Community and junior colleges are post-secondary institutions that tend to offer two-year associates degrees in a wide variety of fields. Students who receive ICT training at a community or junior college will complete two years of ICT-specific coursework, as well as some basic educational courses. The goal of community and junior college training in ICT can be twofold: immediate job placement or continuing onto a traditional college or university to complete an additional two years of schooling in order to receive a bachelor or arts or science degree. Some examples of the best community and junior colleges for ICT training include Lane Community College and Seattle Central Community College.
Similar to community and junior colleges, vocational schools are also post-secondary institutions that offer two-year associates degrees, typically related to a specific field or group of fields, such as technology or business. Unlike community and junior colleges, vocational schools tend to offer two years of ICT-specific coursework sans basic educational courses, unless an incoming student shows a deficient in some basic subject area. Deficiency is typically identified through the use of institution-specific standardized tests or nationally recognized standardized tests such as ASVAB. The goal of a vocational college is typically immediate placement in a job. Perhaps the most well known vocational college for ICT training include ITT Tech.
Traditional colleges and universities typically offer a range of degrees, from Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees to master's and doctoral degrees. At the undergraduate level, traditional colleges and universities offer specific coursework both within the ICT field, as well as supplemental coursework meant to broaden the mind of the student. Some examples of traditional colleges and universities with outstanding ICT programs include MIT, Standford and UC Berkeley.
Certification programs are educational programs which offer training in ICT, but do not offer a recognized degree. Training programs can be affiliated with an accredited university or community college, or they can be run independently. They can last anywhere from one week to several years, depending upon the intensity. Often, many companies such as General Electric and IBM offer their own training programs for company employees such as GE Six Sigma Black Belt Certification program or IBM's Training Worldwide program.