how are prospects for a community college grad in programming? (seneca@york)

[RobertStrain]

hello, are there anyone attending college for IT? I currently am thinking of changing career paths, but I am not sure if its worth the investment. Also a question for those working in the IT industry, have you notice if any of your co-workers are from college instead of university? are college grads rare enough to say that they are simply not recognized by most employers if not all?

First i will give some background:

I already have community college 2 year diploma as a electronics technician. Since then i have worked another 2 years at Celestica's manufacturing site doing mainly soldering and basic testing of PCB boards. however the pay so far is discouraging something like $11.25/hour right now. But most factories are slowing down if not off-shoring operations so......

Right now i am thinking of going back to college, Seneca College to be specific, for a 3 year computer programming analysis diploma with co-op. But my question is, would i be wasting my time if i don't plan on a 4 year bachelor degree for IT afterwards?
my math isn't quite up to par which is the reason i didn't get into uni. i have no problem learning programing though.
would prospects in this case be low enough to say a college diploma in programming is not worth it? Also i am already 28, and "to start from scratch" in IT, wouldn't this be to late? Some programmers i hear online said that after a certain age you are less hire able.

if this is the case would it be better/safer to stick with electronics like upgrading my technician diploma to a technologist diploma?

is community college programming not worth it? also I've only just finished paying my last loan and since money is important to me would college programming be too risky a choice to gamble on?

[Tony]

startup companies will often hire for your github profile over the name of a degree. What this means though is that they'll be looking at actual contributions and complete projects, which is not something that's a part of typical school work.

[knowthyself]

Short answer: As mentioned before, experience is the main thing. If you work hard in school and get co-op experience, you'll be in good shape. Plus, being a little older and already having some post-secondary education doesn't hurt a resume either.

Long answer: I'm 29 and have a 3 year Electrical/Control Eng Technologist diploma, and I have returned to school for CS in University (just heading into Yr 2). I would have to say from what I've seen, going back to get a Technologist diploma in addition to Technician would be hardly worth it. Again, in that field too, you need experience to get good opportunities (yeah, the chicken and egg unfortunately). So if you were to go back for another year, then what will you do? Opportunities may not exactly come knocking. I think, however, that in software development there are more opportunities, and generally better pay. Plus if you do co-op, you'll have experience in your pocket when you are done school. So I think that the IT (Computer Science, Computer Programmer, etc) route is a good one. Then between College and University... I would suggest that you push yourself a bit. Perhaps math wasn't your strongest suit before, but maybe you are more mature now. Anybody can do math -- it just requires maturity for the proper management of your time (to do your homework). So don't sell yourself short. But, if you are certain it's something that you are not into in the least, then college is still a very good option I think.