The Value of A College Education in the Information Technology Field

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Imagine working for a company for 12 years and you are faced once again with mandatory reductions in workforce. You are an Information Technology Professional and are being measured against your peers, most of whom hold Bachelor Degrees. You are one of the few on your team that does not possess a college degree. Like me, many are placed in this same position in today’s world. We are the unprepared, not armed with ammunition to endure the scrutiny of our qualifications; relying solely on performance. We all hope and pray that is enough to be retained. The college education we planned to achieve for personal development has turned into an immediate quest to survive in today’s volatile and competitive environment.

We have seen the Information Technology job market change considerably over the past decade. Long gone are the days where you spent your entire career at the same company. Many positions have been reduced or eliminated due to innovation or automation efforts. Corporate mergers between large companies can create overlaps in some positions. Many large corporations are facing economic challenges and are reducing staff or closing their doors. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, there were 50,000 IT positions eliminated from July 20007 to July 2008 (Schwartz, 2008). These types of situations can force many out of positions, causing those impacted to seek new employment opportunities. Working for an Information Technology Fortune 100 company, I have seen all of these scenarios in action the past few years. I have had the unfortunate annual experience of walking the impacted individuals out the door.

Therefore, the long term employee who had spent blood, sweat, and tears building a career and supporting a company, has been left in cold. This is where the second big issue surfaces if you do not have a college education. This will hurt you more than competing within your own company. Your resume will have a big gaping hole where the college degree would reside. You will be measured once again with your peers, only this time it will be in form of a resume review. Now all new employer has is a piece of paper with your skills and achievements, which can be tossed aside very quickly depending on the applicant pool. Your chances for an interview have just decreased as many Information Technology positions prefer a college degree, some even make it a requirement.

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