Five ways to prevent retirement

[cute fuzzy bunny]

My only college degree is an AA from a local junior college.

Psst...Johnny..."AA" isnt a school...

 

[HFWR]

He has an BA, an MA, a PHD, and is a BMF besides...

Cheech & Chong

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Psst...Johnny..."AA" isnt a school...

No one said it was..............anyway, point taken.

BMF! I like that!

JG

 

[HFWR]

I attend Alcoholics Unanimous...

Also a member of DAMM - Drunks Against Mad Mothers...

"Never eat on an empty stomach"

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Absolutely. Save your eating until after you're drunk, when you'll stumble into one of the "we serve other stuff besides breakfast, but who cares" restaurants at 2AM and order eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, pancakes and beets with chicken gravy poured over the whole thing, and then actually eat and enjoy it.

 

[laurence]

Absolutely. Save your eating until after you're drunk, when you'll stumble into one of the "we serve other stuff besides breakfast, but who cares" restaurants at 2AM and order eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, pancakes and beets with chicken gravy poured over the whole thing, and then actually eat and enjoy it.

Hey, wait, I've done that more times than I care to remember. I especially enjoyed it when you could smoke in "Lenny's" (Hey, I only smoke when I'm drunk, and not anymore, o.k.?! )

Three pots of coffee later and you could drive home.

 

[yelnad]

You guys have had this discussion at last 3 times since I joined this board. As an ABD (all but dissertation) in the #3 ranked higher education program in the nation, this is the stuff I studied for a living (before I walked away from the PhD). I'm currently an academic advisor in a top ranked undergraduate business program. I would agree that prestige certainly pays in some areas, but alumni base, networking, and being a "go getter" pay just as much or more. I haven't read any studies that support the "Ivy/prestige leads to more success" theory, but I'll keep my eye out.

However, if all things are considered equal, a degree from Ivy league colleges not only gives you a headstart but keeps you ahead if you are willing to grind it out in the rat race.

I think this is certainly true if the person hiring you is also from Ivy league, but could also be detrimental.

A theoretical discussion about the origins and purpose of higher education doesn't belong here, but education should be about learning. Not about jobs.

 

[laurence]

You guys have had this discussion at last 3 times since I joined this board. As an ABD (all but dissertation) in the #3 ranked higher education program in the nation, this is the stuff I studied for a living (before I walked away from the PhD). I'm currently an academic advisor in a top ranked undergraduate business program. I would agree that prestige certainly pays in some areas, but alumni base, networking, and being a "go getter" pay just as much or more. I haven't read any studies that support the "Ivy/prestige leads to more success" theory, but I'll keep my eye out.

I think this is certainly true if the person hiring you is also from Ivy league, but could also be detrimental.

A theoretical discussion about the origins and purpose of higher education doesn't belong here, but education should be about learning. Not about jobs.

Oh, you just had to take the high road, didn't you?

Friend is paying through the nose to send his twin daughters to college right now, one is at some tiny private university (that costs a bundle) and the other is at...University of the Pacific? Anyway, I guess both are getting the kind of education you speak of, small class size, reading the original works of the great thinkers and following their thought processes rather than reading some publisher's synopsis of their work. Instructors are known as mentors, lots of projects, one paper per semester (better be darn good, I hear). They are truly loving it and thriving, and learning to be excellent adults and human beings (not that they were too shabby to begin with). He had to make sacrifices to do this for them, but so far it seems to be worth it.

 

[justin]

I think this is certainly true if the person hiring you is also from Ivy league, but could also be detrimental.

The "detrimental" part is true in my locality and my profession. Under the good ole boy network that governs my profession to a large extent, a degree from local State U is worth more than a degree from just about any private "elite" school. We have one of those private elite schools just up the road from us, but a degree from that school in the field I work in is a joke (seriously). Almost everyone in industry and government graduated from the local State U. If you didn't, you're at a competitive disadvantage for the most part.

 

[Nords]

I would agree that prestige certainly pays in some areas, but alumni base, networking, and being a "go getter" pay just as much or more. I haven't read any studies that support the "Ivy/prestige leads to more success" theory, but I'll keep my eye out.

In the Navy it's widely believed that the U.S. Naval Academy gives its alumni a head start over ROTC or OCS. However the head start is only about six months, if that, and continued "ring knocking" actually works against the USNA alumni.

Personally I think USNA, and maybe other "elite" schools, polarize their graduates. They're either very, very good or very, very bad with no "average" in between.

 

[Gone4Good]

Under the good ole boy network that governs my profession to a large extent, a degree from local State U is worth more than a degree from just about any private "elite" school. 

This is interesting. I guess it goes to show that kids should target the school that best matches their career ambitions. I work at a major Wall Street firm that only recruits out of a handful of the top MBA programs. There are just too many good candidates who want to fill the positions and they need a way to screen people out. So the first people to go are those who don't have the requisite degree credentials.

 

[Nords]

There are just too many good candidates who want to fill the positions and they need a way to screen people out.  So the first people to go are those who don't have the requisite degree credentials.

What a crappy arbitrary screening "system".  But I guess it's illegal to do it by gender, race, religion, or sexual preference. 

And doing it by shoe size instead of by alma mater, well that would just get them laughed at!

I'd have to question my interest in working at a company that uses alma-mater logic to choose their employees...

 

[Mr._johngalt]

What a crappy arbitrary screening "system".  But I guess it's illegal to do it by gender, race, religion, or sexual preference. 

And doing it by shoe size instead of by alma mater, well that would just get them laughed at!

I'd have to question my interest in working at a company that uses alma-mater logic to choose their employees...

You must have a system to "trim the pile" . I ran an ad in The WSJ once
for a management position and got hundreds of resumes. Even if the
"system" is not logical, if it makes the "pile" manageable then ..............
well, that's progress. As I recall I just dumped the whole stack and
started over. Too much to deal with.

JG

 

[laurence]

You know, I just reviewed a group of resumes for a position we opened up in our department. Forget arbitrary system, I was able to eliminate half just by the poor quality of the resume! No, I'm the last person to ding some one for spelling errors (although Word has had spellcheck for a decade). I just think if some one can't remember to state their major in college or include their job history, this probably isn't the job for them!

 

[Honkie]

What a crappy arbitrary screening "system".  But I guess it's illegal to do it by gender, race, religion, or sexual preference. 

That's not to say it doesn't happen, though, especially by gender and age.

 

[Nords]

Forget arbitrary system, I was able to eliminate half just by the poor quality of the resume!

Nothing arbitrary about that-- if you can't ask for the job, you can't have it!!

Although maybe your company is discriminating against all of those out-of-the-box thinkers who can't be bothered with nitpicking details that any menial laborer could handle-- like following directions.

Oh, wait, I remember now-- Enron hired all those guys.

 

[Eagle43]

There was a time at MegaCorp here in Texas, when a lot of supervisors/vps were Texas Aggies. This could have been the result of a particular Aggie vp, who went to the university once a year to interview on-campus. Anyway, he's gone now, so mebbe UT is advancing. BTW: I didn't see anything so special about the Aggies. They weren't smarter than me. They just had a sponsor. Oh and they spawned a lot of aggie jokes, too.

 

[REWahoo]

I didn't see anything so special about the Aggies. They weren't smarter than me. They just had a sponsor. Oh and they spawned a lot of aggie jokes, too.

Here is an example to help prove your point (some Aggie jokes are real):

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

REW -- ROFLMAO

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

What a crappy arbitrary screening "system". But I guess it's illegal to do it by gender, race, religion, or sexual preference.

And doing it by shoe size instead of by alma mater, well that would just get them laughed at!

I'd have to question my interest in working at a company that uses alma-mater logic to choose their employees...

Indeed, that system would have trimmed me from any job search.

I made in excess of two billion dollars for my company in my last 2 years of work there.

Apparently not a very good winnowing system...

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Indeed, that system would have trimmed me from any job search.

I made in excess of two billion dollars for my company in my last 2 years of work there.

Apparently not a very good winnowing system...

I'm sure you were willing to take a measly 1% commission on those sales too.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I posted some of this before. My brother is 58 and just started his
4th job in about 4 years (long story). Anyway, he is very
conscious of age discrimination (which I think should be perfectly
legal of course). Anyway, he left everything off his resume which
might offer even a hint of his age. There was simply no way for anyone
to guess his age, based on the resume. I don't know what effect
this had on his job searches. I know he worked very hard to get
each position, and has long since decided he just wants a place
to close out his career.

JG

 

[HFWR]

Why do Aggie women wear long dresses?

To hide the "No-Pest Strip"...

 

[Gone4Good]

Indeed, that system would have trimmed me from any job search.

I made in excess of two billion dollars for my company in my last 2 years of work there.

Apparently not a very good winnowing system...

The resume screen is for green-horns. Once you get here, however you get here, your resume dosen't mean crap. Everyone knows who the rainmaker's are and that's all that counts. But you gotta get here first - which is easier with the fancy degree.

 

[lets-retire]

I thought I was the only person who thought that. One of my areas of interest is known for cannabalizing competitors employees. I thought that was just because it is a small industry. It is not unsusal to see a person leave a company only to see them return a few years later, with a promation. It's almost like they can't be promoted unless they have worked for many of the companies in the industry.

The DW works in mortgage banking and now that I think about it the same is happening over there also.