4 ms·

I don't fully understand this mentality. We don't look at everything we want to accomplish and say"what's the fastest way to get there?" a 4-year university deg

by skeeter2020 6y ago

I don't fully understand this mentality. We don't look at everything we want to accomplish and say"what's the fastest way to get there?" a 4-year university degree certainly isn't if you want a job, money or credibility. The journey is amazing; I have 2 undergrads and a MSc not because of the material benefits, but because I absolutely loved school, especially the second time around. #3 grad school was a little disappointing but that was due to my expectations. I'm now near 50 and thinking about starting my PhD as a quasi-retirement project. Maaybe I'll go to school with my kids!

wincy 6y ago
I think the problem is that once you're working in the field, not having a bachelors can be perceived as you lacking in skill for the positions you're applying for, regardless of if that's the case. And the bachelors is (improperly) being used as a gauge for competence rather than being shown as a jumping off point toward a career in software development, which can be reached by alternate avenues. I also discovered that if I want to move to basically any European nation, despite having years of experience in the USA, I would not be able to work in software or emigrate without some sort of bachelors.
- umanghere 6y ago
  Speaking from experience, that's not necessarily true. EU countries accept equivalent experience in lieu of academic qualifications. Assuming that you are offered a position that pays well, and have around 5-ish years of experience, emigration is a breeze. My experience with getting might not be universal since I work in a niche CS field, but getting a work permit (also alluded to by other commenters) was trivial and likely applies to everyone.
anonymoushn 6y ago
I would not pay 400k/year or whatever for additional years of college.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Bakary 6y ago
The mentality comes from people in the more recent generations having to deal with harsher competition and lower economic prospects, and not having certain expensive pieces of paper lock you out of many opportunities. The problem is that trade schools need to be reformed/expanded, or employers have to reevaluate how they evaluate things.
ghaff 6y ago
I understand both your perspectives. I have an ME degree that, at the end of the day, I did mostly for fun and have never really used. On the other hand, I also understand the perspective of those who maybe don't care for school, want to/need to minimize the time and money they spend on it, learn "just the facts" they need to get hired to pursue software development mostly in the vein of a trade, and the paper that is often needed to get hired or pursue various types of opportunities. In that light, it's understandable they don't want to learn a lot of theory they won't use much, much less take unrelated science distribution and humanities courses.

wincy 6y ago

I think the problem is that once you're working in the field, not having a bachelors can be perceived as you lacking in skill for the positions you're applying for, regardless of if that's the case. And the bachelors is (improperly) being used as a gauge for competence rather than being shown as a jumping off point toward a career in software development, which can be reached by alternate avenues. I also discovered that if I want to move to basically any European nation, despite having years of experience in the USA, I would not be able to work in software or emigrate without some sort of bachelors.

umanghere 6y ago
Speaking from experience, that's not necessarily true. EU countries accept equivalent experience in lieu of academic qualifications. Assuming that you are offered a position that pays well, and have around 5-ish years of experience, emigration is a breeze. My experience with getting might not be universal since I work in a niche CS field, but getting a work permit (also alluded to by other commenters) was trivial and likely applies to everyone.

anonymoushn 6y ago

I would not pay 400k/year or whatever for additional years of college.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

Bakary 6y ago

The mentality comes from people in the more recent generations having to deal with harsher competition and lower economic prospects, and not having certain expensive pieces of paper lock you out of many opportunities. The problem is that trade schools need to be reformed/expanded, or employers have to reevaluate how they evaluate things.

ghaff 6y ago

I understand both your perspectives. I have an ME degree that, at the end of the day, I did mostly for fun and have never really used. On the other hand, I also understand the perspective of those who maybe don't care for school, want to/need to minimize the time and money they spend on it, learn "just the facts" they need to get hired to pursue software development mostly in the vein of a trade, and the paper that is often needed to get hired or pursue various types of opportunities. In that light, it's understandable they don't want to learn a lot of theory they won't use much, much less take unrelated science distribution and humanities courses.