To Degree or Not To Degree

[infernon]

I think that the key thing to keep in mind is that everyone is different. For example, where I live, you definitely need a degree if you want to go anywhere beyond a help desk or basic support. This is a small town, however. If I were to look for a job in the city that I grew up in, they'd consider job experience and attempt to asses your skills before making a decision.

The flip side is that a degree doesn't hurt. If you're going to a good school, you'll acquire knowledge that you previously would not have while making contacts. Furthermore, these contacts can be a source of jobs, etc. in the future. More importantly though, you might make some really good friends that share a common interest.

I'm doing night school right now. It's not the most pleasurable experience, but it's still worth it. I've also been looking for a job for the past six months and I know, without going into an explanation, that not having a degree has put me in the classic position of getting beaten out by someone less experienced (twice, actually).

Get the degree!

PS. Oh yeah, the gent who posted something about HR is dead on. HR does things by the book and definitely not by the 'spirit' (if you will). You'd better make sure that your resume is impressive enough to get by the HR staff which is another reason that a degree is necessary. For the purposes of getting by HR, certs don't hurt either.