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I am just graduating and about to do online classes at Phoenix University. What are the rewarding IT fields. I am leaning toward information technology and information technology/network. Right now i just want my AA degree. Any help would be appreciated please list salary and degree.

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— a practical, career-focused way to decide is to match what you enjoy with the fastest path to demonstrable skills. An associate-level credential can open entry doors (help desk, junior network tech), but pay and role variety grow quickly when you add hands-on projects, internships, or industry certs. Use the occupational handbook below to check current pay and outlook for specific roles.

Highly rewarded areas to research (skill + demand):

  • Cybersecurity — strong demand and above-average pay for analysts and engineers; entry starts with hands-on labs and certs. See the BLS info-security page for the outlook and numbers (BLS OOH: Computer & IT occupations).
  • Cloud / DevOps / SRE — cloud skills and automation often push salaries into higher brackets; vendor certs speed hiring decisions (AWS/Azure/GCP).
  • Networking / Systems Administration — solid middle-income roles that scale with CCNA/Network+ or Linux certs.
  • Software development and data roles — highest upside; portfolios and coding ability often matter as much as formal degrees.

Practical 6–12 month plan:

  1. Pick one domain and map 8–12 core skills employers list in job ads.
  2. Build a simple lab or portfolio (home lab, GitHub projects, cloud free tier).
  3. Earn one entry cert (example paths: CompTIA A+/Network+/Security+, CCNA, or an AWS Associate) — certifications pages: CompTIA, , AWS Certification.
  4. Apply for internships/entry roles and freelance or volunteer to get real incidents and results to talk about.

As highlighted, alternate employers and nontraditional paths exist; check local job listings and the BLS/Glassdoor for current, location-specific salary data before committing. Continuous learning and demonstrable results matter more than any single degree.

Member Avatar for puddlejumper

I am just graduating and about to do online classes at Phoenix University. What are the rewarding IT fields. I am leaning toward information technology and information technology/network. Right now i just want my AA degree. Any help would be appreciated please list salary and degree.

Hi justinfb.
Phoenix..mmm, would that be Arizona? Anyhow I just thought I'd let you know from down here in OZ, my daughter did an IT and Physics degree here at Sydney U. After graduation she worked at a couple of large corporations and found it soooo boring. In the end she joined the Royal Australian Navy, officer entry. After five years now she's loving it and has just recently been advised she'll be eligible for promotion soon to Lt. Cmdr. The pay isn't as great as in civvy life and I expect the US forces to be much the same. But in her short time, Keira has visited the US twice, Malaysia, the Persian Gulf (onboard her current ship) and most of Asia. Her position in the Navy is a Electronics Warfare Officer (EWO), But with there are a number of fields you can expect to be qualified for, especially with the Air Force or Marines. Hope this helps you out.
Puddlejumper.
P.S. Though the pay is not large by civilian standards, it's still reasonable and in the Navy, you can save heaps.

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