Mike Rowe's project got me thiking, how many here have a degree? For those not familiar with his endeavor his a quote from his site:

 "On Labor Day of 2008, fans of Dirty Jobs built mikeroweWORKS, a trade resource center and non-profit foundation designed to reinvigorate the Skilled Trades. Profoundly Disconnected is the next phase of that effort. Mike’s goal here is to challenge the absurd belief that an expensive four-year education is the best path for the most people, and confront the outdated stereotypes that continue to drive kids and parents away from a whole list of worthwhile careers. Many of the best opportunities that exist today require a skill, not a diploma. The purpose of this site is to promote that simple truth. And maybe have a few laughs."


Google profoundly disconnected or mikeroweworks for the whole story, I think its a great effort.

No degree (but some college) and have worked in tech industries since, well, the Nixonian Era.

Would be difficult to start out like that today, but only due to the sales pitch Mr Rowe so eloquently explains.

I have a BA in International Affairs from GWU.  I do almost nothing with that degree but got it purely so I'd make the first cut when that's a requirement regardless of whether or not it means anything. 

I have no degree, nor any college.

I'm a VP of software development in a Fortune 500 300 company.

I've had some lucky breaks along the way, but I've also kicked ass and taken names and have earned everything I have.

Nothing... not one freaking thing... that I was interested in or would have sought a degree in when I was 18 would be useful to me today in this career.

I also think it's completely asinine for employers to demand degrees just to get you in the front door. Doubly so when they're ok with a degree that has nothing to do with the field of employment in question. 

I also think it's completely asinine for employers to demand degrees just to get you in the front door. Doubly so when they're ok with a degree that has nothing to do with the field of employment in question. 

I'm not convinced this issue is anything other than HR trying to reduce their job to a checklist .. .. doesn't alter reality, of course, but I've found if you can get in front of the hiring manager, things can go just fine, degree or no.

Quote from: bomber on December 05, 2013, 02:52:10 PM

Quote from: chornbe on December 05, 2013, 02:48:44 PM

I also think it's completely asinine for employers to demand degrees just to get you in the front door. Doubly so when they're ok with a degree that has nothing to do with the field of employment in question. 

I'm not convinced this issue is anything other than HR trying to reduce their job to a checklist .. .. doesn't alter reality, of course, but I've found if you can get in front of the hiring manager, things can go just fine, degree or no.

Agreed.

I've generally been offered 95% of the jobs for which I've interviewed. I'm a good interview, I'm well spoken, clean and presentable, and I know my shit. Not making it in the door because of a piece of paper...? Their loss.

they don't know you like we do ;-}

LOL


JUST shy of creepy!

I knew you had it in you.

No (proper) secondary education for me either. I do often attend conferences and trade shows in my field to stay abreast of technology as it may apply to our product. I was hired as an entry level laborer in 1997, and proceeded to work my ass off to work my way up. My partner and I now run a millwork shop with 20 employees. I think there will be a huge demand for skilled labor in 5-10 years, and employers will be willing to pay rather well for hard working people, degree or no.

Fully agreed; there are more out of work lawyers than out of work plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc. The trades will never go away. It's only a question of quality and skill.

I knew you had it in you.

To be fair, I feel really dirty now.

I do often attend conferences and trade shows in my field to stay abreast of technology as it may apply to our product.

He said a breast.

As you can tell, I obviously do not have a college education

Luckily, I found a good job in the web hosting biz with a company that cares more about what you can do and how hard you work, instead of a piece of paper. Before that, I was a UPS driver, then worked in retail for a bit.

I can agree with you a bit Chris.  I started out of high school at a business college, and within 2 semesters I knew that wasn't it so I quit and went to work in a factory.  I worked there for 2 years while I figured it out- went back to college, got my BA, got a teaching job, loved it, got an MA (which was really nothing more than jumping through hoops to get the degree and requisite raise).  I have been teaching for 20 years and I love it.  I do use my degree and knowledge in my work.

I'm lucky in that besides keeping my certification (more hoops- but some of the classes are good) I can study what I want.  In my current role besides teaching science I work with teachers and help them to utilize technology in their classrooms.  Teaching teachers I guess. 

To buck the trend of a teacher, I hunt, shoot, weld, restore motorcycles, rebuild engines, paint, brew, distill, etc.  A renaissance man.    

halfway through junior year at college, our daughter came hom for a long weekend.

"great -- you can help me change in the intake/exhaust gasket on the Model A."

30 minutes into the effort, the girls asks, "What's a gasket, and why are we replacing it?"

She'd been maintaining her own cars since halfway through highschool (and teacher her school mates), but we never dealved into the mysteries of the otto cycle engine . . . . .

She went on to get a master's from the University of Chicago.

well rounded people rock

Too many parents are raising sheltered kids who come out of college being one-trick ponies who can't even change a flat tire in their car. 

exactly, my daughter (HS junior) came home from school and told me boys are dumb, I told her I was happy she finally realized that anyway she went on to explain that 2 senior boys asked if she had jumper cables to get ones car started. she retrieved them from her car and they then asked if she knew how to hook them up? thinking they were screwing with her she said yes and handed them to one of the boys. he said "no, we need really need someone who knows how to hook them up, we haven't got a clue".  she got the car started for them.

I still spell better than Ed.

Not sure that's worth noting.   

Quote from: CLAY on December 05, 2013, 04:35:08 PM

Quote from: Cookie on December 05, 2013, 04:31:53 PM

I still spell better than Ed.

Small victories, Clay -- sometimes they are all we are granted.

;-}

Not sure that's worth noting.   

..and I have a magnificently odd sence of humor.

Quote from: Cookie on December 05, 2013, 04:31:53 PM

I got nuthin.

Graduated by the hair of my ass from an alternative program through Falmouth High School, Falmouth MA.

Went from top notch prep Schools to street drunk in 4 years. YAY BOOZE!

I will add that I am happy with who I am slowly turning into and am quite content with my life.

I still spell better than Ed.

I like you. 

You're bad luck though. You can still visit for breakfast. Just be sure you're not followed.

I have a BS in business management and marketing. I have worked in IT, logistics, logistics IT, supply chain management and now risk management. My degree has never been a factor in my career. Never been asked to show my transcripts, notta.

I agree work is about skills however a degree for some reason is a differentiator for many employers these days.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

BS in Mechanical Engineering but I've been writing software for a living since 1981.

hmm, went into the USAF a few months after high school, worked B-1 Avionics, got my Associates in it from CCAF, started working towards bach in CIS, retired from the USAF last June, working in a factory job currently picking/shipping wood for Menards. Yep my degree is real useful.

I've been trying for anything even remotely tied to my experience/degree, but it's slim pickins out here in RC, SD.

While I applaud the effort, colleges are turning out more and more women college graduates (60% of degrees are earned by women). Since women tend to marry up, if the guys go into the trades there will need to be a shift in the social scene so women will 'settle' for a tradesman.

Sexist much?  It's attitudes like this that have been harder to deal with than the research portion of my degree and it's annoying.  I know several women who married or are in serious relationships with men who don't have as much education as them. Happens a lot for the female grad students.  If you want a guy that won't bitch about moving to follow your career you have to marry down.

BS in Mechanical Engineering but I've been writing software for a living since 1981.

That's exactly what I would have gone into out of college... and I still love the heart of it. But I'm paying the bills coding and designing (architecting software, not visually designing GUIs).

Quote from: dm_gsx1300r on December 05, 2013, 02:50:36 PM

While I applaud the effort, colleges are turning out more and more women college graduates (60% of degrees are earned by women). Since women tend to marry up, if the guys go into the trades there will need to be a shift in the social scene so women will 'settle' for a tradesman.

Sexist much?  It's attitudes like this that have been harder to deal with than the research portion of my degree and it's annoying.  I know several women who married or are in serious relationships with men who don't have as much education as them. Happens a lot for the female grad students.  If you want a guy that won't bitch about moving to follow your career you have to marry down.

Sexist much?

Given your writing, your degree hasn't done you much good. I'm sure you look forward to having a career, you know, after you leave school. Best of luck with your thesis. Let us know if you want editing support.

I humbly disagree that it's 'completely asinine', in all instances anyway.

snip

Also, I hear it's not uncommon to get 50 applicants for a posted job opening.  A degree shows an accomplishment beyond sitting in enough classes of high school.  If the 'job' entails learning a skill or knowledge 'set', that's definatly applicable info.

I disagree . . . . getting a bachelor's isn't much different than surviving Highschool, if the student wishes that . . . .

Having hired a number of recent (college) grads, some were no more prepared to do useful work that they would have been 4 years previously.

I'm not saying that a degree is of no use . . . . .I AM saying that, as a way to judge the potential usefulness of an employee, in many case, it is highly over rated.

Quote from: HipGnosis on December 06, 2013, 08:23:20 AM

I humbly disagree that it's 'completely asinine', in all instances anyway.

snip

Also, I hear it's not uncommon to get 50 applicants for a posted job opening.  A degree shows an accomplishment beyond sitting in enough classes of high school.  If the 'job' entails learning a skill or knowledge 'set', that's definatly applicable info.

I disagree . . . . getting a bachelor's isn't much different than surviving Highschool, if the student wishes that . . . .

Having hired a number of recent (college) grads, some were no more prepared to do useful work that they would have been 4 years previously.

I'm not saying that a degree is of no use . . . . .I AM saying that, as a way to judge the potential usefulness of an employee, in many case, it is highly over rated.

I very much agree with your assessment. I had a couple of engineers that I often gave direction to at my previous job. One straight out of school and the other with a few years experience. While they were both very smart guys, I don't think their education could be considered any greater an accomplishment than those of us who came up from the ranks. We all had to put in the work and prove ourselves in one way or another.

When it comes down to hiring someone to fill a position, we generally looked at the resume and reviewed work history. Usually a degree held more weight for those who had little experience. Those who had a lot of experience we didn't' care if they had a degree. It came down to assessing if the candidate had the skills to do the job and complete the tasks they were given.

A BS in nursing or engineering seem to be the only two that are worth getting from a financial and career perspective.  If you want to get a BS in something like business you are mainly buying the connections you will make while in school, so you better go to an exceptional school for something like that or it will be a waste of time.  Same thing for an MBA.  I don't understand getting a MBA from some podunk no name school.