Indiana Higher Ed Options and Thoughts

[breakingcontact]

Hey ya'll I'm still new-ish to Indiana.

What are your thoughts and/or experiences with the following colleges specifically for technical degrees (computer science and related)?

University of Evansville
DePauw
Rose Hulman
Purdue (I know Purdue is the heavy hitter in IN)

I know that is a wide variety of schools and a pretty broad question. Happy to receive more general answers and/or questions to my questions.

Thanks!

 

[dvd1955]

Purdue grad here, long time ago. They have a lot of resources to help you succeed. Rose Hulman grads usually have a very good rep in engineering circles. Can't go wrong in any of the four you mentioned, you get out of it what you put into it.

 

[WebSnyper]

Depauw is a liberal arts university. Not something I'd automatically associate with a technical degree. Not that they may not offer it, just wouldn't be my first thought.

 

[Dean C.]

I would add IU to the list myself , a friend of mine only three years out of graduation just picked up a 100k a year job as a software dev for a major pharmaceutical company.

 

[MCgrease08]

I would add IU to the list myself , a friend of mine only three years out of graduation just picked up a 100k a year job as a software dev for a major pharmaceutical company.

Not a knock against IU, but one should be able to get certs to start a career as a developer without a 4 year degree.

 

[jamil]

Not a knock against IU, but one should be able to get certs to start a career as a developer without a 4 years degree.

True. I’ve worked with a lot of different devs over the years. Some with no formal education and some with an impressive education. After both get to a certain level, what seems to matter most is aptitude and drive. Is it easy for you to learn it, and are you passionate about what you do, and are you driven to being good at it?

However. And this is just my experience and how we tend to hire engineers. All else equal, a graduate of a good engineering program is going to be easier to hire at entry level.

The developers I’ve worked with who don’t have engineering degrees started out with a non-related job, like a data analyst, or customer support rep, and then kinda worked their way into a development role, after working for the company for awhile, and learning on their own.

We wouldn’t typically look at an entry level dev to hire without at least a few year’s experience, so that creates the typical paradox of gaining experience bs landing a job in the first place. We’re not gonna take a chance on an entry level engineer with no degree unless we think the person is exceptional. And if we did, the interview would be brutal, to make sure the person has what it takes.

 

[Dean C.]

Not a knock against IU, but one should be able to get certs to start a career as a developer without a 4 year degree.

Blame our parents and teachers who told us our entire lives we would be worthless bums if we didn't go to college

 

[breakingcontact]

I would add IU to the list myself , a friend of mine only three years out of graduation just picked up a 100k a year job as a software dev for a major pharmaceutical company.

Thanks, not interested in IU for several reasons. I'm sure it's a fine school.

 

[breakingcontact]

I should add...I broadly work in IT management, so I'm familiar with that end of things, but I didn't come to it via the technical route.

Asking these questions for someone else.

I should have added that as an option, some Ivy Tech courses/certificates...?

Thanks!

 

[rem788]

I taught at Ivy Tech, it is a good option for the general ed classes, and even classes in your chosen field if they are offered. The cost is much less than the other state schools and y cheaper than the private schools. The general ed credits transfer to any state school (you should check to make sure any specific class credits transfer) so you can get a good portion of the required classes for a significant savings. You would need to check to see of the credits would transfer to private schools such as Rose Hulman or DePauw or U of E. Good luck.

 

[wtburnette]

I should add...I broadly work in IT management, so I'm familiar with that end of things, but I didn't come to it via the technical route.

Asking these questions for someone else.

I should have added that as an option, some Ivy Tech courses/certificates...?

Thanks!

Are you trying to get a degree for knowledge, or for advancement? If you're self motivated, I would look into pertinent certifications, since you're already in the field. Maybe take some classes at IvyTech to bone up on basics as well? The only downside to certifications is that they are testing based on truth per the certification body, not reality. For instance Microsoft or Cisco test you on what is in their books, not necessarily how things work in real life. There are tons of videos on YouTube and other places that will give you free knowledge, if you're not necessarily looking for a degree. If you are, I'd look at IvyTech as they're much less expensive, as previously noted.

 

[nwebb01]

Are you trying to get a degree for knowledge, or for advancement? If you're self motivated, I would look into pertinent certifications, since you're already in the field. Maybe take some classes at IvyTech to bone up on basics as well? The only downside to certifications is that they are testing based on truth per the certification body, not reality. For instance Microsoft or Cisco test you on what is in their books, not necessarily how things work in real life. There are tons of videos on YouTube and other places that will give you free knowledge, if you're not necessarily looking for a degree. If you are, I'd look at IvyTech as they're much less expensive, as previously noted.

100% agree with this. I'd recommend doing a program that would allow you to get an associate's degree out of the gate. Then if you have the choice to continue to a bachelor's, that's a plus. As someone who works in IT as well as helps interview at the place I work, I literally never once recommended we hire someone based off education. In all honesty, sometimes I think education turns me off from certain people. I've hired the scrappy humble hungry and smart people.

So to answer the original question, I'd go with ivy tech.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[wtburnette]

I guess I should have asked, what are your goals? If you're already in the field, it sounds like you just want the technical background and there are lots of ways to accomplish that.

 

[breakingcontact]

Are you trying to get a degree for knowledge, or for advancement? If you're self motivated, I would look into pertinent certifications, since you're already in the field. Maybe take some classes at IvyTech to bone up on basics as well? The only downside to certifications is that they are testing based on truth per the certification body, not reality. For instance Microsoft or Cisco test you on what is in their books, not necessarily how things work in real life. There are tons of videos on YouTube and other places that will give you free knowledge, if you're not necessarily looking for a degree. If you are, I'd look at IvyTech as they're much less expensive, as previously noted.

Thanks for the context. The amount of free knowledge is more than ever. I think at some point it is a bit overwhelming and a course or certificate kind of provides a framework to structure some of that material together. Something like that.

 

[breakingcontact]

I guess I should have asked, what are your goals? If you're already in the field, it sounds like you just want the technical background and there are lots of ways to accomplish that.

Asking Qs for someone else, not started in IT field yet. Thanks.

 

[wtburnette]

Ah, that's very different. I again will recommend IvyTech. I don't know if they still have the same job placement opportunities as when I was there in the 90's, but I'm assuming they do. Good classes, lower cost and the ability to place in a job in the field so that you get experience along with the education. That or an internship would be good for getting experience to break into the field. Certs are good as well. Information Security is a sector of IT that I like to recommend. I did the computer side for quite a while and since switching to Information Security, I've been happier and better paid.

 

[edporch]

True. I’ve worked with a lot of different devs over the years. Some with no formal education and some with an impressive education. After both get to a certain level, what seems to matter most is aptitude and drive. Is it easy for you to learn it, and are you passionate about what you do, and are you driven to being good at it?

However. And this is just my experience and how we tend to hire engineers. All else equal, a graduate of a good engineering program is going to be easier to hire at entry level.

The developers I’ve worked with who don’t have engineering degrees started out with a non-related job, like a data analyst, or customer support rep, and then kinda worked their way into a development role, after working for the company for awhile, and learning on their own.

We wouldn’t typically look at an entry level dev to hire without at least a few year’s experience, so that creates the typical paradox of gaining experience bs landing a job in the first place. We’re not gonna take a chance on an entry level engineer with no degree unless we think the person is exceptional. And if we did, the interview would be brutal, to make sure the person has what it takes.

Reading your reply sure brings back memories of something I REALLY miss.

Yes, aptitude and drive are a big part of it.

Back in the day when I worked at a small medical electronics company here in Indy, the Engineer that designed all of our propriety electronics was self taught.
The man was a raving genius, and the most capable Electrical Engineer I ever met.

He, as well as a few other good Engineers who had official EE Degrees all told me that APTITUDE was the key to being really good at it, and an EE Degree didn't mean somebody had the aptitude to successfully design anything from "a blank sheet of paper" on their own.

After starting out as a Chip Level bench Tech with just an AEET from a 2 year technical school, I taught myself Assembly Language.
First to create hardware troubleshooting programs for our proprietary hardware, then on to writing C Hardware Interface Libraries.

This led to me being the Engineering Tech and only assistant to the raving genius Electrical Engineer I spoke of earlier on a project he was working on.

I got to help him get the prototype running, and write BIOS code for the motherboard, and to write C Hardware Interface libraries for our software guys to write the operating system from scratch.

I got to work with that engineer for a few years and it WAS THE DREAM OF A LIFETIME!

Then my dad had a flat line heart attack, and I dropped everything to go home and take care of his business affairs, and by the time he and my late mother passed, MANY years had gone by.

I'd LOVE to ease my way back into that kind of work.
But after all these years I'm rusty at it, and don't see a path to a company that would have faith in me to get back up to speed.

 

[WanderingSol07]

I graduated from Purdue and then worked there in IT for forty-five years. For about thirty years I hired Purdue students to work part time maintaining desktop computers. Usually had ten working at any given time. I would hire students from any major, but preferred those with technical knowledge. So had hundreds of students over the years. One went on to be a technical editor, one a payload specialist on the shuttle, one went to Boeing to work on rockets, all got good jobs. Though don't know what happened to the one the Secret Service interviewed me for three hours for. In the IT area I was in we hired fifty percent of our staff from Purdue students/grads. From those I kept in contact with, they all did fine. For companies that called me for reference checks they were eager to get a Purdue graduate. I think those that joined sororities and fraternities that were NOT known to be party houses had an edge too. They made connections easier once they left Purdue. Purdue also has a job fair in the fall where hundreds of companies come on campus to interview for permanent jobs and internships. Obviously I have biased opinion, but I've worn my Purdue cap (with just the 'P') all over the country and people know what it stands for.

 

[jamil]

I should add...I broadly work in IT management, so I'm familiar with that end of things, but I didn't come to it via the technical route.

Asking these questions for someone else.

I should have added that as an option, some Ivy Tech courses/certificates...?

Thanks!

What does the person want to do in IT? It's a pretty broad field? Software Engineer? Application developer? Web designer/developer? Networking? Database Engineer/Administrator? Testing? Security? That's only a few. Earning various certificates is more useful in some of those than others, in terms of getting a job in the field right away, rather than starting from a different position and working into it.

For technical fields like IT a person with a degree has a leg up on people without, or even people with only a certificate. Doesn't mean the degree makes the person more competent than the others. It's something you can put on the resume that gives employers an idea of what you might be able to do. But without that the resume has to indicate something pretty special about the person to get an interview. My recommendation would depend on what work the person wants to do in IT.

 

[HoughMade]

So, the question (as stated above) is what a person wants to do in the IT field.

A BS in an IT field gets a person places where the same amount of technical knowledge without a degree won't- namely, management (the dirty word), put another, more positive way- leadership. If leadership is where you want to go, in my opinion, you need to get a bunch of certifications and be able to do what the people you are or will be leading do....then go get an MBA. Where? Not that important.