3 ms·

Level of education is a decent proxy for intelligence, in anything resembling an academic context. More education is usually better. It's why companies prefer

Level of education is a decent proxy for intelligence, in anything resembling an academic context. More education is usually better. It's why companies prefer hiring people with more education. That said, I think many roles should not require a college degree for application. That one single thing might make a big difference - because as you hint there are tons of otherwise great people who don't specifically have the education.

briandear 8y ago
Is the IQ of a person with a masters degree in sociology higher than the IQ of a non-degreee naval nuclear power technician? Yet the non-degrees nuke tech would be considered “less educated” by the measures being used in this discussion. A journeyman electrician often doesn’t have a degree, but they do more intellectually challenging work/calculations than some Master of Social Work person working at a local non-profit. I deal with “highly educated” people in the mental health field on a daily basis and some can barely write grammatically correct sentences: the support tickets I get from people with PhDs and MA mental health professionals are frequently atrocious. But my “uneducated” dad worked as a precision machinist for NASA projects as well as teaching graduate students metallurgy. He’s considered not highly educated, but only because he didn’t get a degree. His education has zero to do with intelligence. That story isn’t an outlier either. My point is that higher education attainment often has nothing to do with intelligence beyond a base level, but more of class, financial resources and desire. A naval fighter pilot with a bachelors degree, in my experience is far more “educated” than someone with a masters in education, sociology, poetry or whatever. Highly educated as a proxy for “desirable worker” is a folly. Ambition, drive and work ethic are more valuable to a society than simply someone who checked the boxes and got a university degree. Using a university degree as a proxy for “desirable” worker is just snobbery and intellectually lazy.
- Pokepokalypse 8y ago
  Considered by whom? OPM - who sets the contractor pay-rate for these positions? The classification system is very detailed and carefully calibrated and it considers professional experience, certifications, and postsecondary and graduate degrees, and the PhD or MA is not always necessarily higher than an experienced technical engineer.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  Anecdotes don't defeat the general fact: education is a good proxy for intelligence, conscientiousness, IQ. This is not contentious. That doesn't mean there are not quite intelligent people who don't have a college degree, or that some kinds of specialized people are true artisans.

briandear 8y ago

Is the IQ of a person with a masters degree in sociology higher than the IQ of a non-degreee naval nuclear power technician? Yet the non-degrees nuke tech would be considered “less educated” by the measures being used in this discussion. A journeyman electrician often doesn’t have a degree, but they do more intellectually challenging work/calculations than some Master of Social Work person working at a local non-profit. I deal with “highly educated” people in the mental health field on a daily basis and some can barely write grammatically correct sentences: the support tickets I get from people with PhDs and MA mental health professionals are frequently atrocious. But my “uneducated” dad worked as a precision machinist for NASA projects as well as teaching graduate students metallurgy. He’s considered not highly educated, but only because he didn’t get a degree. His education has zero to do with intelligence. That story isn’t an outlier either. My point is that higher education attainment often has nothing to do with intelligence beyond a base level, but more of class, financial resources and desire. A naval fighter pilot with a bachelors degree, in my experience is far more “educated” than someone with a masters in education, sociology, poetry or whatever. Highly educated as a proxy for “desirable worker” is a folly. Ambition, drive and work ethic are more valuable to a society than simply someone who checked the boxes and got a university degree. Using a university degree as a proxy for “desirable” worker is just snobbery and intellectually lazy.

Pokepokalypse 8y ago
Considered by whom? OPM - who sets the contractor pay-rate for these positions? The classification system is very detailed and carefully calibrated and it considers professional experience, certifications, and postsecondary and graduate degrees, and the PhD or MA is not always necessarily higher than an experienced technical engineer.
sonnyblarney 8y ago
Anecdotes don't defeat the general fact: education is a good proxy for intelligence, conscientiousness, IQ. This is not contentious. That doesn't mean there are not quite intelligent people who don't have a college degree, or that some kinds of specialized people are true artisans.