It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussion (archive)I'm At College!(53 posts)(53 posts)
(53 posts)
Pages:
1
2
3
4
This is my favourite topic
Posted August 21, 2010
avatar
AndrewC: I swear to god, up to now the only thing Uni has been good to me was networking (as in getting to know people in the field and making contacts in the industry) and starting to lose hair due to stress than anything else.
I'm still of the opinion, that, at least in IT, certs and experience weigh much much more than a degree, view which has been proven by the jobs I've managed to land so far.

Except it hasn't in my experience. When up to 50% of the people around you have degrees, not having one is a big competitive disadvantage...
Posted August 21, 2010
avatar
Gundato: And that is what makes you a dirty stinking hippie :p

Hey man, where's the love man? We're all, like, human, man. Love.
Posted August 21, 2010
Oh, the middle ground is Business or Political Science.
Neither of which are particularly difficult majors (seriously, look at the average person who majors in either of them. Hell, look at the average business exec or politician :p). They both lead to pretty decent jobs, and you will still have plenty of time to take the fun electives.
Plus, they are both so generic you can use them to get just about anything short of a Medical/Science/Engineering gig (where they care more about your degree for legal purposes).
That's why I always encourage people to not list themselves as undeclared, and just major in one of those while they are thinking. Worst case scenario: You graduate in four years and have a semi-useful piece of paper. And even if you do change to a different major, having a double major or minor in either of those can only help your resume.
Post edited August 21, 2010 by Gundato
Posted August 21, 2010
avatar
H2IWclassic: Except it hasn't in my experience. When up to 50% of the people around you have degrees, not having one is a big competitive disadvantage...

I never said that you shouldn't get one, I just stated that certs provide a greater incentive to hire a person no matter if they got their degree in something not IT related for example. I guess it may vary by field of work, but in my specific case (database systems and large networks) my Oracle and Cisco certs (and the work in progress MCTS in SQL Server) + work experience outweigh by far my Computer Science degree that I don't even have yet because I'm an undergrad.
Posted August 21, 2010
avatar
H2IWclassic: Except it hasn't in my experience. When up to 50% of the people around you have degrees, not having one is a big competitive disadvantage...
avatar
AndrewC: I never said that you shouldn't get one, I just stated that certs provide a greater incentive to hire a person no matter if they got their degree in something not IT related for example. I guess it may vary by field of work, but in my specific case (database systems and large networks) my Oracle and Cisco certs (and the work in progress MCTS in SQL Server) + work experience outweigh by far my Computer Science degree that I don't even have yet because I'm an undergrad.

This degree I'm doing now includes some of those certs (MCSA, Comptia, CCNA). Most of the jobs I would have worked up the ranks through have been outsourced, I used to do support for a newspaper firm until they packed up for the far east.
Posted August 21, 2010
avatar
Gundato: I would also like to add that if you are seriously considering any of the majors listed in that joke article, be damned sure about it. Actually do some research and see what kinds of jobs will be available to you. Learning for the sake of learning is great, but it helps to actually pick something you would like to do.
One of the bigger problems/reasons behind people who feel their college years were a waste is what they majored in. It might seem REALLY cool to major in philosophy and I am sure you will learn a lot of great things and be the life of a party. But you also need to think about what you will actually do for a living.
Of course, there is also the opposite. People who major in something they absolutely hate and are miserable.

I know exactly what I want to do. I'm studying Journalism/Broadcasting. I was planning on going into Sports Media, but that seems to be the new Business degree these days, so I'm also trying to figure out what I need to do in order to work on documentaries and TV shows (which would both be as equally awesome, maybe even more so than Sports Media).
No matter how you slice it, field experience will always be the most important thing you learn. But it's always good to further your education. College Algebra, not so much. I won't need to know the square root of seven when I'm shooting a scene in a movie or TV show.
Post edited August 21, 2010 by TheCheese33
Posted August 21, 2010
avatar
Titanium: I think my total college expenses this year amounted to a whopping €100. That's like double the last year's blood money tax. I officially gave more money to GOG than for my higher education. All hail socialised education, all the back breaking school work at a fraction of the cost! Of course, with all that excess money laying around, the government easily makes up the difference in funding with extra tax on beer. It's a win - win.

If only Americans would think this way... we'd be healthier and better educated.
avatar
Gundato: It might seem REALLY cool to major in philosophy and I am sure you will learn a lot of great things and be the life of a party. But you also need to think about what you will actually do for a living.

I haven't met an MBA yet who was smarter than, or even as smart as, a BA in Philosophy.
Everything academic you need to know to be a "businessman" can be learned in a weekend. The valuable things you need to know are learned by doing the job.
Good hiring managers understand that a degree is a series of hoop jumping events intended to prove that a candidate has jumped through X number of hoops, and they'll hire the guy with a degree in philosophy.
If a manager won't hire you for a sales job without a degree in sales, you didn't want to work for that manager anyway.
Post edited August 21, 2010 by HoneyBakedHam
Posted August 21, 2010
avatar
Titanium: I think my total college expenses this year amounted to a whopping €100. That's like double the last year's blood money tax. I officially gave more money to GOG than for my higher education. All hail socialised education, all the back breaking school work at a fraction of the cost! Of course, with all that excess money laying around, the government easily makes up the difference in funding with extra tax on beer. It's a win - win.
avatar
HoneyBakedHam: If only Americans would think this way... we'd be healthier and better educated.
avatar
Gundato: It might seem REALLY cool to major in philosophy and I am sure you will learn a lot of great things and be the life of a party. But you also need to think about what you will actually do for a living.

I haven't met an MBA yet who was smarter than, or even as smart as, a BA in Philosophy.
Everything academic you need to know to be a "businessman" can be learned in a weekend. The valuable things you need to know are learned by doing the job.
Good hiring managers understand that a degree is a series of hoop jumping events intended to prove that a candidate has jumped through X number of hoops, and they'll hire the guy with a degree in philosophy.
If a manager won't hire you for a sales job without a degree in sales, you didn't want to work for that manager anyway.

The counter-argument being: I haven't met a BA in Philosophy who doesn't come across as a pot-smoking academic (interpret that as derisively as you want :p).
There are idiots in all majors. I have met MANY engineers who make me terrified to drive across bridges or hold a cell phone to my ear. And I have met some fashion majors who are ACTUALLY very intelligent. Haven't actually met an intelligent Womens Studies major, but I'll admit that I tend to avoid them for fear of castration.
You are right there. For most jobs, the diploma is just a piece of paper that says you are at least four years old. And, for most jobs, that is enough. You'll be able to get a pretty good sales job and the like. But if you want to climb the ladder, you are going to be a lot better off with a degree related to your career. If you are cool with sticking with relatively low-level positions your whole life, go for it. Hell, maybe you'll prove VERY competent and climb the ladders to be a CEO.
But definitely be damned sure about what you want out of life before you commit.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)I'm At College!(53 posts)(53 posts)
(53 posts)