Question:
I just completed the second of a four year Information Systems degree. A dot com company just called me and offered me a job with a starting salary of $60,000 plus stock options. My parents say I should finish my education. I think I should grab the job and, if it doesn't work out, go back to school later. What do you think?
First Answer:
You have the benefit of pursuing a career that is very much in demand. In
fact, according to the Information Technology Association of America, almost
1 million IT jobs are going to go unfilled this year because there just are
not enough workers to take them. So, it is no wonder you are being pursued.
But for as nice as the offer might be, you need to answer whether or not it
will serve you in the long term to accept it. While the immediate need for
IT workers has been well documented so too has the fact that the largest
challenge for those managing IT employers remains keeping skills current. So
leaving school now before your education is complete may not prove to be the
wisest course of action in the long term.
Perhaps a good thing to do would be to run through an exercise that
considers possible outcomes of potential decisions. Ask yourself what your
ideal job looks like in 5 or 10 years. Do you want to be a senior-level
expert who is respected for his/her knowledge of technology? Do you want to
be a manager of a systems administration team? Do you want to be in
business for yourself working from your home? If you aren't sure what your
ideal end-outcome is, simply select one of the above options for the purpose
of this exercise. After doing the exercise, you can go back and try it again
with a different end-outcome.
Once you have selected your ideal end-outcome, ask yourself what
qualifications/education/experience/skills/knowledge a person in that
situation needs to have. If I am a manager of a team of system
administrators, I will probably be expected to have:
- some experience doing system administration
- business experience or education--demonstrated proficiency at making good
business decisions related to technology
- good interpersonal skills--lots of tools in my personal toolbox for
dealing with conflict, with the unexpected, for motivating others, for
assessing performance, for training
Less important might be:
- up-to-date on the latest technologies
- experience architecting or designing systems
- experience writing code
The more specific you can be about your "ideal job", the easier the
decisions currently facing you will seem. Choose experiences and education
that will transform you into the kind of person who can get and succeed at
that ideal job, not just experiences and education that pay well now.
Now all that doesn't mean you need to reject the offer out of hand. Many
companies are willing to work with employees to successfully attain degrees
and this may prove to be an opportunity to establish such a relationship.
The pay may not be as great but you can accomplish both the education and
experience necessary now to get a better job later. It benefits the company
to grow their own talent-even though they have a great need for your
services now.
So the answer is to stay true to your goals and your long-term objectives.
Meet with the company and explain to them your goals. Tell them your desire
to explore meeting those objectives through an arrangement with them. You
may be able to make everyone in this situation happy if you can highlight a
win for everyone involved as you negotiate the offer given to you.
-- Kelly Stone, myjobsearch.com
Second Answer:
Hard as it may be to turn down a $60,000 job, you are better prepared for career advancement with the four-year degree. You may be thinking "why spend two more years in school to make the same money when I graduate," but the decision needs to be informed by the knowledge that an undergraduate degree is the minimum to progress to a management role in computer science/information systems.
Additionally, "dot coms" are risky until more prove they can make money, so stock options may be worthless and the job may be short-term. In your field, $60,000 job offers should be plentiful upon graduation. What you are doing by staying in school is earning the credential you will need to move up later. Marketplace perceptions about the capability of a college graduate versus a non-graduate are important.
Completing your degree with the support of your parents is a whole lot easier than returning to school on any other basis. If you have great success in this job you could move up several levels, but you might not discover your need for a degree until you're 30 or 35. By then, you're significantly older than other full-time students, and facing finishing your degree part-time while working; it could take you four years at night to complete your last two years, effectively postponing further career advancement until you finish.
Consult with your school's career services office and hear what they have to say on this topic; it's a common dilemma for computer science/information systems students in a job market this hot. It's hard to resist the temptation to earn good money when it's offered to you: this is a strategic tradeoff. Your parents' advice is not only well-meaning, but dead accurate in this situation.
-- Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City
Third Answer:
My answer would be to do both. Because of the great demand for people in
this field, companies are offering excellent starting pay and are willing
to take someone without a degree but with the skills to do the job. Just
like all other occupations, as more people enter this field, competition
for jobs will get more competitive. When that happens, education becomes
very important.
Many people today work full time jobs while pursuing their education. You
may not be able to get your degree as quickly but you can still get your
degree. Check with your university about the possibilities of finishing
part time, evening or on-line. If those options do not exist at your
present university, check with other schools in your area. Many
universities today offer "creative adult programming" which allows working
adults to continue their education.
-- Linda Wyatt, Career Center, Kansas City Kansas Community College
Fourth Answer:
That is a tough choice. There are sound arguements in both directions. But
in the end, it is your choice. What you must do is think long and hard
about the short-term and long-term repercussions of your decision AND do
some real soul-searching about yourself, your abilities, your ambitions and
what motivates you.
In the short term, you get a cool job with good money. But without a
degree, you cross out the possibility of real promotion in the future. That
probably won't matter in the first 3-7 years. But trust me, it will matter
a lot down the road. Remember, you will be competing with all the other
people who finished their degree. They will have that advantage. You will
have practical work experience.
Another point to consider is the rate of technology. If you work for 6
months or even a year, and then want to go back to school, you will have
missed a lot. You cannot pick-up where you left off (like in History or
Accounting or Engineering.) You may find yourself behind, and in school
even longer.
The smart thing to do is to ask the company some hard questions and only
settle for real answers. Ask them why they are willing to hire someone
without a degree? Will they pay for your tuition if you continue your
education at night and on weekends? Do they promote and support continuing
education? Exactly what is expected of you? Long hours? Weekends? What
is the benefits package?
One last bit of advice. The older you get, the more responsibilities you
have, and the harder it is to find the time to go back to school. It will
never, ever be easier to finish than it is today.
-- Holly Lentz, Lentz Productions
