degrees

[CyberNerd]

@bossman

Simply coz we are not regarded as highly in society as teachers.

There are more support staff PhD's than teachers in this school - yet support staff get paid less, have worse holidays, worse job security etc.

UK schools are a very strange environment indeed, probably you won't see anything like in any other sectors, anywhere.

[Ravening_Wolf]

I have no qualifications above my three A-levels. I do however have ten years IT experience in a range of sectors and roles which employers seem to love. I have found that employers are more than happy to waive the degree requirement in preference of experience.

 

There is one caveat however - it has taken more 8 and half years to break the legendary £20K barrier.

[bossman]

It really is pathetic that the people who have the deciding rights to better pay and conditions cannot themselves use computers or any other form of technology without us experts to guide them (show them what to do). Our LEA has me and webman down as lab technicians in the Sims personel cos this is the only discription we are known as to the "education sector" So they don't understand that systems have become more complex and that they require both knowledge and experience to run them.

It shows the other so called "teaching professionals " up when they can be replaced with a cover supervisor for the day when they are off work for whatever reason. I wonder if they could replace me as "network Manager" as easy for the same rate of pay as that of the "cover supervisor"?

[ChrisH]

Personally I would rather have an MSCE and CCNA than a degree.

 

Most jobs do not ask for a degree but rather experience and the right industry recognised qualifications. I think a degree is handle when you get into management level. Management means coordinating a team of people who have the right skills which you may not have.

 

I have an MCSA and 6 years experience and after applying for a deputy position at a college recently I was told although they though my resume was very impressive and they would have liked to talk to me further I was not shortlisted because I did not have a degree or and equivalent professional qualification. Still at least I know what a level 4 qualification is now as nobody here had a clue

ps MCSA was counted as a level 3 qualification

[bossman]

So did they say that it had to be a relevant degree or just a degree?

[GrumbleDook]

MCSE, CCNA or A+, N+ and Linux+ (all three CompTIA quals together) can be considered Level 4.

 

Or MCSA plus HND ...

 

Actually there are a lot of possibilities ... but they vary from job to job as what to accept.

[ChrisH]

So did they say that it had to be a relevant degree or just a degree?

 

Relevant degree.

[bossman]

I think they make it up as they go along:

In all my years of having a technical background i have come up against the "Degree syndrome" and that the powers that be who have no technical knowledge or commonsense in most cases, just an outdated degree which just states that you can learn at a specific level.

We technical people are i believe in degree circles classed as a "necessary evil" which documents to "we need them, to be able to do our job but we must not let them know this as they might get above our station". Call me paranoid if you want but i have had thirty some years experience of this.

[budgester]

It shows the other so called "teaching professionals " up when they can be replaced with a cover supervisor for the day when they are off work for whatever reason. I wonder if they could replace me as "network Manager" as easy for the same rate of pay as that of the "cover supervisor"?

 

Might just have to use that one in my appraisal.

[Midget]

I have a ComSc degree (and left in the black by becoming a contractor through uni doing programming jobs) and currently doing the CCNA and I have 5 years of IT industry experiance, which means that I'm over qualified for most of the low end jobs, and under experianced for most well-paying IT jobs.

 

So i'm stuck as a network manager, working under the pay and title of IT Technician. YAY.

I should have become a mechanic.

[john]

I have seen this recently, applied for a job recently and it didnt say owt about a degree just experience, well I have bucked loads of that, went for interview, and got we see you don't have a degree, this post doesn't require one but we have a few applicants that have them, why don't you have one! Well lets look at the facts in my view, most of them I bet have that and no educational IT management experience, and if they look at my CV they would see that I manage a large amount of networks and have had no time in my carrer to study for a degree either full or part time. It does annoy me!

 

I will add that I failed to get the position, still waiting for feedback as to why I didn't get it, I suspect the degree will have been part of it.

 

Anyway, trainings back on my list as I want a job change, less hours, more money, better prospects so this is valid again,

[webman]

John: Sorry to hear that. Just think of it as their loss: They're getting less-experience people in who have a piece that says they can do a job but probably no real-world experience to back it up with.

[john]

Thanks Craig, I will find my ideal job some day, just gotta keep searching and trying. I think they should visit each canditates current site and see how big a smouldering heap they have as part of the process to help judge how they manage at present, and they could look at all my sites and go yup they are grade A* sites But until then, good references are all I have to go with my CV.

[Dos_Box]

If its any consolation, whe I'm in interview panels or helping to shortlist candidates for techie positions I place degrees in third place behind experience and professional quals.

[Ric_]

If its any consolation, whe I'm in interview panels or helping to shortlist candidates for techie positions I place degrees in third place behind experience and professional quals.

 

That's saying something... knowing how highly you regard certain proffesional qualifications that will go un-named

[john]

That sounds a good plan to me DB, any chance of a nice position in the Lancs / Yorks border area, Lancaster, Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Clitheroe areas etc are good

[ChrisH]

There would have been a vacancy in Colne had I moved on... Oh well one day

[john]

You use Linux don't ya Chris, and Linux and me don't really mix, Censornet is about as much as I can manage! and you use other weird stuff as well don't ya so it would probably not be the place for me unless they are prepared to be re-educated in MS technologies

[webman]

Yes I think he uses that weird Terminal Services thingy, nobody else uses it so you could always replace it with Ranger (EDIT: Or is that Ric_? Am I cracking up? Have I finally lost it? Find out next time . :oops: :? )

 

*runs in opposite direction from Chris*

[GrumbleDook]

Or get rid of them completely and go for Macs ... or dig out some Acorns ...

 

*me runs faster than Russ*

[ChrisH]

Lol Im not a heavy Linux user. I have a workstation, Censornet and a box running Nagios. All you would need to you is how to restart nagios, update Ubuntu etc and you can guess how to add new defintions for services. Easy peasy editing of text files I learnt most of my linux stuff poking around my CN box.

 

Theres nothing else weird and wonderful here I like to keep it fairly simple. There are alot of scripts though but everything is well commented .....

[john]

Yes I think he uses that weird Terminal Services thingy, nobody else uses it so you could always replace it with Ranger (EDIT: Or is that Ric_? Am I cracking up? Have I finally lost it? Find out next time . :oops: :? )

 

*runs in opposite direction from Chris*

 

Ranger yuck! I love the real thing - Net Support Manager for me please

 

No terminals for me either, full cream networking for me.

 

@Tony mmm Acorns, got two sat here at present, A4000 and a RISC PC both working, well the A4000 needs a bit more TLC still IE new PSU but an old AT PC one works fine with it just not in the case obviously. No Macs for me, hate the things, Im a true PC Man through and through.

 

@Chris, glad to hear its all nicely commented on, means if and when you go your replacement will be fine with it.

[linuxgirlie]

Doing OU degree Computer Science with honours...am also studing for LPI (Linxu Qual) taking longer than I thought about one module per year at about £150-600 per module join since I left school in 2002 so 5 years in...lol but worth it.

[Ric_]

@linuxgirlie: £150-£600? So the price doesn't vary too much between exams

[linuxgirlie]

It depends which modules you take for example a project based module tends to be around the £600 mark, but a module with 4 tmas and 1 exam is about £350, a small 20 or 10 unit module only costs around £150. In total you have to do about 9 modules and a project I think.

 

Jo