Originally Posted by DimaYasny

CS degree will get you into the higher end systems or programming field. provided you will be able to get experience of course.

something like the CompTIA A+ will give you a started tech knowledge and a certificate, to start working with computers professionally on the tech level

Originally Posted by MikkaD

Thanks for the info, but was is CompTIA A+ and how do you go about getting it?

Originally Posted by MikkaD

Thanks for the info, but was is CompTIA A+ and how do you go about getting it?

Originally Posted by OlyComputers

Get some basic certifications, maybe take some community college level classes and you'll have a good foundation, but experience counts more than anything. dimayasny is right, You need a CS degree (probably a BS) to get a high end job, but you can get a decent IT job with an associates and good interviewing skills or good experience and some good references (the interviewing skills still help).

I'm an IT consultant and network administrator working with virtually no formal education. I was good with computers, started fixing them as a kid and took a couple related classes while I was getting my (unrelated) associates. I got a job doing data entry and started helping out with the computers around the office. They promoted me to doing networking and back-end management of the CRM software. I started a business on the side doing IT consulting, invested in some well planned advertising, left extra business cards with every customer for referrals and eventually I nailed down some stable business clients.

That's just my example, but it shows you how experience and skill can be a substitute for education. If you don't have time to get the kind of "life experience" I have, or aren't in a situation you could move gradually get a few certifications. They'll make up for experience and formal education on a resume to a degree.