Re: degree requirement

I will agree with Jeff on this one, I have faced allot
of the same problems that he has. I never had the
opportunity to attend college. Unfortunately, things
just never seemed to work out that way at that
particular time in my life. I still ended up in this
industry through a fairly round about way. Now I have
been a programmer for three or four years I know
serval languages on at least four different platforms.
So far I have yet to meet a college graduate with a
similar level of experience that I can't program rings
around. Yet every time I walk into a new company I
have to prove myself all over again just because I
lack that useless peace of parchment. 

> Personality, honesty, sincerity, integrity are more
>valuable guides that can only be judged in an
>interview, by screening out all c.v's without a 
>degree on them is blinkered, short-sightedness in the
>extreme.  The importance of qualifications should
>decrease as relevant experience increases.


This is absolutely the case and I wish more hiring
managers and IT professionals could see that.

(Sorry guys this just hit on a sore spot for me)

--------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 08:56:29 +0100
From: "Bull, Jeff" <BullJ1@Midas-Kapiti.com>
Subject: Re:  degree requirement

I believe that a good degree is a useful indication of
a young 
candidates
ability to work at, and stick at something, and
perhaps too that they 
have a
measure of intelligence.  As for the subject of the
degree . . . a Phys 
Ed
or History degree would give me no indication of any
aptitude for a
computing career, and the same can be true of Math or
Science degrees.
Personality, honesty, sincerity, integrity are more
valuable guides 
that can
only be judged in an interview, by screening out all
c.v's without a 
degree
on them is blinkered, short-sightedness in the
extreme.  The importance 
of
qualifications should decrease as relevant experience
increases.
        I got into computing 17 years ago after a 9 year
stretch in the
military, in a totally unrelated role.  I was a
home-computer geek 
while in
the military, on leaving I took three consecutive
computing courses 
over one
year (i.e. NO degree) came top, or close to in all,
and have had a
successful career in computing since.  BUT, I do come
up against the
corporate degree-policy every time I change job (not
too frequently).   
        There are good and bad in all walks of life, the
computing industry
is no exception.  The worst, the very worst, colleague
I ever had the
misfortune to program alongside (he took over six
months to complete a
fairly straight-forward report program) was probably
also the best
qualified, on paper.
        
Jeff Bull.

------------------------------


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