*Sigh* Fred has a good point again

[laurence]

That's just for me, I'm that important. See what higher education can get you?

Explaining that much beer on the expense report is always a b****, though!

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Well, a college education does help you learn how to deal with rabid feminists. I learned to listen to their men-bashing BS and then when it came time to moving office furniture, I told them, "I can't help you move that 200-lb. desk because by doing so I would inadvertently belittle your capability as womyn and further the patriarchal dominance." You should have seen the look on their faces.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

I think most people would be drones anyway. For every high school dropout/barely grad that goes on to be fabulously succesful (Subway founder) you have 10,000 who are emptying trash cans at my office and renting a room and getting into fist fights at the beer league softball game over a call at second base. This is first hand observation, I have friends and relatives there and their lives are pretty monotonous and sh***y. My friends who went to college actually seem to have independent thought, aspirations, something to live for. Those who didn't seem to be distracted themselves with cheap beer and BBQ's while they "wait for God".

...also, I agree with some others here, college was a blast for me, saw a lot, did a lot, played a lot, and had my world view broadened. And I went to a crap university!

According to Drucker (well, there goes my independent thought process), us knowledge workers own the means of production, our know-how and skills, so we get to pick and choose whom we will work for. Without a degree, even if you somehow manage to get into the knowledge-worker ranks, you're still bound to one employer because outside of that one employer, you have no credibility. Sad but true.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Maybe its not do-able today...but...

No college degree, barely escaped high school. Plenty of employers willing to hire me throughout my career. A couple of companies that wouldnt even look at a resume that didnt have a masters or higher on it...their loss. Retired at 39.

Seems one can learn and be employed without it, at least during the 80's and 90's...

 

[astromeria]

If you can get past the gatekeepers without a degree, appearing to fit into the environment is what counts, which in the software biz anyhow usually means smart & articulate, can answer tricky questions without getting flustered, not too terribly introverted or arrogant, and willing to do what it takes (work weekends, travel, cut corners, fix someone else's bugs...). And as to arrogance, some places are not very particular! <oblique reference to "Sense & Sensibility">

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Maybe its not do-able today...but...

No college degree, barely escaped high school. Plenty of employers willing to hire me throughout my career. A couple of companies that wouldnt even look at a resume that didnt have a masters or higher on it...their loss. Retired at 39.

Seems one can learn and be employed without it, at least during the 80's and 90's...

What exactly did you do, CFB, software sales? Well, that's an exception. A good sales guy is literally worth millions, so degrees aren't that important.

 

[Nords]

What exactly did you do, CFB, software sales?

Oooooh... I just heard a gauntlet slap to the ground...

 

[REWahoo]

What exactly did you do, CFB, software sales?

Oooooh... I just heard a gauntlet slap to the ground...

Hmmmm. I always thought he was in marketing...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

A little of everything. Started out as a teenager getting the coffee and running the cash register at a computer store and learned coding on my own. Wrote systems software for about 5 years, did some microprocessor and communications equipment hardware work for about 4 years, sales for another 5, IT for four, and then marketing for three.

Ah Wahoo...if it werent for us marketing guys, folks like you wouldnt know what you really wanted and what to buy! You'd all be lost down at the Best Buy, wandering around with vacant stares, leaving with full wallets and empty arms...

Life just wouldnt feel complete. Everyone would just feel an empty ache in the pit of their stomachs and not know how to fill it.