Ok ! Deposited a Cutiefly Lv . 10 , female . <| sep |> I would think that since we are an oil and gasbased economy then the downturn in that industry over the past couple of yrs has something to do with it . The other thing is the cloud is becoming a larger component of IT . SaaS is growing by leaps and bounds . Less people need locally to turn the wrench . I ' ve been an IT Project Manager for 18 yrs and IT is always looking to do more with less and cheaper . While IT adds great value , it ' s still a cost center in most companies . Try to get some knowledge in cybersecurity if you can . That ' s huge and growing . I would say that having your fouryear degree is going to help your career in the long run as you will be more marketable for many different jobs . ANY job is going to require problemsolving skills that require creative thinkers . A fouryear degree signals that . A cert or an associates signals to employers I ' m just going to do the bare minimum . Employers don ' t want to hire people like that .