Why Go To University to Study IT ?

By Irshaad Desai (IT Business Campus CAPE TOWN) If

Experienced IT graduates on the other may nd themselves spending these same evenings seeking technical skills through studying relevant IT certications. So in the long run things eventually even out. It is in the immediate term that the advantage swings markedly in favour of IT certied candidates as opposed to degree candidates in the entrylevel job market. In conclusion, it should be noted that I was a degree-holder when I entered the job market almost 2 decades ago, however the circumstances were totally different. There was a global shortage of IT skills. This was the pre-Y2K era and the Internet was just coming online. The certications industry was very much still in its infancy and the costs to be certied (where possible) was high. As with any new product, students need to factor in the time and cost to market. This will be a key competitive criteria. This is what the actual total cost of undertaking a study program over and above the course fees are. Included should be the opportunity cost of the additional months/years of forgone income, experience, etc; when comparing between programs/options. At ITBC CAPE TOWN our advice is to grab as many sought after IT certications as is practical, get into the job market, study further for a degree, etc whilst working and hence securing your future career growth and along the way rack up as much industry experience as you can. This is the most effective and cost efcient way to invest in the rst 5 to 10 years of your career.

you are a school-leaver and intend to

Experienced non-IT candidates from

pursue a career in the IT industry, the benets of certications far outweigh that of degree-holders for entry level staff. With the current state of the economy, IT managers are hard pressed to deliver on IT projects as well as day-to-day operational requirements with ever decreasing amounts of resources and tougher time constraints. In order to keep up with high turn-around and short delivery times, industry certied candidates offer far more value than university graduates. Certication assures a recruiting IT manager that the candidate has a thorough understanding of the technology platform and that he or she is already trained on how to use them. This allows the candidate to get up to speed and start offering value to the IT team and the organization in a relatively short space of time. IT Graduates.Please note that ITBC CAPE TOWN is in no way saying that you should not ever pursue IT related degrees and diplomas. What we are however highlighting is that within the context of the shrinking job market as a result of our recent economic challenges, far higher numbers of candidates are chasing far fewer jobs. On the recruitment side, criteria that employers should be looking at when choosing from a large pool of candidates for entry level jobs are:
Qualied and experienced IT professionals

within the organization who know the business processes and who have an aptitude for picking-up the IT skills (possibly through undergoing a certication program).
Experienced non-IT candidates from

The focus of university programs is still too deeply rooted in creating researchers as opposed to individuals who can take-up and add corporate value in a relatively short period of time (2012). When we talk about career progression, this is a totally different discussion altogether. IT experienced, non-graduates will nd that their career progression is hampered in the long-term by not having a degree, hence it would make sense to pursue an IT-related degree on a part-time basis whilst working. After a number of years, when graduated they would have the qualications as well as several years of experience. IT industry certication courses on the other hand are designed to do just this. They present candidates with just the right amount of theory to effectively grasp the concepts and then focus on application. In some instances separate modules are dedicated to applied theory and application in a relevant industry-oriented setting. Again we stress that the focus of this article is on providing potential candidates with the tools to effectively gain a foothold in the IT industry as the market stands today An added unforeseen plus is the company-exposure received as a result of doing work-based assignments spanning multiple departments that the employee would otherwise not be exposed to.

within the industry who know the business processes and who have an aptitude for picking-up the IT skills (possibly by undergoing a certication program).
New to the job market IT certied

candidates
New to the job market IT graduates

IT Graduates need to note that in order to be competitive in the job market, they will have to invest 3 years or more in time and money to be considered for a job, whilst an IT certication candidate will be investing 6 months to 1 year in time and money for the same level of competitiveness for an entrylevel job. At this point in time, the IT industry certied candidate has recognizable and certiable skills when looking at a particular technology platform and can add virtually immediate value to the organization. IT graduates will rst have to be trained to use industry specic tools. This is as a result of universities distancing themselves from any one particular technology vendor and focusing heavily on subject matter theory, the bulk of which (70+%) the graduate will never apply in the work-place.

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