AboutCarolyn Meinel Expertise I cover Windows, Unix, TCP/IP and Ethernet security questions. I do not cover Mac, Palm Pilot, or other networking issues.
Experience Books by Carolyn Meinel: wrote a chapter for The Hacking of America book (see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1567204600/happyhacker)
My article Code Red for the Web for Scientific American was reprinted in the book Best American Science Writing 2002 (see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060936509/happyhacker). My book The Happy Hacker: A Guide to Mostly Harmless Hacking is now in 4th edition with a Japanese edition (see http://happyhacker.org/hhbook/).
Question I am looking into pursuing either a Master's degree in a computer related field or working on certifications. Right now, I work as an IT Administrator for a civil engineering firm. I have been working here for the past 3 years. We are a small firm of about 20 people. I am the only IT guy here. In my job, I install and maintain software/hardware on user's machines, work on problems with computer equipment (pc's, plotters, printers, network, server) when they arise, and update the company's website. I have also become pretty familiar with networking equipment like switches and firewalls, and am somewhat familiar with Windows Server 2003. I also hook new employees up to the network and set up their pc. My bachelor's degree is in Communications, which I received in 2001. Since that time, I have worked as a Computer Aided Drafting technician in various firms and have helped with computer related issues in every job. I am 32 years old now. I would like to continue working in the IT field, since that is what I love to do. I would maybe like to get a job in either networking/systems administration/IT security. Would pursuing a degree be better for me at this point, or should I just pursue certifications? Right now I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands, as my wife works nights, and I watch my kid, who's 20 months. On top of that, she wants to have another kid starting next year. What would be better for me long term? I wished I had pursued a bachelor's in a computer related field, but will my degree hinder my opportunities for other jobs or more money? Thanks very much for your help.
Answer Certifications are fine if you never want to advance very far. But if you want to have no limits to your career, an electrical engineering degree or computer engineering degree from a high quality university is invaluable. If you get a master's degree, even better.
Perhaps if you explain to your wife the benefits of being married to a man who is an excellent provider, this will help her understand why you don't want to throw away your future on a dead end career.
You may find the IEEE Computer Society to be of particular interest. But then again, while pursuing your degree, you may discover you prefer to invent better wireless communications, new ways to make smaller and better integrated circuits, or even something as amazing as the elevator into space that many IEEE members are competing to create.
The downside to getting an engineering degree is math. Many people become terrified of calculus because it seems so hard. I remember thinking that I wasn't any good at math because it is so hard for me. But then I learned that even geniuses have to work at it -- and that all it takes, really, is hard work. Math is something that grows on you and the more you work at it, the easier it gets. I found graduate school math courses that I needed for my engineering degree were actually easier than undergraduate calculus because by then I was so much in the habit of thinking analytically.
So, in conclusion, I have never regretted the sacrifice and hard work it took to get my engineering degrees. Us engineers are a jolly lot, full of the joy of discovery and invention. I hope that you, too, can experience the exhilaration of a career without limits.
P.S. The July 2007 issue of the IEEE Spectrum, which is read by hundreds of thousands of engineers around the world, includes an article I wrote about electromagnetic guns. It's called "For Love of a Gun," see http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isYear=2007
