Getting an ict Certification or a College Degree

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Over the past month or so I have received a number of questions on this topic. Interestingly, most of these questions referred to Cisco based certifications versus undergraduate college degrees in computer science. Thank you to all those who wrote to me with this question.
If you currently have neither a college degree nor a professional certification, such as one of the Cisco certifications, both would be of professional advantage to you in different ways and for different reasons. As a result, the one you should work on first is based upon your personal and financial ability to go to school full time for a four year Bachelor of Science (BS) degree.
If your answer is yes and you have the opportunity to do a full time four year degree program, then I would suggest going to college for a BS in Computer Science first. Not only will you learn an enormous amount on a wide range of technical topics, it will also give you a permanent credential that can increase your life-long earning power. Additionally, don’t underestimate the great benefits of being immersed in a full time academic environment in regard to:
• The non-technical topics in your curriculum will broaden you as a person by providing insights into topics outside of your chosen professional vocation
• The people you will meet that will ultimately become professional contacts
• The wide range of personal and professional opinions and outlooks you will observe
• The power of having your university’s alumni as potential employers and mentors
• Having a little fun in the process
In effect, the full time academic experience grows you as a person, increases your worldliness, and helps prepare you for both work and life in general. Then, with your degree in hand, and hopefully a job upon graduation, getting a technical certification early in your career will help you gain and illustrate specific technical proficiency. This proficiency, in turn, can help you move up more quickly within the technical ranks.
If your answer to my earlier question regarding your ability to attend college full time is no, then I suggest getting the certification first and then attending night school on a part time basis for your degree.
The reason for this rationale is that the certification will take less time and less money to achieve and as a result, you will have a marketable professional credential much sooner. Then, use your newly gained skills and credential to get the type of job that will start you on your professional technical journey.