Which direction do I need to take?

[anaxime]

Quick background, Im graduating High School next semester and looking to go in to IT. I've been doing research to find out where to get started, and I have to say i'm very confused. One site says a bachelor's degree is required, another say I need to take the certifications. Personally, I don't want to spend a ton of more time in school. I considered getting an associate's in network administration from a local technical college that also offers the CCNP and CCNA certification courses, but i'm not sure if thats going to offer the best job opportunities. All in all, I just need someone to point me in the right direction.

[office politics]

choose which four year degree you want to pursue.

find the best schools to complete the degree. keep in mind intern / mentoring opportunities.

serach job ads for entry level positions relevant to your degree.


degrees:

computer science - understanding how computers work, writing software

computer engineering - building hardware & circuits, writing software to control hardware, maybe some robotics involved

managment information systems - understanding business and technology. managing people in the dept. strategy focused.

computer security - understanding how systems work. and finding new ways to use them. learn how to setup system to avoid bad guys.

web information systems - learn how to write code for the web. understanding web based systems.


entry level jobs

pc repair

computer support tech

or start coding freelance and submit apps to google or apple.

[Lexluethar]

Get a college degree - it will help you out in more ways than landing a job. If you just get certs and in 15 years want to go into another field you're SOL.

Get a degree, during that time get a few certifications and you'll be well on your way.

[PsychoData]

Look around. Sometimes you get certifications by completing a degree program or with just an extra class or two. I know at my college if you complete information systems security you already have two government security certifications and are well prepared for a CCNA Security and if i take network engineering technology, then I am well prepared to take a basic CCNA or with just a few extra classes im well prepared for CCNA security or CCNA wireless .

All i'm saying is that you gotta look around. I'll be leaving after five years of college with an Associate science, networking technology, and information systems security degree along with two governemnt certifications and four certifications from my college.