Corporate kludge

[Elok]

That would have been very helpful advice eighteen months and several thousand dollars ago. As it is--and I'm sure you mean well, don't get me wrong--it's merely depressing.

[DriXnaK]

What did you spend several thousand dollars on? The thing about WGU is that it gets you the certs along with the degree all at once. You pay for a 6 month semester and you complete as much as you want as fast as you want. Most your courses are industry certifications if you've already got a previous degree from somewhere. Also, if you already have the certifications, I believe they waive the course for you. You could go the network security route like I did and still go into software. Your degree will be Information Technology either way which is all you need to get past the resume scanners. While it would have been cheaper to get the certs as part of the degree, the flip side is that you don't have to take those courses now. I highly recommend you take the plunge and go the WGU route if you are serious about trying to make it into IT. I would read a programming book or something first though to make sure you have the aptitude and it is something you want to do before you go down this path. There's a big difference between writing scripts and understanding OOP and all the things that go with it.

[regexcellent]

Plenty of businesses require network engineers. I'd go with as a rule of thumb if your network has a need for multiple subnets, particularly in multiple locations, you'll want a network engineer on staff.

Most companies don't give a **** about clearances because they don't do business with the federal government. If you look at companies like, say, Toyota or Bank of America, they don't give a damn and they also have a lot of network engineers.

There are two parts where Elok's going to run into trouble. First is the fact that a lot of companies expect a BS in Computer Science or something similar. The second is that in small to medium sized companies a general purpose sysadmin is going to be expected to handle the network and much of the server systems as well and he might not have the sysadmin experience to do that.

[DriXnaK]

The number of businesses requiring network engineers is far less than the number of businesses requiring software developers. There's no comparison there. You are also naming very large corporations, and most businesses don't even come close to falling into that category. Elok's chances of landing a job with a major corporation as a network engineer are slim and none. Even if he gets the degree, that's not going to change much. If he's going to end up getting an IT degree anyway, he'd be better off going the software developer route. It's easier to find jobs, you move up in it faster, and it pays more. I say this from experience as someone who was in his exact position 3 and a half years ago.

[Al B. Sure!]

How's the tennis business, DrinkSnacks?

[regexcellent]

The number of businesses requiring network engineers is far less than the number of businesses requiring software developers. There's no comparison there. You are also naming very large corporations, and most businesses don't even come close to falling into that category. Elok's chances of landing a job with a major corporation as a network engineer are slim and none. Even if he gets the degree, that's not going to change much. If he's going to end up getting an IT degree anyway, he'd be better off going the software developer route. It's easier to find jobs, you move up in it faster, and it pays more. I say this from experience as someone who was in his exact position 3 and a half years ago.

I got job offers from Harris Radio, Toyota, and my current firm (which you wouldn't have heard of) plus a couple companies local to Rochester as a intern sysadmin or network engineer for the summer. There are tons of companies out there and they hire lots of people to do this stuff. The difference though is that I have (3/4ths of a) degree in computer networking and computer science, but no CCNA/CCIE, whereas Elok has the CCNA and possibly CCIE but a liberal arts degree.

I think Elok can eventually find a job doing this kind of work but he should probably look to larger companies and not anywhere close to Washington.

[DriXnaK]

Well it definitely depends on where you live. Some cities are probably better for it than others. Either way I would recommend the WGU IT degree in network engineering. It will allow him to get into whatever he wants and it can be gotten fast and cheap.

To Alby: I work for one of the largest financial institutions in the world making six figures as a software engineer. What was it you do again?

[dannubis]

so you work as a clerk in a bank ?

[The Mad Monk]

He's an officer in the Marines.

[regexcellent]

No, he's a RESERVE officer in the marines, which isn't a full time job, it's just something you do on weekends. Presumably he has some actual job that pays actual money, probably working as a bank clerk because iirc that's the job he had when he went to OCS for the third time.

[The Mad Monk]

You're so bitter.

[regexcellent]

About what? That Alby at age 30 finally has managed to get his dream job for 38 days a year?

It's not bad that he's a reservist or whatever but that's not his job. He has some other job that is his primary job, presumably, so you actually didn't answer Drixnax's question.

[molly bloom]

You're so bitter.

He coulda been a contender!

[Al B. Sure!]

Continue speaking for me, reg, because you clearly know all about my life.

For your information, this 'part time' job isn't. After 14 consecutive months on active, I received activation orders for another 12 months. And while I am not authorized to provide details, let me just inform you that I will not be CONUS very soon.

So I would say that this is my job.

[Lorizael]

...I will not be CONUS very soon.

I'm going to take this to mean that you are presently a predatory sea snail.