Career in IT w/o B.S. Degree, etc.. suggestion?
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Long story short... I do not have a bachelor degree yet. I am almost 30. I have 60 hours credit in College for Mechanical Engineering. I am about 3 semesters away from graduating if going half-time.
So I did VERY poorly when I first started college. English is not my first language and the culture crash hits me hard. I spent at least 2 years (4 semesters) fixing my grades and now I am GPA 2.5+ which allow me to transfer to some universities. However, I am 3 semesters away from graduating Mechanical Engineering. Should I even bother?
I started doing IT related jobs as a hobby/part-time couple years ago. I am now a SystemAdmin with 30~50K salaried (not exact income as it is stupid to post real information on the internet). Am I doing fine with money wise? Yes. Is the job secured? Somewhat. Do I feel threaten of letting go(fired)? No.
Why Mechanical Engineering? My dad is Electrical Engineering... and I want to follow in his foot step. But I don't want to "be" my dad so I choose Mechanical Engineering just for flavor. Now I am in pretty deep in IT to the point I wonder if I should still pursue in other degree? If I graduate with mech engi then I won't get the chance to use my skills in IT much often.
What should I do?
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Why am I asking this on the internet and not with academic advisory? Because I believed I will get an honest answer, or real life experience advises.
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Keep improving. School doesn't give you real world experience and you are going to come out with a silly amount of debt. If you're unhappy with your job or are looking for more apply to a different position in the same silo.
If you still want to go to school, look for something like business administration with a few accounting classes. You'll get more use out of them in your life and they, probably, aren't woefully out of date like IT classes would be.
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@LAH3385 said in Career in IT w/o B.S. Degree, etc.. suggestion?:
Why am I asking this on the internet and not with academic advisory? Because I believed I will get an honest answer, or real life experience advises.
An academic adviser who is payed by the school? Never ask a sales person for advice.
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@LAH3385 said in Career in IT w/o B.S. Degree, etc.. suggestion?:
Long story short... I do not have a bachelor degree yet. I am almost 30. I have 60 hours credit in College for Mechanical Engineering. I am about 3 semesters away from graduating if going half-time.
So I did VERY poorly when I first started college. English is not my first language and the culture crash hits me hard. I spent at least 2 years (4 semesters) fixing my grades and now I am GPA 2.5+ which allow me to transfer to some universities. However, I am 3 semesters away from graduating Mechanical Engineering. Should I even bother?
I started doing IT related jobs as a hobby/part-time couple years ago. I am now a SystemAdmin with 30~50K salaried (not exact income as it is stupid to post real information on the internet). Am I doing fine with money wise? Yes. Is the job secured? Somewhat. Do I feel threaten of letting go(fired)? No.
Why Mechanical Engineering? My dad is Electrical Engineering... and I want to follow in his foot step. But I don't want to "be" my dad so I choose Mechanical Engineering just for flavor. Now I am in pretty deep in IT to the point I wonder if I should still pursue in other degree? If I graduate with mech engi then I won't get the chance to use my skills in IT much often.
What should I do?
I've been given a lot of mixed advice here and other places online. What I can tell you is you should pick what you excel at and what is marketable. I honestly wouldn't say I'm a great systems administrator. Through having this job I realized my love for networking. I know that I can go the CCIE route and make considerable money doing it so that's what I'm doing right now. Pick what you love AND what you are good at. You will always be able to fall back on experience.
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Complete your degree.
I say that because you are already out the money and time to date. You say you are only 3 semesters out. That means next fall would be your last semester (assuming no summer semesters).
You went in for good reasons. The career path you wanted needs education or a lot of luck to get a position.
You ended up in IT for which the degree is certainly not required. But an additional 3 semesters at this point will be a wash in the long term and you will have the degree.
Most of the advice we give about not doing degree is strictly related to people starting out from high school in IT.
In fact a mechanical engineering degree and IT skills could likely get you into a position at the right type of company.
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At this point in the professional world an undergraduate degree is merely an accomplishment, and not a source of specific professional skills (some exceptions). If you want to manage, work for government, or for a college, you will need that degree. Otherwise, it is a toss up, but I agree with @JaredBusch, you're out the money and time, finishing is worth it.
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I work with a few mechanical engineers, I'd have to say, go for it. Finish that degree. Their job is a lot more interesting than mine.
Quick example, I have a real mortar sitting just a few feet from my desk. It doesn't have a firing pin, but it can be easily added. Guess who designed and build it? Hint: not me.
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I'm not much a fan of degrees but given the amount that you have invested into it, you will lose all of that if you don't finish. There is value to quitting, of course, but there is likely more value to finishing given how much you have put into it already.
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@marcinozga said in Career in IT w/o B.S. Degree, etc.. suggestion?:
I work with a few mechanical engineers, I'd have to say, go for it. Finish that degree. Their job is a lot more interesting than mine.
I was an engineer, I hated it
IT was way more exciting. Better pay, better hours, more job options, more creativity. -
As far as engineering versus IT... that is a decision that can only be made by you. They are two different fields. Both are fine fields. But only you know which one is going to make you happy. And that's what is most important.
