On 10/24/12 09:19, Hearns, John wrote: > Thing is, I need some kind of degree in this stuff to do the kind of > work I really want to do. Especially in Germany, organisations > involved in HPC usually strictly require an advanced degree if you > want to be paid. > > > In the UK it is quite normal for people who want to gain qualifications > whilst working to go through the Open University http://www.open.ac.uk/ > > http://www8.open.ac.uk/europe/in-your-country/germany
This is actually a really interesting problem to me personally, as, despite having followed the traditional degree path, I would have MUCH rathered not have paid or attended any classes. I am 100% a book-learner and put zero stock in old-school style lecture formats. I actually set up a number of agreements in undergrad where the teacher knew I wouldn't be there except for exams, and achieved some of my highest grades for those courses. This form of learning is far more efficient in nearly every way, and allows one to learn at his or her own pace. Does anyone know of any efforts to just establish tests that one could take in order to be accredited as having one skill-set or another? I haven't yet bumped into any establishments like that, but I feel like they have to be out there. Such a system would put degrees on the order of a few thousand of dollars/euros instead of the current standard (at least here in the US), where you're leaving undergrad with tens of thousands in debt and graduate degrees generally (masters/etc other than PhDs) leave you with hundreds of thousands in debt. There is no reason for this -- I don't need majestic stone buildings, overworked professors, and well-kept greenery to learn. This is an artifact of an older age and in my personal opinion, it's got to go. Best, ellis _______________________________________________ Beowulf mailing list, [email protected] sponsored by Penguin Computing To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
