Education Help!!

[delux0]

Hi, i am new to this forum, and thought this would be a good place to ask my education question. Well, I am going to be a senior in high school this year, and i am starting to look at colleges, but i do not know were to go. Hopefully you guys can help me out a little. I want to go to some place in illinois and i want to major in IT(computer engineering or computer science) and minor in business. I do not know what school is good for my degrees. My goal is to try to get as much education and get as many cisco certificates as possible so hopefully i can work in IT for them(that is my dream) So my question is, were should i go, and what does cisco look for? Do they have a recrommended college you should attend?

Thanks-hope to hear from you all soon!!

 

[lerdalt]

Others can probably answer this better, but as far as Cisco Certs, they don't require any special degrees. For the job requirements, take a look at the job postings that Cisco has open. That should give you a good idea on what sort of degree or what classes to take.

 

[CiscoGuy33]

delux0,

A good place to start is to see if you can find a college in your area that is a Cisco Network Academy, you can learn CCNA and CCNP as well as other Cisco certs in the program as well as get college credit. Here is a link to the Cisco Academy locator -

http://locators.netacad.net/cnams/locators/AcademyClassLocator.jsp

If you do not know what the Cisco Network Academy is , check it out -

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html

You also might want to talk to your high school advisors, they would know the colleges and programs in your area and would be a great place to start!

Lerdalt made a good point - check what Cisco is looking for now to get an idea of what areas you want to try to get your education, here is a link to Cisco career area -

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac40/about_cisco_careers_home.html

Short of being a grad from MIT, Cal Poly Tech or even Georgia Tech (I am sure that Cisco as well as Microsoft and Intel are well represented at these schools) I do not think it would matter where you go to school - key is to go to school and get your BA or BS and consider your Masters.

Pick up certs along the way and try to work with it as much as possible - check with the college IT department.

E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +

 

[maczen]

Well, I am going to DeVry online and they are based out of Illinois.. You should do some research but I would vouch for them...

As far as the Cisco stuff goes.. You can enroll in a Network Academy connection program at your local community college and knock out the CCENT and CCNA in about seven months or so as well as the Network+.

Your best bet would probably be to speak to your career counselor at school now and ask for some advice as well as some paperwork. Many schools (DeVry included) have now integrated certifications into their degree plans but you should do your own research. Good Luck!

~Billy