I've talked to the techs/manager at Colostore and they all personally told me that college is just a waste of time. One tech went to DeVry and had nothing good to say about it.
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Good qualifications for hosting/internet related jobs?
- Thread starter HostUS-Alexander
- Start date
I'm 25, so my friends who have went to college (Indiana University, not a bad school) and graduated have done some of the following: Nothing, work in retail, or have joined the Navy.
All of that could have been done without the debt. I find it comical, almost, that two of my best friends graduated as history majors then went and joined the Navy. I suspected they entered in at a 'higher rank' than others, since they already had schooling, but entered in at the same low-level as everyone else. What they studied in college didn't apply to their new career in the Navy as a yes-man.
Obviously if you want to be a doctor, or a lawyer, go for it. Go to school. But for most jobs, it's not going to require a degree, especially in this industry.
Yeah, I think it's the most ridiculous thing that all of these highschools are pushing kids so hard to go to college. Sure, like you said, some professions absolutely require a higher level degree. But don't even waste your time going to college otherwise. Spend those 4 years more wisely getting hands on training with lucrative businesses/datacenters/hosting companies/etc. Get to know the people there and work your way up the ladder.
My cousin went to Ball State and majored in Georgraphy/History and minored in Language (Chinese). Needless to say he's now a lawn sprinkler installer and at one point was a locksmith. Sure, you could blame it on the economy or whatever, but college just isn't for everyone. Chinese is probably his most valuable asset.
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shawn_ky
Member
I'm a college teacher. Good for some, not so much for others. Choosing an appropriate major will definitely help. 
Literature, History, etc. probably gonna put you in a soup kitchen unless you are going to be a teacher. Still not necessarily a good thought as there are MANY waiting for jobs. I have worked in IT for 25 years and most of the time was without a degree. After getting a degree, I kept going further in order to get where I wanted... I also leveraged my work places and did not pay a dime for school. It is possible to do, but takes more time. The skill-set I learned most is that of networking - not computers but people. In each instance it was good to be around those that were in the business (who were coming back to school to get degrees for promotions) and eventually led to teaching. If you want to be a teacher, get a Master's in IT and see your doors open up -- hard to find anyone that gets one.
I will also say that in most of the classes, I already knew the material and in many cases was the real-world example for the professor. I didn't go back to school until I had already been working in IT for 16 years. In many cases I had more experience that the professors. I completely agree it's not for everyone. Many times what is being taught is outdated. I highly recommend if you are going to go to school, choose something that will equate into a job. (refer back to lit and history... great if you love it, probably leave you broke) Avoid loans at all costs. Join the military, use the GI Bill, use your employer benefits to help pay for it, use grants, scholarships, etc.
Literature, History, etc. probably gonna put you in a soup kitchen unless you are going to be a teacher. Still not necessarily a good thought as there are MANY waiting for jobs. I have worked in IT for 25 years and most of the time was without a degree. After getting a degree, I kept going further in order to get where I wanted... I also leveraged my work places and did not pay a dime for school. It is possible to do, but takes more time. The skill-set I learned most is that of networking - not computers but people. In each instance it was good to be around those that were in the business (who were coming back to school to get degrees for promotions) and eventually led to teaching. If you want to be a teacher, get a Master's in IT and see your doors open up -- hard to find anyone that gets one.I will also say that in most of the classes, I already knew the material and in many cases was the real-world example for the professor. I didn't go back to school until I had already been working in IT for 16 years. In many cases I had more experience that the professors. I completely agree it's not for everyone. Many times what is being taught is outdated. I highly recommend if you are going to go to school, choose something that will equate into a job. (refer back to lit and history... great if you love it, probably leave you broke) Avoid loans at all costs. Join the military, use the GI Bill, use your employer benefits to help pay for it, use grants, scholarships, etc.
And there ya go, first hand experienceI'm a college teacher. Good for some, not so much for others. Choosing an appropriate major will definitely help.
I will also say that in most of the classes, I already knew the material and in many cases was the real-world example for the professor. I didn't go back to school until I had already been working in IT for 16 years. In many cases I had more experience that the professors. I completely agree it's not for everyone. Many times what is being taught is outdated. I highly recommend if you are going to go to school, choose something that will equate into a job. (refer back to lit and history... great if you love it, probably leave you broke) Avoid loans at all costs. Join the military, use the GI Bill, use your employer benefits to help pay for it, use grants, scholarships, etc.
Literature, History, "Communications" will all put you in the soup kitchen
One thing I would recommend though, in an attempt to get this thread back on topic, is to do the following:
Order a dedicated server. Install, configure, secure, break, and fix a SolusVM node. Since it's for testing, a cheap datashack server will do. Give a couple VPSes to friends, tell them to break stuff, benchmark, abuse it. Learn to fix it. They're not clients so take your time and do it right, no need to fix the issues immediately.
Play with cPanel. It's great, I need to play with it more honestly. Transfer accounts from one box to another via command line, learn how it works. Get 'cPanel Certified' (which is something I plan on doing, mainly to say I know cPanel well), etc.
Write a couple small bash scripts to make your life easier. I've got one I use for my personal VPSes but it needs updated, haven't used it in months. Need to get back at it.
Ask questions, learn from the answers.
A server to play with and learn from is much cheaper than tuition. It doesn't include the college parties, though.
Order a dedicated server. Install, configure, secure, break, and fix a SolusVM node. Since it's for testing, a cheap datashack server will do. Give a couple VPSes to friends, tell them to break stuff, benchmark, abuse it. Learn to fix it. They're not clients so take your time and do it right, no need to fix the issues immediately.
Play with cPanel. It's great, I need to play with it more honestly. Transfer accounts from one box to another via command line, learn how it works. Get 'cPanel Certified' (which is something I plan on doing, mainly to say I know cPanel well), etc.
Write a couple small bash scripts to make your life easier. I've got one I use for my personal VPSes but it needs updated, haven't used it in months. Need to get back at it.
Ask questions, learn from the answers.
A server to play with and learn from is much cheaper than tuition. It doesn't include the college parties, though.
shawn_ky
Member
It's what I advise my students to do. The degree is one thing, the certs at times are more valuable within the industry as far as major companies and their IT staffing BUT as specifc to hosting, probably as stated before, not a lot needed but experience and MONEY...
Usually no one looks at the degree once you have a few years of experience. Certs are useful if you have no experience or if they are specifically required (some companies/jobs - not all).It's what I advise my students to do. The degree is one thing, the certs at times are more valuable within the industry as far as major companies and their IT staffing BUT as specifc to hosting, probably as stated before, not a lot needed but experience and MONEY...
I'd have to agree with a lot of the folks here that college is overrated for a lot of IT-related stuff, but I'd never go back and "undo" going to college.
If you're going the tech route, college in engineering/IT can/will give you a strong leg up. A lot of folks know how to work with technology, but knowing the nitty-gritty of how/why things work puts you at an amazing advantage. You can't believe how many times I've gotten to a solution faster or bettered something due to things I've picked up through school. Sure, perhaps 70% of it will probably be irrelevant, but the mental challenges and the information you learn will be worth it.
I did undergrad in electrical engineering and am doing my masters in telecommunications, the former being super-relevant as a sysadmin.
To top it off, going to school will give you an advantage in the work force. A lot of big companies demand degrees, and are willing to pay for them (in salary). My first job out of college paid $72k, and my second job about two years later paid $110k. Two years later, I'm at around $125k. None of those employers hired folks without degrees.
If you want to make some good money, go the RHCSA/RHCE route. It wouldn't hurt to have some basic programming knowledge (e.g. scripting, or things like Chef). Tons of companies hire hard for things like that -- no degree required. In my area (near Washington, DC), a mid-level Linux sysadmin makes about $100k.
The VPS industry is cool, but unless you're a big fish, you probably won't make enough to buy that Bugatti you've been dreaming of .
If you're going the tech route, college in engineering/IT can/will give you a strong leg up. A lot of folks know how to work with technology, but knowing the nitty-gritty of how/why things work puts you at an amazing advantage. You can't believe how many times I've gotten to a solution faster or bettered something due to things I've picked up through school. Sure, perhaps 70% of it will probably be irrelevant, but the mental challenges and the information you learn will be worth it.
I did undergrad in electrical engineering and am doing my masters in telecommunications, the former being super-relevant as a sysadmin.
To top it off, going to school will give you an advantage in the work force. A lot of big companies demand degrees, and are willing to pay for them (in salary). My first job out of college paid $72k, and my second job about two years later paid $110k. Two years later, I'm at around $125k. None of those employers hired folks without degrees.
If you want to make some good money, go the RHCSA/RHCE route. It wouldn't hurt to have some basic programming knowledge (e.g. scripting, or things like Chef). Tons of companies hire hard for things like that -- no degree required. In my area (near Washington, DC), a mid-level Linux sysadmin makes about $100k.
The VPS industry is cool, but unless you're a big fish, you probably won't make enough to buy that Bugatti you've been dreaming of
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