Ray: Well said. A BS degree says volumes about something Granddaddy used to call sticktoedness. His brothers had it, he claimed he didn't.
Truth was, he paid for their degrees with his sticktoedness in the school of hard knocks circa 1920- 1930. He earned his degree in Living through it all during WW I, and knew something without a degree that his country-bumkin brothers did not. Learning about the world around you shatters stereo-types, broadens horizons, and grants you tools that hidebound homebodies cannot possess. If you cannot hire a graduate of WW1, or WWII, then a 4 year degree from a decent university is the next best thing. However, for any job with any degree of difficulty I would also want someone with at least a modicum of skill in two other languages. Daddy taught me German while I was still in diapers. (While growing up it was a handy tool to discuss things momma and sister did not need to know!) Mom taught me Latin and French as soon as she found out what Daddy was doing. I can now violate several languages with my accent! (BTW In some weird genetic fashion, I cannot speak French. I can understand most of it, even the 15th century stuff spoken in Jennings and Vacherie Louisiana, but I cannot wrap my tongue around the language). Hold out for the person that fills the bill! I spent a lot of time yesterday with a former enemy. He was a Soviet NCO stationed right across the border from where I was stationed in West Germany. He works for my University now, and I would trust him with my life. Can most people grasp how lucky we are to have him, and his unique outlook? No. He spends 40 to 50% of his time training student workers. Think of what they will take away from that... He is a one man ambassador. I always used to tell my fellow soldiers that the only chance the human race had, was that the Soviets loved their children every bit as much as we loved ours. It turned out I was right. Igor tells you what happened to a society after they grow up. He doesn't mean to be a comic, he just grasps irony. Stick to your goals. It is your job to fill. Hire the right person. That is what moves this country forward. Tesla was not born here. Hire whomever can get the job done! Doug --- -ray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As the person who wrote that job description, I can > tell you why we want > someone with a 4 year degree. Getting a degree is > hard work. It's a pain > in the ass, and probably one of the most difficult > things to do in life. > So, right off the bat, it tells me here is a person > that set a difficult > goal for themselves, pulled through all the crap, > busted their butt, and > completed the goal. That says a lot. The number of > very intelligent > people that i know who didn't finish their degree > because it was too much > of a hassle far outnumbers the number of people who > have a degree. > > Most BS curricula are pretty broad. I was forced to > take communications > and writing, math, physics, economics, and > accounting courses and lots of > other junk. I didn't realize it at the time, but > those courses help me > more everyday than i would have ever imagined. If > you want specific > examples, i can give them. > > I think a CS degree is more about teaching you > concepts and fundamentals. > Once you have that foundation, you take it with you > and build on it for > the rest of your career. That's why your degree > doesn't expire when the > next version of Acme Dillware Pro is released. > Technical schools are good > at teaching practical topics, like administering > Cisco or NT. Those > skills won't be as useful in 10 years. But the > concepts -- > communications, architecture, OS concepts, data > structures, logic -- the > stuff you learn in college, probably won't change > much in 10 years. > Whether you *need* the concepts to learn the > practical applications is > debatable. But it sure makes things a lot clearer > for me. > > Make no mistake. Like everywhere else, we have some > real morons with > degrees on staff. We also have some very talented > people without degrees. > I don't like talking to the morons. My only advice > to the talented guys > is get your degree. It'll make you that much more > valuable in the job > market. If you already know all the stuff I > mentioned above, then prove > it. Finish your degree. > > And it doesn't have to be a 4 year degree. My 5.5 > year degree works fine > as well. :) > > ray > -- > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > Ray DeJean http://www.r-a-y.org > Systems Engineer Southeastern > Louisiana University > IBM Certified Specialist AIX Administration, > AIX Support > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > [email protected] > http://brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com
