good tech schools

[enhanced08]

ok guys, i know i ask this awhile back about the georgia area but i don't know if i'm moving for sure or not. so what are some good tech schools to get a masters in computer engineering? i guess you can master in that, if not i want the highest you can get. i live in western maryland now but at one time was planning to move to georgia and then was planning on moving to alaska so... area doesn't really matter to me. lol i still would like to goto alaska but i can't find any tech schools there. i don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it either. i don't want to live in a city if i can avoid it. any ideas?? i was thinking ITTech in pittsburg but i'm not sure.


thanks for the input guys!!!

[mc2phat]

Have you looked at Frostburg State? Do you have a bachelor's degree yet? Frostburg has a Computer Science master's though, not engineering. You could get a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, minor in computer science, then look at master's programs at different schools. There should be few if any deficiencies to go from that program of study to what you want to do. Plan your bachelor's first, stay motivated and keep your GPA as high as you can. This will help with being accepted into a master's program.

EDIT: I was thinking of staying in Maryland before I moved in '01; I definitely would have attended Frostburg. I didn't like the BWI corridor; like you I enjoy the country. And, I could've attended classes and been on Deep Creek Lake with a line in the water before dark every day Have you looked at any of the schools in PA besides in Pittsburgh?

[mc2phat]

Looks like you're in Garrett County, which would qualify you for the $2,360 per semester tuition at Frostburg, which believe me is reasonable. I pay more than that for a state school in Missouri.

[enhanced08]

yesi do live in garrett county, i'm still in my senior year of high school. i have heard that frostburg has a fairly nice computer area but i have also heard that they are horrible at paperwork, they loose everything! i also don't want to goto a college, i want to get away from english and math! a tech school would be much better

[mc2phat]

In order for any school to be eligible for Federal student aid, they HAVE to teach English/Math etc. ITT's accreditation is such that most state schools will not transfer credits completed there. Plus, it's expensive. Any engineering degree is going to be math intensive, you can bet on that. An option you may want to consider...the US Air Force. Go into Communications, let them teach you system engineering, networking, or whatever discipline you wish to learn. Back that practical knowledge up with some certifications and start your college part time while in (they pay 75% of the tuition, or use the GI Bill after a year). Then if you decide to return to the civilian world you can continue your education AND have the experience to land a lucrative job. GI Bill pays $1,004 per month for a course load of 12 hours or more per semester, for 36 months. There is no "easy way out" to finish a master's degree in any type of engineering, or even Computer Science.

[enhanced08]

anyone else??

[Force Flow]

Okay, the first thing that I've learned you need to decide is which field you want to go into. There are 4 basic fields. Programming/software engineering (usually named CS), hardware and hardware engineering (usually CE, but occasionally CIS), software/hardware theory (often CIS, but surprisingly misnamed as CS and IT), and last but not least, Information technology, as in networking, troubleshooting, etc (most often known as IT).

Figure out which one you want to shoot for, and look for a school that covers the area you are looking for. Many schools only cover one or two of those categories and fudge it a little to make it look like they have them all.

Try searching here for colleges that have what you're looking for: http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/

[enhanced08]

well thats the problem, i don't know for sure what i want to do. i have done only a few things with computers (web design, graphic design, C++, and now A+ and Net+) i know there are a ton of different fields to go into but i don't have the resources to try them all and find what i want. i was told a Computer Engineer does a little of everything with computers so i want to do that, this way i get a taste of a few things and decide what i really want. and also if i master in computer engineer then i'll be able to get most any computer job.

does this make sense? i really need to decide what i want to do fast, i'm half-way finished my senior year of high school!!!!

[j4ck]

Not to be an alarmist, but at this stage of the game shouldn't you be sending out applications? I seem to recall most schools sending out acceptance/rejection letters around March or April. I suggest you get a sense of your target school's application deadlines.

[Force Flow]

The date for incomming freshman for the fall semester is usually around thanksgiving, but no later than the new year.

CE at most schools is just theory, circuit design, intensive math and engineering.

[TeenPcknowit]

Haha, if your gunna come all the way out to Pittsburgh for tech edu i'de go to Carnegie Mellon :-p, that'll catch the eye of an employer.

[enhanced08]

yes i know i'm late in applications but thats because i have no idea where to go. thats why i ask for help here.

[mc2phat]

Again your cheapest option would be to either start at a community college then transfer to an in-state school or go to an in-state school like Frostburg or U of M College Park. Itt Tech accepts nearly anybody, but their tuition rates are very high and many employers may not view ITT Tech degrees as legitimate. If you don't want to attend a traditional university and a trade school instead, look at the information here:
http://www.trade-schools.net/locatio...-directory.asp
You absolutely will not be able to avoid mathematics in the discipline you've said you wish to pursue, trade school or university.
Force Flow has givenyou some vital info as far as disciplines. If you want a master's degree, just start somwhere to get your General Ed core courses out of the way. That will give you a couple years to research and look around to decide what you ultimately want to do.
HTH

[enhanced08]

sorry for the delay in a reply.....

if at all possible i would like to stay away from a normal college and go with a tech school for 2 reasons. 1) my high school life so far has been planned for a tech school, i have not taken and forign languages, only 3 years of math, 3 history, etc. 2) i'm not an english kind of person. i'm a suckie writer (As you have noticed), i hate to read, i just do so much better with "hands-on" type of learning. also i want to learn stuff in a field i enjoy, like computers....

i want a good paying job with computers but in this area there is no computer companies that i can get a job to see what i like doing. i learned HTML and web design on my own a few years back, did it for awhile then got out of it. i took Pogramming I and II in school working with C++, and now am working with A+ (i take my certification exam tomorrow....) and Net+. everytime i look at colleges to find out what i want to study i 1) have no idea what half the stuff is and 2) have never got the chance to try any of the things i do know what they are. i decided on computer engeener because my dad said i would be able to study a little bit of nearly every field in computers. this way i can see what i really want to do. plus one i'm a "computer engineer" most other fields should be some what easy...

know what i mean? i just don't know what i'm going to do with my life and i need to decide real quick!!

[Force Flow]

You will still need to take some core requirements. No way around it. Colleges want to put out "well rounded individuals".

What you are describing is trade school, not college. I never came across any true tech trade schools. Without enrolling in a "normal" college, the closest you are going to come to what you want are certification training and exams. If that's what you want to do, take a look here: http://www.comptia.org/

I've been through this search process twice, so if you need any help, feel free to get ahold of me on AIM.

[mc2phat]

http://www.lincolntech.com/

Look at Lincoln Tech. There's a campus in Columbia, MD. Used to live 1/2 mile from it. Has 3 IT programs.

[enhanced08]

with just going and getting certified, will you get as good a job as someone who went to college/tech school for the same field? i just took my A+ certification exam today and passed.... i just don't know what to even look for... i'm thinking i might want to do networking, like get CCNA (i think thats what it is) certified and it seems kinda pointless to goto college and pay a bunch if i can study at home and take the test on my own, i could save a lot of money! but i also like the idea od having a college attached to my name.... i don't know!!!

[rightcoast]

Here's the thing, a lot of time times in the working world you need that degree to get your foot in the door. When you come out of school without any experience with an actual IT job, your best bet at getting by HR (Human Resources Dept.'s) is that degree. Since all they see in front of them is a piece of paper you have faxed or emailed.

Not to metion it will be a little a harder to hand that report to the CTO or CEO about "The Viability of Upgrading To Windows Longhorn: Where We Stand"
without a college level business writing class. Trust me, you will need sharp English skills, and math as well.

[kram 2.0]

Any Cisco Certified Networking certification is a big plus - especially for a field in something like system administration. At this stage, you might want to consider what mc2phat is suggesting - take a gradual step to the higher level education.

kram

[damontgo]

Despite the fact that it's an "actual" university, IU has an awesome program for IT, called Informatics. So far the school has about a 95% hire rate... with nearly 30% of grads hired by Eli Lilly before they even finish junior year. It's a cool environment, very unlike the other majors at IU, and the best part is, you can apply your degree to nearly everything you could imagine. Inofrmatics has all of the concentration areas, Bio-Med., CS, Telecomm. Business, Chem-Phys., and lots of others, but your work in those areas is done using IT. It's a really innovative program, and I actually left (gasp) the famed Kelley School of Business to switch to an Informatics major. The very first course you take exposes you to HTML/XHTML/XML, SQL, some information theory, UNIX, etc. If you're at all interested in IT, check out Informatics. If you're more into the hardware side of things, definitely go for Purdue. They are experts in all things engineering, but they're pretty compeptitive. I have a friend there who's been designing/building processors since his soph. year, so it sounds like they get to work hands on as well.

My advice to you though, i'ts going to be hard to find a respectable school that won't require you to go through at least a little bit of math/writing. The good news is, it's usually able to be finished in a single semester. Good Luck

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by enhanced08dotcom if at all possible i would like to stay away from a normal college and go with a tech school for 2 reasons. 1) my high school life so far has been planned for a tech school, i have not taken and forign languages, only 3 years of math, 3 history, etc. 2) i'm not an english kind of person. i'm a suckie writer (As you have noticed), i hate to read, i just do so much better with "hands-on" type of learning. also i want to learn stuff in a field i enjoy, like computers....

A couple of thoughts:

1. I would really recommend getting a regular degree with at least some "soft" subjects. Many IT people, when asked what their most useful course in college was, will not answer "Advanced C++" or something of that sort, but rather "Composition" or "Public Speaking." That's because even in a technical job, you will have to write proposals and documentation, and you will have to go in front of your employers to "sell" your ideas. Also, prospective employers really like well-rounded people -- you will be much more alluring if you're not just a techie.

2. What level of math and science are you at right now? I'm asking because if you go into any kind of engineering, including ECE, you will be expected to get through higher-level physics and chem, as well as at least multivariable calculus. For Computer Science, you'll need multivariable calc and discrete math. I actually was doing CS in my freshman year of college until I realized that second-semester calc was extremely hard -- above my intellectual level.

3. Certs don't do much for employers if you don't have a degree. I'm on a leave of absence right now, partially because of the math ordeal, and almost all of the classifieds postings ask for a bachelor's degree, so I'm not eligible. I would recommend going to some sort of state school to get that experience. If you're willing to go up a little bit geographically, I was looking at Penn State's IST program. Their out-of-state tuition is pretty high, but it seems to be a really great program -- IT without all the business courses. And Penn State's setting is really bucolic.

4. At this point, you're going to have to take a year off before college -- it's too late for most colleges now. You should get your applications in order over the summer so that you're all ready when fall comes around to submit them. I waited until the last minute for most of my apps (and BTW, "the last minute" is the end of December), and I definitely regretted it. It's much less stressful to get the apps done well ahead of time.

Hope that helps -- good luck!

[enhanced08]

i think what i'm going to do is keep looking for a school to goto, talk to people, make some phone calls etc. i know i have missed the deadline for most all schools by now so i think i'll just study on my own and see how many certs i can get untill school starts. this way i may have a head start on the classes. also i'm looking for a job in IT to 1) save for school 2) get some hands on expirence.

anyone have an thoughts on university of pheonix? how bout devri (sp?) from what i hear (small talk among other high schoolers) is that they are both pretty good...

thanks!

[mc2phat]

DeVry and Phoenix are looked upon by many employers the same as ITT Tech. Tuition is extremely expensive. A degree from one of these is better than no degree at all though, but again I will recommend a state university.

[enhanced08]

ok, well i have a year to really decide but i think i'm still going to get the certs and all. i shuold have A+ and Net+ certs by the end of this school year.

[glc]

Instead of taking a year off, you should seriously consider going to your local community college and take some core courses that you may be lacking or weak in. I've seen it many times - you take a year off, and unless you are a motivated person, you may never go back to school. You want fries with that?

No offense, but I'm kinda doubting your motivation because you have procrastinated and missed all the application deadlines already.

[mc2phat]

A bachelor's degree combined with certs can get you a lucrative job in the BWI corridor, provided you can pass a background investigation to receive a DOD security clearance. Mantech, SAIC, and many other contractors are hiring a lot of folks in that area. Please keep in mind, as I said before, there's no "easy" way to complete a college education. You stated in your first post you want a master's degree. This will require hard work, motivation, and discipline. glc speaks the truth...enroll in a community college to begin your core course work.

PS: for the best BWI corridor jobs, learn Unix. I received a call from a buddy that is working in that area, he said the MS certifications aren't as marketable as they once were. He had a security clearance and was hired becuase of that,into an entry level position, has since branched off into XML and his pay went way up, for the last three years he's been learning Unix to take a different position in the company for which he currently works, for more money.

[mbossman2]

a lot of good advice here, so I'll throw in my 2 cents:

1) Don't limit yourself to a technical field. That is to say, a dual major can really come in handy: High tech and Business make a lethal combination. A lot of high tech start ups have 1 big issue: they are run by techies for techies with the business acumen of a brain damaged dog. Covering both sides of the plate give you a better shot at not only securing a good job, but also to move upward within that organization. Think long term.

2) Make sure that you have the ability to communicate well. The ability to write and speak (publicly) effectively can really have a long term impact on your career. Take any and all classes in business writing, grant writing, public speaking, making effecitive presentations etc. There is no way that you can take too many of these types of courses. Look at the CEO of a major corporation: they all can speak well, in front of groups to get their message across. if you aspire to be even half way to being a CEO on the org chart, you will need that skill.

3) If you are right out of high school and going off to college, sample everything, take courses from across the board during your 1st few semesters. you may very well find something else that floats your boat just as well (and who knows, maybe better).