Surry Community College offers Computer Science students a two-year degree and
certificate in Information Technology along with certifications in
Programming and Development, as well as Network Management. The certifications
only take two semesters to complete. I came to Surry Community College to
study Information Technology, mainly because it was kind of a hobby of mine.
As the kid, kind of growing up, I got my first computer when I was real little. So
I just, it was something I'd always found myself doing just in my free time, just
making little programs or just messing on the computer some. The instructors here
are actually really, really in tune with what the students are doing. I'll even
get emails just from the instructors asking me, you know, if there's anything
they can do for me, or if there's you know any questions I have. They just like to
make sure that you're comfortable with what you're doing in the class and that
you know, if you're working with a group, that everyone's kind of working together
getting things done. I like working with my hands and that's something I get to
do with this degree at least what the computer repairs and stuff like that
and then doing the programming really kind of I guess flexes my brain a bit.
My long-term goal is to start a game studio because I, you know, like a lot of
people here I'm really into video games, and but before that I could see myself
working out on any sort of IT team doing fixes, security repairs, all that
stuff. Students begin with application courseware and delve into operating
system concepts. They get coursework in databases, networking, PC repair and
troubleshooting. Students take programming courses in different
languages, mobile app development and security concepts.
A graduate from our
Information Technology degree can often make an average of $46,000
per year or a $22 an hour salary.
The Information Technology certificate and the Computer Programming and
Development certificate are offered completely online, a good option for
working individuals. In the Computer Programming and Development certificate,
students will take courses in C#, C++, Java Programming, and Advanced
C#. They also work in mobile application development, working with
Android studio and designing mobile apps for Android phones. We have students that
take jobs from PC support, network technicians, programming positions,
database management positions. There's a lot of different areas our students can
branch into even web design. With the variety of courses in our degree and
our certificates, students have lots of opportunities and skill sets that they
take away. I wanted to do something different with my life and, believe it or
not, I was always intimidated by technology, but technology is everywhere.
It's growing. We depend on it for everything, and so I decided to come back
to school and try it all over again. And, I love it so far. Everything about it is
just terrific. It's gonna be hard for me to decide what I want to do when I
actually graduate. There's so many different areas that you could go into
with I.T., and at this point in time from my studies, I like it all. I enjoy the
programming. I enjoy networking, learning how to repair PCs. So that's what's great
about the degree program is you have a very wide horizon of various things that
you could do with it. The best advice I could give somebody
who is looking for change in their life, a change in their career path, is to come
back to college, and try a community college, just to see if you like the
program that you think you might be interested in. And, benefits of coming
to a community colleges is that it's usually smaller based as far as the
class size and that's more advantageous because people can work with their
instructors more one-on-one, get the help that they really need and grow from
there. High school juniors and seniors can take
Information Technology classes, tuition free, through the Career College Promise
program. Go to surry.edu for more information.