I’m been thinking a lot about my future lately and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve had it with blue collar work. I want more out of life than living paycheck to paycheck. For sometime now, I’ve been hearing that college degrees are worthless nowadays so thought about getting Comptia certifications (A+ and then Sec+) and working remotely. But then I thought about if AI will make those certifications obsolete. I know that “AI taking jobs” is a bit of sensationalist reporting but I do have legitimate concerns. I then thought about going back to college for “advance” careers like computer science and/or electrical engineering; more specifically, a bachelor’s degree.
What I want to know is this: would returning to college, especially for a tech-oriented degree, or will it be a waste of time and money? Should I pursue an alternative like certs? Thanks in advance.
You want to work remotely in tech. I would look at places such as https://www.indeed.com/q-Remote-Tech-jobs.html?vjk=7909b7463088bb3a
Look at which certs they want and how much experience they want. Look at the salary. Look at the quality of life (are you on call 24/7?).
You may find that remote cybersecurity jobs are not plentiful. I searched “cyber security entry level” and Remote and found 2. I removed remote and found 300+ jobs.
1 has flexible hours and wants (likely requires) experience in Version control as well as Sec+
The other is full time, and wants a valid SSCP certification*, a bachelor’s degree, and experience in operating systems.
The future is always changing what people do. In 1100 AD blacksmithing was a reliable career, and it remained that way into the 1800s. The 20th century kind of messed that career path down to a niche group. Blue collar work (be it construction, plumbing, etc.) so far has been pretty reliable.
Those remote jobs are plentiful but not open to US candidates. I’ve heard rumblings that US hires are being deprioritised even in US-headquartered orgs as US staff are simply too pricey so they’re looking towards European and Asian countries (and even Canada).