Why Hands-On Training Beats IT Degrees

What this episode covers

In this episode of Gaining the Technology Leadership Edge, Mike Mahoney speaks with Terry Kim, founder of NGT Academy, about why traditional IT education often fails both students and employers—and what leaders can do differently. Terry shares his background as a former Air Force network engineer and instructor, and how that experience shaped his belief that hands-on, project-based training beats expensive degrees. He explains why many colleges charge $85,000–$100,000 for IT-related bachelor’s degrees while graduates still struggle in the job market, and contrasts that with NGT Academy’s four-to-six-month vocational model. Listeners will hear how NGT Academy takes students from fundamentals like networking and the OSI model into real-world capstone projects involving switches, routers, firewalls, IPsec tunneling, and business continuity design. Terry also discusses the importance of mindset, mentorship, and career progression, noting that roughly 88–92% of graduates who complete the program and certifications land IT roles. The conversation expands into leadership lessons for directors and CIOs: building career progression plans, cross-training teams, using vendors and projects as learning engines, and reframing IT from a support function into an innovation center. The episode closes with Terry’s perspective on AI—automation as leverage, not replacement—and why leaders who embrace change outperform those who resist it.

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