The term engineering has been used way too loosely in the field of computing and we would like to take a stab at how someone who is an high school graduate and joined the job market could acquire good quality academic and professional learning to compete with both competence and credentials.
There are several options to do this but my goal is to get a qualification that is equivalent to at least a bachelors degree not just on paper but with adequate academic skills.
Computer Programming - In this area there are probably two camps, those that went into programming early and mostly do it as a specialization or those that are in some other areas of computing and want to get into programming. The recommendation will be the same in most cases.
Option 1 - Pursue the British Computer Society (BCS) Professional Graduate Diploma qualification. This has three levels assuming that you are starting from high school level education. The Professional Graduate Diploma is officially recognized as UK Bachelors equivalent. You then later apply for UK Incorporated Engineer or higher through the BCS.
Option 2 - Look into taking a degree with a school like University of South Africa (UNISA), their cost is extremely cheap from the US point of view. It would cost about $1000/year to pursue this degree. In this case you would pursue Computer Science or Mathematics.
Option 3 - Combine academic courses and certifications - The ones recommended are Cleveland Institute of Electronics AAS in Software Engineering and then IEEE Computer Society Certifications (if you are qualified to be full member of the IEEE, then you only need the CSDP) - Once done with those apply to the British Computer Society (BCS) as a Member plus request evaluation for the Incorporated Engineer title. This would give you a full Bachelor level qualification.
Option 4 - Assuming you have at least 10 years experience, you could instead of the Associate degree, take the CIE diplomas in Computer Programming or equivalent then get the ICCP CCP Credential to compliment. You could then go to the BCS for membership and the CITP title. We still recommend going after the IEEE CSDP certification as this solidifies your knowledge in the field.
Hardware/Systems Engineering - This would cover anything to do with hardware related, telecommunications topics and systems engineering in general.
Option 1 - The best option for working adults in Computer Engineering would be the UK Engineering Council and City & Guilds Professional Graduate Diploma exams in Engineering. This scheme is about to be terminated but CGI may have a replacement once it is done. This is very challenging so you may need to take outside courses to grasp some of the more technical subjects. The CIE diploma in Electronics Engineering is a good foundation for this.
Option 2 - Same as the Computer Programming route, you should seriously look at UNISA for low cost degree. In this case, we would assume Electrical or Electronic Engineering to be the preference.
Option 3 - Assuming at least five years of reasonable hands on experience, the first recommendation is the CIE Electronics Engineering Diploma. The next step is to take the NARTE Telecommunications Certification - Senior Engineer level. Please note the experience requirements as well. Once you get these in place, you would apply to the UK Institute of Engineering and Technologies (IET) as member plus request the Incorporated Engineer evaluation process.
Option 4 - Not much different from the others, but we recommend at least Associate degree level education for this job role especially if you are actually doing design work for equipment. If in networking the Cisco CCIE could be good with the Associate Degree combined. Try to get the IET or BCS Membership along the way. Alternatively, if you have over 10-15 years of solid experience you could apply to IET for the UK Incorporated Engineer title using the Thesis route.
Common Areas:
The common option for these two would be testing out with schools such as Excelsior college. This can get you a degree real fast depending on your study habits. In general you can pursue any reasonable certification that could earn academic credit but its sometimes better to go for the bigger credentials upfront.
If you get the credentials from BCS or IET above, you could apply to many UK universities to pursue a Masters degree with these credentials. You may have issues with main stream universities in the US except for the UNISA degree but UK schools does take a more flexible approach to admissions for mature candidates. You could also consider doing the VAE process in France to get a formal degree with your various diplomas and experience.
Add the IEEE membership as well as there would be good opportunities to network and attend great seminars plus it helps your resume.
There are several options to do this but my goal is to get a qualification that is equivalent to at least a bachelors degree not just on paper but with adequate academic skills.
Computer Programming - In this area there are probably two camps, those that went into programming early and mostly do it as a specialization or those that are in some other areas of computing and want to get into programming. The recommendation will be the same in most cases.
Option 1 - Pursue the British Computer Society (BCS) Professional Graduate Diploma qualification. This has three levels assuming that you are starting from high school level education. The Professional Graduate Diploma is officially recognized as UK Bachelors equivalent. You then later apply for UK Incorporated Engineer or higher through the BCS.
Option 2 - Look into taking a degree with a school like University of South Africa (UNISA), their cost is extremely cheap from the US point of view. It would cost about $1000/year to pursue this degree. In this case you would pursue Computer Science or Mathematics.
Option 3 - Combine academic courses and certifications - The ones recommended are Cleveland Institute of Electronics AAS in Software Engineering and then IEEE Computer Society Certifications (if you are qualified to be full member of the IEEE, then you only need the CSDP) - Once done with those apply to the British Computer Society (BCS) as a Member plus request evaluation for the Incorporated Engineer title. This would give you a full Bachelor level qualification.
Option 4 - Assuming you have at least 10 years experience, you could instead of the Associate degree, take the CIE diplomas in Computer Programming or equivalent then get the ICCP CCP Credential to compliment. You could then go to the BCS for membership and the CITP title. We still recommend going after the IEEE CSDP certification as this solidifies your knowledge in the field.
Hardware/Systems Engineering - This would cover anything to do with hardware related, telecommunications topics and systems engineering in general.
Option 1 - The best option for working adults in Computer Engineering would be the UK Engineering Council and City & Guilds Professional Graduate Diploma exams in Engineering. This scheme is about to be terminated but CGI may have a replacement once it is done. This is very challenging so you may need to take outside courses to grasp some of the more technical subjects. The CIE diploma in Electronics Engineering is a good foundation for this.
Option 2 - Same as the Computer Programming route, you should seriously look at UNISA for low cost degree. In this case, we would assume Electrical or Electronic Engineering to be the preference.
Option 3 - Assuming at least five years of reasonable hands on experience, the first recommendation is the CIE Electronics Engineering Diploma. The next step is to take the NARTE Telecommunications Certification - Senior Engineer level. Please note the experience requirements as well. Once you get these in place, you would apply to the UK Institute of Engineering and Technologies (IET) as member plus request the Incorporated Engineer evaluation process.
Option 4 - Not much different from the others, but we recommend at least Associate degree level education for this job role especially if you are actually doing design work for equipment. If in networking the Cisco CCIE could be good with the Associate Degree combined. Try to get the IET or BCS Membership along the way. Alternatively, if you have over 10-15 years of solid experience you could apply to IET for the UK Incorporated Engineer title using the Thesis route.
Common Areas:
The common option for these two would be testing out with schools such as Excelsior college. This can get you a degree real fast depending on your study habits. In general you can pursue any reasonable certification that could earn academic credit but its sometimes better to go for the bigger credentials upfront.
If you get the credentials from BCS or IET above, you could apply to many UK universities to pursue a Masters degree with these credentials. You may have issues with main stream universities in the US except for the UNISA degree but UK schools does take a more flexible approach to admissions for mature candidates. You could also consider doing the VAE process in France to get a formal degree with your various diplomas and experience.
Add the IEEE membership as well as there would be good opportunities to network and attend great seminars plus it helps your resume.