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> But there are real cases where degrees matter. For example large scale engineering - you want to employ people who know what they’re doing at a very core leve

by A2017U1 8y ago

> But there are real cases where degrees matter. For example large scale engineering - you want to employ people who know what they’re doing at a very core level. There's no other way than a degree to prove competency here? It's not like a civil engineer gets her professional accreditation and the next day is signing off on a bridge, all their work is still thoroughly reviewed. Take for example the bar exam, if a person can pass that why can't they practice law? I find law perhaps to be the most egregious in gatekeeping. A degree really doesn't prove much other than memorising topics years prior and plenty of people come out of University quite clueless about the job they are expected to do. A lot of the real learning occurs when they actually work.

olliej 8y ago
To be clear, when I say degree, I mean any piece of formal paperwork that indicates mastery of a skillset - in my first post I mentioned apprenticeships, but there are all sorts of degrees, certifications, and diplomas which all serve the same purpose. Yes, but if you're an employer you want some basis for knowledge of competence. For CS or whatever you can often look at their prior work, for physical engineering, or chemistry, etc, there isn't an equivalent. As for Law: there are a number of legal professions that don't require passing the bar exam, so having a signifier of knowledge is useful. As for pass the bar but no degree: I don't know enough about law to have a real opinion, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that amount of education require to pass the bar exam seems exceed that required to get the degree. And you are right, lots of people come out of university who are completely clueless, but for any position where it isn't possible to have a prior example of skill and knowledge, you need to propose an alternative to a "certificate of knowing stuff" that isn't simply a different form of the same thing.

olliej 8y ago

To be clear, when I say degree, I mean any piece of formal paperwork that indicates mastery of a skillset - in my first post I mentioned apprenticeships, but there are all sorts of degrees, certifications, and diplomas which all serve the same purpose. Yes, but if you're an employer you want some basis for knowledge of competence. For CS or whatever you can often look at their prior work, for physical engineering, or chemistry, etc, there isn't an equivalent. As for Law: there are a number of legal professions that don't require passing the bar exam, so having a signifier of knowledge is useful. As for pass the bar but no degree: I don't know enough about law to have a real opinion, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that amount of education require to pass the bar exam seems exceed that required to get the degree. And you are right, lots of people come out of university who are completely clueless, but for any position where it isn't possible to have a prior example of skill and knowledge, you need to propose an alternative to a "certificate of knowing stuff" that isn't simply a different form of the same thing.