Return to Virginia Business - June 2002

by Lois Carter Fay

A typical career path in the business world used to start with a four-year trip to college followed by a long, hard slog of on-the-job training. Students didn't realize the advantages of a technical career until they entered the work force. Then they came to the sobering realization that a knack for engineering or computer programming could be a tad more useful than expertise in the 18th-century English novel.

Fortunately, this is America and everyone is free to start over. You may not be able to recover those lost years spent sleeping too late and cutting too many classes. But you can go back to school. Many educational institutions have adapted their programs to suit the schedules of busy adults who juggle the demands of career and family. Today, people of all ages and levels of experience are heading back to campus - often with the support of their employers.

Fortunately, as well, this is Virginia, a state blessed by one of the finest systems of public education in the country, supplemented by numerous private colleges and career schools. A wide array of engineering and information-technology programs are available in every major city and, thanks to distance learning and satellite campuses, in smaller communities as well. You should have little difficulty finding the right program for you, no matter where you live.

In coming years, having technology skills could make the difference between having a job or not. The global economy is increasingly differentiating between "head" countries, where citizens conduct more complex, intellectually demanding tasks, and "hand" countries where workers perform more manual and routine labor. Even traditional sectors such as manufacturing demand greater intellectual contributions from their employees. The pressure is likely to intensify as workers in countries like China and India acquire more skills and education themselves, creating greater competition for semi-skilled American workers. "Businesses and industry are requiring all sorts of standards that workers were not required to meet five years ago," says Dr. Mark Q. Emick, Sr., dean, work force development services/lifelong learning at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke.

Some certifications can testify to skills that are widely in demand, such as a Microsoft Systems Engineer, while others are tailored to more obscure occupational niches. Emick at Virginia Western is working with a major manufacturer to devise a program to certify competence with measurement devices. "People don't stay in jobs their whole careers. There's great movement between and among industries," he says. Certified skills are valuable to the employer, but even more so to the employee because they are transferable.

At the moment, demand for Internet and networking skills has moderated considerably from 1999, when the Virginia Governor's Commission on Information Technology estimated that Virginia had a shortage of between 23,000 and 30,000 IT workers. But technical degrees are still more marketable than most others. "Information technology continues to be the engine driving economic growth globally," says Dr. Wilbur W. Stanton, founding dean of Radford University's new College of Information Science and Technology. Last year there were 12 jobs for every student graduating with an information technology degree. Although the economy has slowed since then, he says, this year it's running three to five jobs per student. "Salaries were - and still are-skyrocketing, with offers around $45,000 to $50,000 per year at entry level."

Old Dominion University delivers distance-learning degrees across the state through its Teletechnet program. According to Anne Savage, vice provost for distance learning, students see a quick payoff. "The impact upon their salaries is immediate and it can range from $1,000 to $20,000 increase upon getting the degree," she says.

Despite the rewards, going back to school can be agonizing. Luckily, there are many options for continuing your education. They include the traditional full-time, four-year university degree, an accelerated program, a part-time evening program or attending community college courses plus a university. Plus, there are associate degrees, certificates and conferences that offer continuing education training and credits.

So, how do you choose what's the best technical education for you? Virginia has an excellent community college system throughout the state, and it can be the quickest, most cost-effective route. As key players in local work force development programs, community colleges provide an array of options, from two-year associate degrees to highly specialized technical training, supplemented as necessary by courses such as basic reading and writing. Even a two-year degree can reap significant earnings gains over a career - as much as $250,000 in lifetime earnings.

Private career schools offer another way to get degrees or certificates in information technology. Career schools are very results oriented, whereas colleges and universities tend to be process oriented, contends Mark Dreyfus, president of ECPI College of Technology. People generally choose career schools for their convenience of the program, the unique type of program offered, or the service they get from them. ECPI offers two-year AAS degrees in computer and information science and computer and electronic technology, as well as various certifications in IT. Entry-level salaries for the AAS degree graduates currently can top $38,000.

Work force development is a recent priority for Radford University. About two years ago the university opened the Business Assistance Center (BAC) as part of its Outreach Economic Development Program. The BAC provides a variety of certification and training programs, including the highly sought-after Microsoft Systems Engineer certificate program. "We work with people in the area who have some IT experience, but do not have certification. It's a career enhancement tool," says Dr. Jerry Kopf, executive director of the Business Assistance Center.

A quicker way to obtain training or certification is to attend a technology or technical conference. The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) has been putting on three major conferences each year as well as a four-day continuing education program for civil engineers and surveyors, according to Justin Speers of VMI's conference office. The Environment Virginia Symposium, the Commonwealth of Virginia Information Technology Symposium (COVITS) and the Virginia Transportation Conference draw between 650 and 850 people each. To help surveyors, landscape architects and engineers understand new technology, VMI holds the Robert A. Marr School each year during spring break, drawing anywhere from 20 to 50 participants.

At its Ashburn campus in Northern Virginia, George Washington University provides a master of science and information technology programs in an executive program format. Classes meet on Friday one week and then on Saturday the next, making it convenient for managers and those who run their own businesses. The program is an intense, 15-month process for a diverse group of up to 21 students
Old Dominion University (ODU) offers a variety of ways to further education on a part-time basis. Of course, you can attend the main campus in Norfolk, or any of its satellite campuses. You can also take advantage of ODU's Teletechnet distance-learning program or its new CD-ROM training. ODU offers distance-learning programs in a variety of formats - by satellite, videostreaming format, CD ROM, video conferencing-to people everywhere, according to ODU's Anne Savage. "You can go to a site, stay at home or be at work," she says. The new CD-ROM venue, which is just now becoming available for non-military folks, was originally created for Navy submarine officers who were unable to receive satellite signals.

For those wishing to go back to school full-time, there are plenty of options. One of the newest is Radford University's College of Information Science and Technology. The school helps students learn to analyze problems from a theoretical and a real-world perspective and apply their understanding to information technology.

The cost of getting a technical education can be forbidding, but the rate of return is probably higher than most other places you can invest your time and money. The $28,000 tab for a George Washington University executive program, for instance, is downright scary. But if you learn skills that you can apply immediately at work, and if you can parlay those skills into a $10,000-a-year raise, that represents a 36 percent return on investment. If anything, demand will grow even more.

Return to Virginia Business - June 2002