The post from Sivers' blog[1] a few days talked optimistically about how, at least in some ways, we're beginning to see a fix for this. You can break out of th

The post from Sivers' blog[1] a few days talked optimistically about how, at least in some ways, we're beginning to see a fix for this. You can break out of the credentials trap by making and doing stuff and by looking for people who make stuff. Public creations and contributions, even as simple as blogging, are becoming much more of an accepted credential (offering more external validation in Dixon's words) and that's great. (Well, mostly great. Great that people might look at your github as a credential, perhaps going a tad too far when people proclaim that Github replaces resumes.) I'm nothing but a wee programmer from New Hampshire, and while hating on Stack Overflow is cool around here[2], it allowed me to help thousands of people and create a (literal and S.O.) reputation. I wasn't thinking about career with all my days and nights contributing to StackOverflow, it was more of plain old poor time management mixed with some desire to be useful to someone. Yet SO and a tad of blogging landed me a book deal, which is a far more interesting outcome than anything my regular career-minded things (getting a degree and getting a job/experience) have done. By miles. Unlike the external validation in the post (getting a degree), making stuff encompasses a much bigger pie. You aren't competing against the other people with law degrees. You're showing tangible reasons you might be useful. Really, if your field allows it, making stuff publicly is the best credential we've got. [1] "It's all who you know?" - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5198956 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5198956 [2] As of writing the first comment is bashing the SO system, which is a typical top-comment for these sort of stories: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5210648 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5210648