Get a Networking Degree

Recently our telecommunications degree was changed to reflect the networking content that we have been teaching for years. The new name, reflected below and hopefully soon above in the header, is information networking and telecommunications (INT). But what does a degree in networking mean? The degree is not social networking. The degree does not teach how to maintain media communication networks--speaker wires, video wiring, or microphone wiring. This degree focuses on the nitty gritty technical details of routing, switching, circuits and multiplexing, as well as, soft skills like leadership, business skills and management skills.

So what in the world do you do with this degree? Many exciting choices exist with a networking degree. Hackers, like Anonymous, have recently made the news with their many exploits. With a networking degree, you could work for a business and try and keep hackers like Anonymous out of your servers and out of your network. You could manage the servers on a network like email, web and DNS. You could manage helpdesk employees. You could manage an enterprise level network including devices like routers, switches, firewalls, intrusion detection and VPNs. The possibilities are almost endless.

The key word mentioned above is management. The degree does not aim to make a network techie but rather a well-rounded person. The degree aims to build a person who knows the technical details but also has the communication and leadership skills to move up into management.

Do you know anyone in IT? Ask them what they do. Interested? Get a degree in networking at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK).