It is argued that workers in the IT industry do not need to put a lot of effort into pursuing further education. Personally, I partially agree with this argument because it depends on the career expectations of individuals.
On the one hand, tertiary education could bring about several benefits to IT staff. One significant advantage is that people who achieve an IT-related diploma could be promoted to a senior or higher position. This is due to the fact that leader or manager roles do not only require a wealth of experience in the industry, but also a certain level of academic qualifications such as a master’s degree. Another benefit to consider is that higher academic achievements are vital factors for working in research areas. This is because pursuing postgraduate or doctoral programs at leading universities may provide learners with much more in-depth knowledge in a particular specialization rather than the surface level of understanding of the undergraduate program.
On the other hand, there are two main reasons to explain why IT staff should not pursue higher education. One compelling argument for this is the financial problem they might face in order to get a master’s degree or higher. Specifically, it takes learners at least two years to complete a postgraduate degree, costing a great amount of living expenses and tuition fees, which is not affordable for many learners. Another significant reason for not pursuing further IT academic programs is a mismatch between companies’ requirements and staff skills. This is because projects in the industry do not require such a high level of knowledge but more real-world experiences working in different projects or tasks, as well as the ability to cooperate with others.
In conclusion, I argue that IT staff should make decisions on whether to pursue a further curriculum depending on their own career goals. A higher academic degree may provide the chance to be promoted and work as a researcher but also requires a huge budget, while working in a company as an IT engineer does not require such high academic degree but more intensive soft and technical abilities.