In essence, an IT degree can help, but it’s really not mandatory for a whole bunch of IT jobs out there. Those of you looking to get into IT, pretty much all you need to get started to get your foot in the door to do Tier 1 helpdesk type of jobs is to get an A+, Net+ & Sec+ certification. Some people who know about IT will tell you an A+ and Net+ cert are useless and instead go for a higher level cert, to which I will agree somewhat if that person inquiring about those particular certs already has some pretty decent IT knowledge. But for a person who doesn’t know anything about computers, I would highly recommend they start with the certs I just named because those 3 certs will give you the foundational knowledge you will need in order to become successful in IT in the long run. Another benefit of opting to pursue certs instead of a degree is that certs are literally cheaper. A degree may cost you anywhere between $50k to $100K depending upon what school you go to. If you went out right now and bought all of the study materials required to pass the A+, Net+ & Sec+ exams in addition to actually paying the full price for each exam, you would be looking at spending AT MOST about $1000 to $1500. And I’m talking about you paying for the study material on your own or finding free resources to allow for you to study at home instead of paying tuition at a college or tech school because those 3 certs alone, anybody can study at home on their own.
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