I guess I get the education thing, but it's always kind of been of annoying to me. I mean, what's 20 years practical ,hands on experience worth ?
--- On Wed, 12/17/08, Leah Halpin <[email protected]> wrote: From: Leah Halpin <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Fw: EDI Coordinator - HOT! To: "Art Douglas" <[email protected]>, "Michael Mattias/LS" <[email protected]>, [email protected] Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 10:13 AM Art, I'd say you paid your dues and then some. I know a few other service people who've gotten all their experience and training in the military and while they have the equivalent education, training and experience that it takes to get a Bachelor's degree (or more), they don't "officially" have a BS/BA, I think the military does this to help "retention", but it's a cheat if you ask me. I'm glad I got the degree, since it's opened doors that would have remained closed, but it sure didn't make me any smarter and it didn't teach me crap about EDI. Also, I stood on the same platform and got the same degree (albeit with honors, she brags a bit) that the other students got and some of them scraped by with C's or even D's. Get a degree in something that interests you, with all your experience, the actual field won't matter, mine is in Economics, for goodness' sake! Leah ________________________________ From: Art Douglas <[email protected]> To: Leah Halpin <[email protected]>; Michael Mattias/LS <[email protected]>; [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 12:50:45 PM Subject: RE: [EDI-L] Fw: EDI Coordinator - HOT! Thanks Leah. Long, long ago, there was such a thing as the draft. They got my number (64) and called me up while I was in my Jr year at university. I thumbed my nose at them, showing my independent spirit by dodging the draft. That¢s right, I marched right down to the induction center and signed up for four years in the USAF instead. The same day, the voters of Americaagreed to give Richard Nixon four more years in the White House. I completed my commitment. He didn¢t. That¢s where I paid my dues. My first programming assignment was to parse a coded, delimited message string received electronically and transform it into a batch-loadable format to create reservations for VIP¢s to ride on AF business jets they used to keep old pilots¢ skills current. Sounds like EDI? I had to do it with COBOL 68, which has no string functions. Great thing to give a kid with virtually no programming experience, and no BS degree, eh? Well, I did it, and it worked great. But getting that BS stamp on one¢s forehead undoubtedly gets one past the gatekeepers more easily, I¢ll grant. That¢s why I consider the possibility of finishing. But remembering the professors I have had back in the day and from time-to-time since then, I have difficulty getting my head around the idea of spending several of the few hours I have remaining in my life listening to those guys, just to become bona fide. Art Douglas Lead Consultant Blackwater Network (877) 464-8915 -----Original Message----- From: Leah Halpin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 20089:09 AM To: Art Douglas; Michael Mattias/LS; [email protected] Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Fw: EDI Coordinator - HOT! It's mainly an HR thing. Lots of larger companies use it to weed out applicants. I ran into this a long time ago before I even knew how to spell EDI. I went back to school, finished up my BS and now it doesn't matter at all that it's in Economics and not computer science or related, it's truly BS, but my Dad called it "paying dues" and I guess maybe he's right. Not fair, but he's right. Mostly I see this happening when it's a buyer's market. It goes away when the economy is booming.....here's hoping! Merry Christmas to all whom it applies and Happy whatever else you might celebrate to everyone else! Oh, and, Art, I think you've got plenty of BS ;) to go with all that experience (I know you've had to put up with lots of it, anyway). Leah ________________________________ From:Art Douglas <[email protected]> To: Michael Mattias/LS <[email protected]>; [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 11:28:23 AM Subject: RE: [EDI-L] Fw: EDI Coordinator - HOT! Never mind that, Michael. You don't want it. You may not have noticed the rate: Open - Keep Low. I don't know how that aligns with "HOT" in the subject. I used to think "open" meant, "we'll pay what the candidate wants if they can deliver the goods." But lately it means, "closed" - like the posture of somebody playing poker, IOW, "I am not going to tip you off to what the client is willing to pay, because it's not enough. I hope you'll be desperate enough to settle." Okay, rant over. I don't need a gig right now anyway, thank God, or I might be desperate enough to settle. I once had an interview with the Los Angeles County Dept. of Mental Health (had to be crazy to want that one) where there was a BS Comp Sci requirement. I have an AA in business. My resume clearly states what I have, and doesn't imply that I have what I haven't. I told the recruiter that I didn't have the undergrad degree. The interview went well, embarrassingly so, (they were practically gushing when they thought they could hire me.) We concluded, shook hands warmly, and I was halfway out the door when one of the interviewers asked, "oh, by the way, where did you say your degree was from?" After that they couldn't get rid of me fast enough. Other than that, it has been mostly a non-issue. Academics has never gotten in the way of my education, nor of me delivering the work. Companies frequently cite the requirement, but like everything else, if they find the right person, the specific requirements may not be as important as they make it look. Maybe I'll go back and get that BS before I retire. Art Douglas Lead Consultant Blackwater Network (877) 464-8915 -----Original Message----- From: ed...@yahoogroups. com [mailto:ed...@yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Michael Mattias/LS Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 6:53 AM To: ed...@yahoogroups. com Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Fw: EDI Coordinator - HOT! >Req. #: 12242 Position: EDI Coordinator .... >Other Information: >Undergraduate Degree in computer science or >related field. I am not looking for a job, but I've always wondered how this requirement could be met by those of us who have actually been *doing* this kind of thing since BEFORE there was such a thing as "Computer Science" in which one could earn a degree. ??? MCM ------------ --------- --------- ------ ... 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