AstroTurf is super green.
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@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@IRJ said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@IRJ said in AstroTurf is super green.:
How close are you to the degree? A degree in IT is rarely worth getting unless you want more of a hands off management position.
Not close. I just completed my first year. Still 3 to go. I don't want to be a manager. The last place I was at I managed 8 people and I hate it. Managing people vs. managing tech is not one of my strong points. I'm too hands on, and I find that I micro manage. Plus, I am too hard on people. When it comes to colleagues, I completely leave them alone unless they ask me for help so I'm a better team member than a manager/supervisor.
I just want to stick in systems. I'm not getting a management degree anyway. I'm getting a BAS in network administration (heavier emphasis on systems though).
With 10 years experience it really isn't going to help you much at all if at all.
I'm not doing it out of necessity. My family was never really big on college but I always wanted to go. This is 100% just a life goal, rather than "I need to do this to get a good job". I tried my first year out and did really well, so I want to see it through to the end. At least as far as I can take it.
I don't understand.... if it doesn't net you much in your career then what's the point of consuming alot of time and money? College sucks and most of the time you learn stuff that isn't relevant to your career.
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@IRJ said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@IRJ said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@IRJ said in AstroTurf is super green.:
How close are you to the degree? A degree in IT is rarely worth getting unless you want more of a hands off management position.
Not close. I just completed my first year. Still 3 to go. I don't want to be a manager. The last place I was at I managed 8 people and I hate it. Managing people vs. managing tech is not one of my strong points. I'm too hands on, and I find that I micro manage. Plus, I am too hard on people. When it comes to colleagues, I completely leave them alone unless they ask me for help so I'm a better team member than a manager/supervisor.
I just want to stick in systems. I'm not getting a management degree anyway. I'm getting a BAS in network administration (heavier emphasis on systems though).
With 10 years experience it really isn't going to help you much at all if at all.
I'm not doing it out of necessity. My family was never really big on college but I always wanted to go. This is 100% just a life goal, rather than "I need to do this to get a good job". I tried my first year out and did really well, so I want to see it through to the end. At least as far as I can take it.
I don't understand.... if it doesn't net you much in your career then what's the point of consuming alot of time and money? College sucks and most of the time you learn stuff that isn't relevant to your career.
This college has arguably the best network administration program in the state and I am learning some stuff here and there. It doesn't follow traditional broad view University cirriculum. It's all tech classes with very few general education classes to meet the requirements of graduation.
Why I'm going though, because I want to go. Not because I need to go. I advocate to tons of people that ask if they need a degree or certs to get a better job, I tell them it won't hurt you, but you can't expect those things to be a skeleton key that unlocks every door of opportunity.
I want the sense of achievement. For the last 10 years, my family says how successful I am and honestly I feel like shit at the end of the day. I just have a terrible outlook on my life. Absolutely no reason why I should, and I've been working on that for some time with counseling and medication but there has been little improvement. One thing about a degree is I can literally hold my achievement in my hands. No other reason why I'm getting a degree other than I've always wanted to go to school and say "I did that".
That's the best I can do at describing why I want it.
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@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
This college has arguably the best program in the state and I am learning some stuff here and there.
That's a horrible indictment of the education system as a whole.
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@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
This college has arguably the best program in the state and I am learning some stuff here and there.
That's a horrible indictment of the education system as a whole.
If I hadn't been working in the industry already, I'd be overwhelmed with the things that is being taught. There is a ton of useful information, but I feel like I'm just hearing a repeat of things I already know. But there are things here and there that I don't already know.
Things will get increasingly more difficult so I'll pick up on more and more I'm sure. Watching the growth of people in the class I have befriended, I can definitely say it's a good program for people coming from zero knowledge to more advanced. It has a good balance too. Teaching the basics and what to teach in a specific order. Then branching out and teaching systems that you maybe don't learn in other competing schools. I wish they would have spent more time on Linux server administration as it felt rushed and there was so much more we could have done, but I can't complain too much.
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What school is this? If it's a DeVry type of place, it's worthless. Any future employer will likely look at that and think you just over paid for something you could have gotten from a book and a lab.
If it's a recognized decent school - they how are you getting away with few non relevant core classes?
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@Dashrender said in AstroTurf is super green.:
What school is this? If it's a DeVry type of place, it's worthless. Any future employer will likely look at that and think you just over paid for something you could have gotten from a book and a lab.
If it's a recognized decent school - they how are you getting away with few non relevant core classes?
College of Western Idaho. Comparable programs are found at Idaho State University (where I will likely transfer to as CWI only has a 2-year program), and Lewis-Clark State College.
You can't transfer to a broad view university like, say, Boise State University. Because your credits won't transfer cause you need tons and tons of core classes. But you can transfer to another school like Idaho State or Western Governor's (Salt Lake) that have a comparable program. They don't require core classes like 600 classes in Geology/Literature/etc... as interesting as those classes are. Instead they are filled with core classes directly related to your major... like Linux administration, Routing and Switching, Windows Server, SAN/virtualization, Exchange, SharePoint, etc.
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Isn't that a community college?
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Oh, you said that it only has two year programs. That makes sense.
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@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
They don't require core classes like 600 classes in Geology/Literature/etc... as interesting as those classes are.
Those are the most important ones.
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@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
Isn't that a community college?
That's what I was thinking.
Is Idaho State Univ part of the traditional 4 yr schools getup? If not, then how is it better than DeVry?
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@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
They don't require core classes like 600 classes in Geology/Literature/etc... as interesting as those classes are.
Those are the most important ones.
For a well rounded education, I agree. But that's not the scope I'm after...
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@Dashrender said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
Isn't that a community college?
That's what I was thinking.
Is Idaho State Univ part of the traditional 4 yr schools getup? If not, then how is it better than DeVry?
ISU is... different. They have 4 year degrees available, but transferring from a CC (whereas you can't with ones like BSU and U of I... you're basically starting over). But at the same time they are a full university that offers all the traditional core classes like any other university... After you transfer, there are more core classes you have to take to fill the 3rd and 4th year, but you aren't starting over like you would at a competing university. I have to look into it more once the time gets near.
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@Dashrender said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
Isn't that a community college?
That's what I was thinking.
Is Idaho State Univ part of the traditional 4 yr schools getup? If not, then how is it better than DeVry?
This is an accredited school. Not sure how they did that if they don't require the core classes, though.
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@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
They don't require core classes like 600 classes in Geology/Literature/etc... as interesting as those classes are.
Those are the most important ones.
For a well rounded education, I agree. But that's not the scope I'm after...
isn't that the sole value of university, though? I mean, other than just the bragging rights.
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@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
They don't require core classes like 600 classes in Geology/Literature/etc... as interesting as those classes are.
Those are the most important ones.
For a well rounded education, I agree. But that's not the scope I'm after...
isn't that the sole value of university, though? I mean, other than just the bragging rights.
I know you believe in those core classes, and sure some people need them, but are they really needed from an educational stand point? for a career goal?
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@Dashrender said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
They don't require core classes like 600 classes in Geology/Literature/etc... as interesting as those classes are.
Those are the most important ones.
For a well rounded education, I agree. But that's not the scope I'm after...
isn't that the sole value of university, though? I mean, other than just the bragging rights.
I know you believe in those core classes, and sure some people need them, but are they really needed from an educational stand point? for a career goal?
Yes, they are the ones that matter most. They are the only ones that provide a significant value to the university system. University is solely for broadening your thinking, that's its only purpose and mandate. The university system is neither supposed to be a career training system nor are they any good at it. That people trying to universally use them that way is a big factor in why the system is failing today.
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@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
@BBigford said in AstroTurf is super green.:
They don't require core classes like 600 classes in Geology/Literature/etc... as interesting as those classes are.
Those are the most important ones.
For a well rounded education, I agree. But that's not the scope I'm after...
isn't that the sole value of university, though? I mean, other than just the bragging rights.
Absolutely. But again, it's not my scope at this time.
If I wanted a well rounded education, I would go to a university for computer science so I could attend all the extra classes. But my scope is limited to simply getting a degree in my field, with as many applicable classes as possible, so I chose a 2 year degree then transfer to a larger school to finish..
I 100% agree that the core classes broaden your thinking, but that's simply not what I'm after... I can always go back and take those classes to broaden my outlook, if I want to, but my goal right now is different. I would want to take those classes because I want to take those classes. Because I consciously understand that it is to make me a well rounded individual. Not because the university says if I don't then I can't graduate. The 2 year program I'm in right now, is a career training program. If it went 4 years, I would stay at this school. But they don't offer a 4 year degree so I'll transfer out to a university that:
*Accepts the credits and allows me to finish in 2 years and..
*Doesn't deviate from the more career-oriented classes and drag on the degree to 6 years for completion.
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I guess I'm missing the part of what the goal is. I see what the goal is not, but... what is it that taking the classes and a degree in your field, but not the classes that degrees in that field expect, going to do?
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@scottalanmiller said in AstroTurf is super green.:
I guess I'm missing the part of what the goal is. I see what the goal is not, but... what is it that taking the classes and a degree in your field, but not the classes that degrees in that field expect, going to do?
I had mentioned it up above, it's nothing more than having wanted to go to school and graduate with a degree. People may think that is stupid, but that is my reasoning. I figure if I can take very focused classes, then I'll learn something in my field that I don't know (I certainly don't know everything so I'll learn stuff while I'm attending). I want a degree in my field, and these classes are teaching me more than the nearest university (at least as far as the applicable classes go). I only know that because I looked at the road map at both Boise State University and the University of Idaho. I asked the advisor and the response from both places was "we're not making you into a systems administrator. We're making you into a well rounded student." Okay that's great, but it's just not what I want. I wanted a degree, but I wanted to be made into a systems administrator.
If my scope was to get a well rounded education and open my mind, would I go to the school I'm at now? No. Absolutely not. You don't get exposure to all the core classes and different avenues of extensive learning. I would go to Boise State University, or the University of Idaho (if I were to stay in state), instead of College of Western Idaho then Idaho State University or Western Governor's.
I could get a sense of achievement some other way that people would probably disagree about as well. Something like getting various certifications, or winning an award for something. That's not what I want though, I want a degree. My reasoning is probably very disagreeable, because it is a want. An expensive and time consuming want. I'm willing to risk time and money to fill that void of achievement. I've tried other avenues and have come up short so I'm trying this one. If I come up short and don't feel that sense of achievement, I'll try another approach.
I may never find what I'm looking for. But, I won't stop looking.
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I guess it is the "degree in my field" bit that confuses me. Having been on a college board specifically for the degrees in your field... you are skipping every class that we considered to be critical for the field and taking the ones that we kept saying shouldn't be in the curriculum. I feel like you are intentionally avoiding what we normally consider a degree in your field, but you found a place that will say that it is that. That's why I'm confused by the goal because it feels like you are making a huge effort to actually avoid what I thought you were stating as the goal.
Just wanting a degree to get a degree, I understand.
