4 ms·

IMO being a music major isn't the story here, having no related experience/knowledge is. But that doesn't get clicks quite as well. One of the best engineers I

by cheeze 9y ago

IMO being a music major isn't the story here, having no related experience/knowledge is. But that doesn't get clicks quite as well. One of the best engineers I've ever met had a bachelors in Psychology. Another was a highschool dropout. The difference though was that those folks spent a ton of time learning everything they could, and continually improved. Having a music major isn't a bad thing at all. Having no relevant experience is a much larger concern for me. I'd go as far as saying that this headline is harmful. It perpetuates the "only people with CS degrees can program/security/architect", which isn't true at all. We shouldn't be shaming people who come from another walk of life. More power to those who didn't get a traditional CS degree and still kick ass :)

sp332 9y ago
And expecting everyone's LI profile to be a source of absolute truth is also risky.
- Jimmie_Rustle 9y ago
  If you are a C-level exec, I would say it should be pretty accurate...
majormajor 9y ago
Yeah. If you graduated more than 10 years ago I don't really care what your degree was in, but I do care about what you know and where you've practiced it.
tjr 9y ago
I started out majoring in music. I switched to studying CS and math because career prospects looked better. It was also easier.
- capkutay 9y ago
  Same...I think it's sad that people who theoretically know how to 'code' (writing music, converting music notation into sounds) and spend thousands of hours on a rigorous practice are cast as being useless to the modern workforce. I feel like music majors have to be very technical and studious...something that really does transfer well to any other field if they put their mind to it.
sov 9y ago
The way I read it is that: hey, they hired a person whose most relevant experience is a music degree. Of course, the title certainly leads itself to other interpretations.
- busterarm 9y ago
  I love how even 15 years after you've been out of school, your work experience isn't as relevant as what you studied in school.
  - grandalf 9y ago
    It's not, this article is click bait.
fl0wenol 9y ago
I work with a talented and diligent colleague who started college as a CS major but switched to music (and a minor in geology). He participates in hardware hacking CTFs for fun and runs circles around me. I also work with another colleague who had a scholarship to his undergrad for music, who switched to CS. Not as technical as the first colleague, but is very good at systems thinking. A third colleague is a superb SME who understands security policy, compliance, and risk management (with a CISSP and actually using it); he was an architect and interior designer before switching careers... and is in a band. :) Music isn't a bad background to have in IT or security fields from my perspective. Issues with anecdotes aside, I don't see the issue here if a person has demonstrated growth and expertise in the field.

by cheeze 9y ago

sp332 9y ago

And expecting everyone's LI profile to be a source of absolute truth is also risky.

Jimmie_Rustle 9y ago
If you are a C-level exec, I would say it should be pretty accurate...

majormajor 9y ago

Yeah. If you graduated more than 10 years ago I don't really care what your degree was in, but I do care about what you know and where you've practiced it.

tjr 9y ago

I started out majoring in music. I switched to studying CS and math because career prospects looked better. It was also easier.

capkutay 9y ago
Same...I think it's sad that people who theoretically know how to 'code' (writing music, converting music notation into sounds) and spend thousands of hours on a rigorous practice are cast as being useless to the modern workforce. I feel like music majors have to be very technical and studious...something that really does transfer well to any other field if they put their mind to it.

sov 9y ago

The way I read it is that: hey, they hired a person whose most relevant experience is a music degree. Of course, the title certainly leads itself to other interpretations.

busterarm 9y ago
I love how even 15 years after you've been out of school, your work experience isn't as relevant as what you studied in school.
- grandalf 9y ago
  It's not, this article is click bait.

fl0wenol 9y ago

I work with a talented and diligent colleague who started college as a CS major but switched to music (and a minor in geology). He participates in hardware hacking CTFs for fun and runs circles around me. I also work with another colleague who had a scholarship to his undergrad for music, who switched to CS. Not as technical as the first colleague, but is very good at systems thinking. A third colleague is a superb SME who understands security policy, compliance, and risk management (with a CISSP and actually using it); he was an architect and interior designer before switching careers... and is in a band. :) Music isn't a bad background to have in IT or security fields from my perspective. Issues with anecdotes aside, I don't see the issue here if a person has demonstrated growth and expertise in the field.