On Thu, Feb 09, 2012 at 09:22:36AM -0700, Steve Alligood wrote: > You find that having no degree still impedes your rise up the ladder?
Yes. Not just degrees, but credentials in general. If you're already with an existing company, these credentials might not mean much to your employer for promotions, but when looking for a new job, they can make it or break it for your career. I have found, that when looking for new employment, you have to be a bit more patient with that amazing job opportunity, if you don't have any credentials. > I find this topic fascinating, because I think it is entirely > dependent on the shop, often to the shop's detriment. > > I have been doing sysadmin work for 15 years now, and most of the > shops I have worked for have ended up with several dozen admins, > most of whom do not have degrees. In fact, usually only about 10% > have degrees, and those shops have paid fairly well to anyone with > the skills and can-do attitude, and do not care about that > not-quite-worthless paper. Unfortunately for me, it was to my detriment, as I could have been making $20k more annually at the time. When I got a job offer from a fortune 500 company, they told me it was "the best we can do" because I didn't have a degree. However, they also told me that they had a tuition reimbursement program, and they would work around my school schedule, so I could finish my degree. Only then would they negotiate a better salary. I've also sat in interviews where the lack of having a degree came up in the interview. I chose not to continue entertaining those companies, "because I don't want to work for someone where a degree is everything", but I would imagine, that had I already had the degree, I would have done better for myself at the beginning. In all reality, there are a lot of shops that can and will make an issue of it, whether you hear about it or not. And if they're looking at a group of candidates that seem equally qualified for the job, the degree and other credentials become a great filter to ease the decision making process. There is no substitute for experience, but credentials, such as degrees or certifications, add a great deal of value to many potential employers. When any employer looks at job candidates, credentials are a a common way to sift through the candidates, and determine if they should come in for an interview. Someone who is CCNA certified will likely get the Cisco network administration job over the guy who doesn't. Lastly, I learned a great deal finishing my education. It was more than just jumping through hoops. I learned some fascinating abstract principles that have become very valuable in my career, such as lambda calculus, tautology and graph theory. I approach problems different now, than I did before I finished school. It's clear to me that I spend more time thinking about the problem, than just brute forcing it, looking for a solution. For me, even if it does nothing for me financially, it has done a great deal for me mentally. YMMV. -- . o . o . o . . o o . . . o . . . o . o o o . o . o o . . o o o o . o . . o o o o . o o o
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