell into jobs, networked ourselves into jobs, or had other things happen to get us into the industry.

My best friend died and he worked in IT so to honor his memory and his last wish of me, i started working in IT. Not exactly your normal reason for doing it...


I have been building and working on computers since i was a weeee child and my dad brought him his first computer to do CAD at home. I don't know alot about networking, switches, or programming. Most of what i learned was just regular maintenance and troubleshooting. My first job was as a part time CIA in the Geek Squad. I learned a few things about repair and troubleshooting but more i learned about process and Standard Operating Procedure. All problems break down into three parts; through process of elimination you can typicall figure out which one of the three is the cause and fix it. I applied for every job i was remotely qualified for and almost three years later im still at my new job. The jump from then to now includes training, reading, and experiencing things like servers and server hardware, citrix, rdp, VMs, ghosting and images, handling clients, mobile phones, cisco equipment and programming, thin clients, handling vendors, telcos, structured wiring concepts and build outs, using budsets to tone out and test phone lines in buildings, 66 and 110 block, and a whole boat load more.

[ghostlyshark]

OK, thanks. It seems I'm building up some more solid advice. I think what I'm leaning toward is some self study to get a couple certs and then hopefully a part time, entry-level job for some experience. I'm just not sure where to look for a job. I probably need to work on more than one kind of networking!

[nemowolf]

OK, thanks. It seems I'm building up some more solid advice. I think what I'm leaning toward is some self study to get a couple certs and then hopefully a part time, entry-level job for some experience. I'm just not sure where to look for a job. I probably need to work on more than one kind of networking!

Honestly, although i dont agree with this practice, getting your A+ cert from Comptia is a solid entry level cert. Many help desk, call center, and mom&pop stands will ask you to have this or be willing to get it as a condition of your employment.

People who say they want to do X job before they know anything about it are just asking for trouble. Get in the door, taste the work load and expectations and see if you want a whole serving of the stress before you take it for reals. IT is a career of passion and dedication, this is not like some easy money careers that you can slide by. Employers WILL find out if your all talk and no game when it comes to knowing your stuff and that can be a ding for your career. The market is tough in places but there are companies hiring IT staff, thank you microsoft, and give yourself time to find something.