5 ms·
This article puts a lot of emphasis on his lack of degree. Have we forgotten what a "degree" actually means? When you receive a diploma, it just means some in
by CivBase 6y ago
This article puts a lot of emphasis on his lack of degree.
Have we forgotten what a "degree" actually means? When you receive a diploma, it just means some institution is willing to attest that you have achieved some sort of qualification.
You can learn something without approval from an institution. Diplomas are typically expensive, so it's not always worth it to get one. Why is this such a foreign concept?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- brighton36 6y agoAuthority bias is systemic.
- mrfusion 6y agoI worked at a research institution for several years and you couldn’t be promoted above a certain level without a PHD.
- rurban 6y agoDepends. I tought for over 10 years at three universities without any degree. Never managed to finish, because I didn't need to. But this works only in liberal countries where qualification trumps buerocrazy. Would never work in Germany.
- pcvarmint 6y agoI once worked at a national lab, advising postdocs on compilers and optimization, even though I don't have a degree. Is 20 years of experience worth less than a degree? Most people I worked with were Ph.D.s who didn't care about their degree or title. They were focused on technical problems and solutions. There was never a statement like "But (s)he doesn't have a degree in this-or-that." Only insecure managers have ever raised the "degree" issue with me. One manager who stymied my career because I didn't have a degree, was later fired for making a commitment for which a Ph.D. was committed to do the work. The project was late or never completed. The Ph.D. was demoted, but the manager who committed to his work, and who hurt me earlier because I didn't have a degree, was fired. I thought that was Karma.
- Rochus 6y agoWell, there are also people who actually learn something at a university and benefit from the fact that there are good teachers and supervised exercises.
- CivBase 6y agoThere are. I went to a university straight out of high school and I don't regret it. But there are also people who learn elsewhere.
- Rochus 6y agoThe art of presenting oneself optimally very often conceals a lack of competence. This also explains why people with less optimal self-marketing - usually women - earn less despite having the same or even better qualifications. To be deceived is unfortunately all too human. That's why people should trust more objective criteria than first impressions or their gut feeling.
- pinkfoot 6y agoIt tends to work out poorly for surgeons and structural engineers. We rightly extrapolated that such an approach has similarly poor odds in other domains.
- number6 6y agoGood point. Structural Engenieers don't tend to follow newsletters written by someone without a degree living in his parents basement. Well if you find someone doing a math newsletter or paper without a degree but a certain knowledge that one quickly climbs academic ranks. This leaves me thinking that economics is more about assuming and musings than about verifiable facts
- SergeAx 6y agoEven less: diploma means one has attended a prearranged set of courses, did some homework and passed the exam. It doesn't actually implying any sort of qualification except doing homework and passing exams. We are supposing that those activities are resembling those we do at work close enough.