Of course, those that have gone to college value it more, but I say forget college and don't waste 4+ years of your life if you know what you want to do and don't need it. I've seen a number of pay-scale tables, and here's an example of what I've seen a number of places: 2 years of experience is worth a 4 year BA/BS degree. Now if you can swing working part-time in your field, nail some good certs along the way, AND do college, I say go for it. Especially if you're single and unencumbered. If you can swing it, check out your local junior/community colleges. Here in California they're dirt cheap (a very small fraction of the cost of 4-year schools). The best thing is that if you get tired of the school thing after 2-3 years, you should at least have your AA/AS, versus all those folks that stop college half-way through and have nothing to show but student loans. Depending on how you work, most have night classes to cover most of your low-end prereqs so you can work during the day and do school at night. If you can pull "light" work during the day and do night classes, I'd say this is the way to go (you get the "experience" credits people looks for, and the degree). Plus, if you want to do the BA/BS thing, you can easily transfer after your AA/AS. My brother has done this (he actually took 3 years to get his AA, but took it slow and took a lot of extra classes that interested him (electrical, engineering, compsci), and didn't count much toward his journalism/communication degree). The best thing of all is that when he graduated, he owed nothing, and in fact had saved up enough money to pay for two years of state college. -- Jason Roysdon, CCNP+Security/CCDP, MCSE, CNA, Network+, A+ List email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage: http://jason.artoo.net/ wrote in message [EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > One more thing to add to that Phil..... > > Russ... at 17, let me make one suggestion to you... put some money away now > for your college years! I too had a similar job to Russ, but I spent my > money on stupid things that I thought were important at 17.... and then when > the real fun hits you in college, you are already tapped out! Put in your > time, put some money away and it will all come around!! > > Good luck dude! > > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > For information on our award winning server & storage products: > > Dell Server Site: http://www.dell.com/products/poweredge/index.htm > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Circusnuts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 9:06 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: Failed CCDA [7:1698] > > > When I was 17 years old (1987), I washed chili pots @ the local greasy spoon > for $3 an hour... wondering how I was going to pay for college. My senior > worked 9 to 4 (I worked 4 to 11, sometimes 12AM), made $5 an hour, only had > the cushy lunch crowd to contend with, & left the tough pots for me. > > I feel your pain. > > Pay your dues & change things when you get in a position to. > > Phil > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Russ Kreigh > To: > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 8:49 PM > Subject: RE: Failed CCDA [7:1698] > > > > I too am only 17 years old and like Priscilla I think this is a > > controversial topic. However, I have a very strong opinion, therefore am > > going to express it. :-) I currently work for an local ISP and have quite > a > > bit of Cisco experience along with very much UNIX (BSDi, Linux, HP-UX, > > Solaris), HTML, JavaScript, ASP, PERL, etc etc. However, I make > > significantly less that a new guy that was hired to work along with me. I > am > > just as qualified, if not more. Of course, there are other issues to > > consider; I am part-time and he is full time, I know that makes a > > difference, that part I understand. But, I feel that a large portion of it > > has to do with my age, not based on my ability to perform my job. > > > > On a Cisco related note, I am going to schedule my CCDA exam within the > next > > month, along with my CCNA. I am very confident that I will do good on my > > CCNA, and have been studying CCDA material and getting some real-life > > experience in my job. > > > > The message I am trying to point out is that just because we may be young > > doesn't mean that we should not be taken seriously. Also, I know that my > age > > also offends some people who have been in the field a long time. I can't > > really speak from expeirence here, but I know that more women have choosen > > careers in the Technology field in the past 10 years. Just as their > > co-workers have come to accept it more, they are going to have to accept > > that us young adults can be capable of doing the same job. > > > > -Russ > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of > > Priscilla Oppenheimer > > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 1:03 PM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: Re: Failed CCDA [7:1698] > > > > > > I'm going to say something Very controversial here, which is that I think > > it's a good sign that a 17-year old had a hard time with the CCDA test. It > > validates the test a bit. Design requires experience. Can someone who has > > just learned to drive, design a car? Can someone who has just started > > learning networking, design a network? > > > > Remember that I teach (part-time) at the high school level and I love the > > energy, quick thinking, and creativity of that age group. I strongly > > believe that the inventions that they will develop will be even more > > amazing than the ones our generation came up with. So I do not make this > > comment out of prejudice. > > > > Aaron, it sounds like you know which areas you need to study a bit more in > > order to pass the test, so I'm sure you'll do well next time. Good luck! > > > > Priscilla > > > > At 09:02 AM 4/24/01, you wrote: > > >Hey guys, this is Aaron again. I failed my CCDA by 37 points. I made a > > 718 > > >and i needed a 755 to pass.... Bah, out 100$.. I did rescedule it for a > > >couple of weeks from now, and now that i know what sections i'm weak in, > i > > >think i might be able to make this up. My worst section was WAN > > >Technologies with a 40%. My best was Network Management with a 100%. So > i > > >guess i had quite a range of scores. Anyways, back to the books and > sample > > >tests for me. Thanks guys. > > > > > >~Aaron Vose > > >FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: > > >http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html > > >Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > ________________________ > > > > Priscilla Oppenheimer > > http://www.priscilla.com > > FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: > > http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html > > Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: > http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html > > Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: > http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html > Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html > Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=1978&t=1978 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]