Eh. A college student has a lot more independence and responsibility than a minimum wage burger-flipper. Moreover, they're given problems that presumably requir

Eh. A college student has a lot more independence and responsibility than a minimum wage burger-flipper. Moreover, they're given problems that presumably require a modicum of intelligence, literacy and numeracy, and other skills that go above and beyond following simple instructions. Minimum wage jobs tend to be structured so they can be done by functional illiterates/innumerates, and happen in closely supervised, time-bound environments. Contrast this to the freedom a college student has to do many things other than their homework. edit: More to the point, even assuming four years of flipping burgers is an effective way to learn the behaviors for a corporate IT job (which is questionable), it is not perceived as useful by the hiring managers, virtually all of whom have college degrees. A college degree is a social leveling-up, particularly in liu of professional experience in the field. For someone with 5+ years of relevant technical work experience, a college degree matters a lot less. For entry level, it's absurd to argue that four years of french fries is equally effective for social proof, and unwise to argue that it's equally effective for actual practice.