Thinking of going into a technological field. Do I bother getting

depends on many things

You don't seem to have a lot of money otherwise you wouldn't mention price.
Does your government pay you to go to college? then maybe go to college.
If it doesn't maybe go and get multiple certificates.

Now you think you are good with internets but certificates are not as easy as you think. You can pass them I don't doubt but you will have to put effort in.

Can you describe now by heart all the steps of the tcp handshake, or how the file permissions ons windows and unix systems are devided between root, sticky bits, user and others? This is learned easily but you still have to do it.

also a lot of certificates work with WRITTEN exams, yes I'm not kidding. and sometimes they only take place two times a year in a 200mile radius. So if you think you can blaze through all of them you will hit some bottlenecks

A college degree is worth more.
certificets you can get while still working so you don't go bankrupt ... Its a hard choice

>>17682943

Yea, I'm kind of low income so the certifications appeal to me from a money standpoint.

Effort isn't really the problem for me, it's time and expense. I just feel like I'm constantly held back by the class. I'm reading way ahead of the class and I feel like I could get a semesters worth of class done in like half a semester, if that makes any sense. I'm not trying to sound conceited, I think I just learn quicker on my own. I get frustrated, but I can deal with it if I have too...

I didn't know that a lot of the exams were written, however. I assumed they were primarily multiple choice because when I skimmed over some CompTIA practice test, there were all in multiple choice format. That does give me some pause, since writing questions generally require a much better grasp/memorization of the subject matter, aka I wouldn't be able to reason my way out as easily. The timing issue is also concerning.

Man, I'm just not sure. Certs seem like a slightly better choice for me, but I dont want to go through all the work only to be turned away everywhere because I dont have a degree. If I do go with certs, I just want it to be worth it...

>>17682988
Certificates from cisco and LPI for example you can do at your own pace and you can do them in group.

The theoretical part is multiple questions but if you get above 50% you get a 'pass' but you don't get a certificate. The algorithms on the back end calculating are mostly unknown but I guess you have to get 70-80% to get the certificate

You also have to do practical exams. For windows and linux set up in a virtual machine or set up a network with the cisco courses with cisco labs. This is virtual but not multiple choice.

Fortunately there is some demand so getting a job is not out of the ordinary but I know multiple people who get certified and don't get a job and in 3 years your certificate expires ...

I'm out of here and I wish you luck

>>17683010

I see. Thank you anon, I appreciate it.

You could always join the nuclear navy. When you're done you can get a job at a nuclear power plant or at a national laboratory and make bank.

>>17683054
Also go for a reactor operator's license, it's not that hard to get.