Another Great IT Debate: Experience or Education?
What matters most when it comes to landing an IT job – experience or education (degrees/certificates)? While opinions abound, the most honest answer really is “it depends”. Here are some of the factors that can determine which one is most valuable to your IT career.
1) The type of job. Obviously, entry-level applicants are not going to have a lot of experience, so a degree can help open doors. The complexity of the job matters as well. IT manager Ramon Padilla sums up his philosophy thusly, “If I am looking at a highly technical position (DBA, network engineer, etc.) then I lean more heavily toward certification . . . however, if I’m looking at a managerial, administrative, or analyst type position, the degree is more valuable.”
2) The type of degree. An IT degree of some kind is a must, unless you are applying for a business-related job such as a data analyst, whose insights must relate back to practical business applications. But in those limited cases, it’s imperative that a non-technical degree be backed up by demonstrable experience in the technology being used.
3) The person hiring. In some companies, HR managers do all the hiring. In others, IT managers handle technical candidates. As Tech Republic blogger Toni Bowers says, “Unless specifically instructed otherwise, the chances are that an HR person is going to respond to the presence of a degree before a jumble of Microsoft acronyms.” When technical people vet resumes, however, certifications are a language that they speak. They are also much more likely to believe that experience means more than a piece of paper from a college when it comes to doing the job.
4) Your career goals. Oftentimes – and this is especially true in larger organizations – there is either a formal or unspoken policy that a degree is required for management positions. If your company is one of these, and you find after several years that your path to promotion is blocked, then obtaining a degree might be a good idea. Another option is to take your now-valuable experience, add a couple of key certifications, which take less time and money than a degree, and look for a position with a company that does not have such a policy.
The general consensus, however (with the exception of entry-level jobs) is that experience trumps both degrees and certifications. Degrees can become dated, and while many certifications require renewal, they vary in hiring value. As we’ve mentioned before, you should choose carefully which certifications to pursue to maximize your investment of time and money. Experience, however, proves that you not only have the knowledge to do the job, but that you can actually perform the work.
The technical staffing specialists at Triumph Services work closely with top IT employers, so they are familiar with hiring manager preferences and current industry trends. Contact us today to see how we can help you maximize your appeal to prospective IT employers.
