>Hello,
>
> I am currently a MCSE/CCNA and I am finishing up my AA degree at the
>local junior college, and looking to start my 3rd year in the fall. Are
>there any colleges that offer a Bachelor's degree in networking? I have
>visited several college websites and it seems that they all offer just
>Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Management Information Systems
>degrees. After reviewing the individual coarse outlines, there appears to be
>very few classes relating to networking. If anyone can offer there advise
>on this issue, I would greatly appreciate it!
I have seen telecommunications management courses at the master's
level, and networking concentrations in all the programs you mention.
But if I might try to read between the lines of your post, let me
offer some observations about relevance.
Being good in networking means lifelong study. While you may not see
specific networking references in some of the course descriptions,
many of the courses cover subjects that will equip you to learn and
continue to learn, at a level beyond relying on vendor manuals.
Don't get me wrong -- it is possible to learn this sort of theory on
your own. I did, but courses weren't available at the time I entered
the field.
Most computer science programs have a course in operating system
design at the sophomore or junior level. Without understanding how
operating systems work, you won't ever really understand how buffers
are managed, how interrupts affect processor throughput, why
different amounts of memory are required, etc.
Typically, there will be a course called something like "discrete
mathematical structures." You may have gotten information on finite
state machines in a programming course, but you need to refine finite
state machine/automata theory if you are ever going to feel
comfortable picking up a protocol RFC and understanding the
definitions. Such a course also will give an introduction to
information theory and coding algorithms, which underlie compression,
modulation, and error detection and correction.
In the more MIS courses, you are going to get some business analysis
techniques that can be important in understanding customer
requirements. I slept through economics 101 -- literally, I
overslept the final and flunked the course -- but I've had to go back
and study economics to be able to give the best solution
recommendation to clients, such as the tradeoffs between acquisition
cost and life cycle cost.
Statistics courses are a strong foundation to performance measurement
and capacity planning. Unfortunately, many academic programs spend
too much time on mathematical analysis ("calculus"), and not enough
on the things you really use, such as statistics, operations
research, and the oddly named abstract algebra. (Yes, I recognize
analysis underlies statistics. But in the real world, a network
engineer needs to recognize and use such things as probability
distribution functions, not derive them. My attitude there is
"yup...that derivation involves an incomplete gamma function. I'll
leave it alone if it will leave me alone." Really understanding the
derivations is more of a matter for graduate programs in mathematics.)
Programming language and software development courses, even if you
don't program routinely, will give you insight into software
maintenance. Again, even if you aren't looking for a job as a
programmer, really decent system/network admins will write programs
as tools.
What would you think of as pure "networking" courses? I don't think
of router configuration as an advanced academic subject. No question
that there are lots of networking computer science programs, but they
tend to be more at the master's level.
_________________________________
FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
