Will an Online Degree Help Your IT Job Search?
IT recruiters are sometimes asked by candidates if an online degree will increase their prospects for IT jobs. On one hand, online degrees used to have a certain stigma to hiring managers and IT staffing agencies. On the other, these programs are becoming more and more popular, rigorous, and respected by IT recruiting firms and hiring managers in the tech field. So are they worth the money, time, and effort now?
If you’re considering an online degree, it may be far more useful in helping you land and be considered for more IT jobs now than 10 years ago. You just have to be careful about how you choose your program. Start by researching the reputation of the online degree program. There are plenty of programs that are widely known by IT staffing firms and employers as reputable, strong programs. There are also plenty of programs that are so worthless, IT recruiting companies would just tell you to take them off your resume. Make sure you find out exactly where the program you’re thinking about stands before you invest and time, money, etc in it.
The second thing to consider is how much interaction with clients, end-users, managers, etc your ideal roles require. When you’re getting a degree to increase your options for roles with a lot of communication, you probably want to avoid an online degree program. Doing real classes that help you practice working with others will be far more useful to you. (This will also be something you can bring up in interviews. You can demonstrate that you’ve not only studied certain technologies or skills, but you’ve also gotten to hone valuable communication skills.) For certain positions, IT staffing companies have the easiest time placing candidates who can boast both a strong arsenal of technical skills and communication skills. Why not pick a degree program that helps you develop both? When you’re not seeking roles that require a lot of communication and interaction with various people, an online degree may be just as valuable to your job search as a more traditional one.
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AVID (Applications, Voice, Internet, Data) Technical Resources is a leading Information Technology recruiting company. Specializing in placing contract and permanent personnel in both Infrastructure Support and Applications Development positions, AVID has a national presence supporting clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies.
Headquartered in Boston, MA, AVID has achieved tremendous growth since the firm's inception in 2003. This has triggered numerous national awards and recognition, such as being named to Inc. 500 Magazine's list of 5,000 Fastest Growing Privately-held Companies in the US in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Additionally, the firm boasts of having more than 100 five-star reviews on Google from clients and candidates who rave about their experience and interaction with the firm's recruiters.
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