I’d been planning to go back to school in the Winter quarter. (I’m not officially a resident for another 9 days, based on when I got my new driver’s license.) I thought about looking into UNIX and SQL classes, and AutoCAD might be good as well. Actually, I’ve been wondering about the courses I should persue. What degree will give me the best chance at a career? Years ago, I had to choose between going to school and making a living. When there are bills and rent to pay, it’s hard to go to school. I sort of fell into computers, starting out as data entry and working up to data analysis and data management. Unfortunately, it’s all mainframe-based and no one seems to be hiring mainframe types.
Since I’ve been making my living with data, I thought persuing an IT degree might be the logical choice. I really don’t know anything else except for flying (no Commercial rating, so no jobs there) and filmmaking (haven’t found anything there), and both of those are expensive. Actually, the college is expensive too; but I might qualify for some sort of financial aid.
[1] Return on investment. You’ll get the biggest bang for your buck right now if you got certified in something. If you’re data centric, then check out the MCDBA certification. And you don’t need to take the classes, you can self study. (Although the classes are a major help). Cisco certifications, etc.
[2] Definitely Computer Science or Management Information Services degree. CS is more embedded programming, MIS is more business related. I got my MIS in '92. (Getting laid off is not the industry’s fault, it was the company)
[3] Get your degree while working. It’s better to have a job in order to get a better one, even though I’ve been lucky (this makes the third time, yet each new job was better and paid more). Many companies have tuition assistant programs, and there are a number of financial institutions that provide student loan type services to working professionals.
In my book at least, there’s a huge difference between expressing frustration and beating your breast while whining “Woe is me woe is me, I have the worst life ever and it’s never going to improve.”
And I’ve never seen you do that.
Plus you seem to be constantly seeking solutions rather than just hiding in the corner complaining.
Anyway, that’s the impression I’ve gotten.
I just got off the phone with the employment department. I’m not eligible for WA benefits, having only been employed for eight months. They said they’ll contact California. I don’t know how that works. My CA claim expired in October, and I only had a couple/three weeks left on it anyway when I got a job here.
BF: Where can I find out about MCDBA certification? How do I go about self-studying?
About a month ago I met a woman at the market, and we chatted. She has a friend who does some sort of work with the computers at Whatcom college. She has invited me to a get-together on the 18th where I can meet him. From a couple of the things she said, it sounds like a fairly intellectual group (PhDs). That’s a bit daunting.
MS Certified Professionals
Look up the exams you want to take, you can buy the MS courses yourself, or you can buy third party course and study material at Barnes and Noble or other major bookstores. Most of them come with loads of practice tests and there are many sites that have “brain dumps” you can download. These are usually provided by people who have taken the tests. You can check out via the MS web site testing centers near you. You usually have to take 2-3 required exams, then an elective for the discipline.
As having done both app development and DBA stuff, my goal MCDBA is with a discipline in Visual Studio .Net, covering ASP.Net, ADO.Net and XML. I’ll also be trained in Networking, and of course, SQL 2000 programming and administration.
I got financing through KeyBank, recommended by the school. I applied online on a Saturday and had a reasonable student loan with the deferred payment option until June 05 when I started class the following Monday .
I’m really sorry - that sucks so hugely. I wish you the best of luck finding something else.
That’s happened to my dad. He works in some computer-oriented, middle-management type thing, and due to constant mergers, outsourcing, etc, has been through…about nine jobs in my lifetime. I’m 18. The worst was when he found out that he, and about a hundred other employees, were getting laid off due to a merger. This was on the day of the first night of hanukkah. Or the time he was told he was losing his job because he worked for a vaguely-municipal untility company in Philadelphia, and lived twenty minutes across the river, in NJ.