Do it over again? The other side 3

[CajunCenturion]

In a previous thread, the question was asked of those who have degrees if they would do it over again. In that thread keyser456 correctly pointed out that there is the other side of the coin, that being from those who do not have degrees.

So I ask of those who do NOT have degrees, if you could do it over, would you get a degree, and if so, in what discipline?

Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Grenage]

The words of the the second most powerful man in the country mean as much to me as the words of my neighbour.

While I agree with those words, whom they came from does not carry much weight.

Let us also remember that education is not right for every person and it is pointless encouraging people through to university who will not benefit.

People are still needed to gas your car and pack your bags at the supermarket, no?

 

[sha76]

Gas your car & pack your bags? Sorry, had to laugh, we manage perfectly well without them in the UK!
Still a valid point though, even if the examples don't translate!

 

[screwloose]

There will always need to be an underclass.

As for the comment about the Federal Reserve Chairman's comments having the same weight as your neighbors is ludicrous and inept. I realize you are not from the USA, but controlling the economy is an extremely powerful position, and I doubt your neighbors have any insight into economics at that level.

 

[RiverGuy]

I am 26. I have an Associate's Degree. And I'm a senior towards my Bachelor's. I'll get a graduate degree later on.

I more or less wasted my time when I was 18. I didn't take it seriously. So I took 3 years off and started almost brand-new at 22 for the degrees.

I would of course like to have pursued it sooner. I wish I did. I'm glad I am now.

But, for me, the biggest reward is that I just enjoy doing it for the most part. I like the sense of accomplishing things. It may help me in the future in my career, but it may not. I may be as successful without it than with. But I am already happy with the fact that it might not, and I'm doing it because I want to, enjoy it, and can do it. Although sometimes it is hard to enjoy when working full time and taking 9 to 12 hours a semester.

 

[MattGreer]

I'm curious if the non-degree folks would indicate their salary range vs. folks with the expensive piece of paper framed on the wall.

Why is it everyone thinks that University = debt? I know a lot of folks that went to great schools and didn't have to borrow their way through, and no, they weren't rich either.

I myself *did* borrow money during school, but it was only to make a more comfortable existence for myself. I could have done without it. Plus that 486 that I put together set me back $4000.... hehehheheh Man that was a long time ago. 16 MB of ram was $600...

Thanks!!


Matt

 

[Grenage]

screwloose, I think my point was put across poorly.

What I meant is that surely it is common sense that education is important for future generations and the progress of any country. Such a statement is like saying "we need oxygen in our air".

 

[Swi]

MattGreer,

I think why most people say University = Debt is because most people that go to college are coming right out of high school. Most professionals have tuition reimbursement and/or the company pays for the education completely so money is not necessarily an issue but I don't know of many young people coming right out of high school that go to a 4 year school that do not have debt unless they have a VERY good paying job while going to school or mommy and daddy paid for most of their education.

Swi

 

[robbieguy2003]

I personally didnt do a degree because i knew where i wanted to go and what i wanted to do. I did enquire at some very respectable universitys in the UK (kent being one) and everyone wanted to push Java down my throat.

I don't want to do Java development, i really dont need the *experience* of going to uni for 4 years.

I had a trainee job waiting in the job position i wanted to work in (Large scale Lan/wan based networks) and worked my way up. Working in that job for 4 years gave me promotion, technical and non-technical skills and more real world experience than any university in the UK could have ever gave me.

I can see people's view's on getting a degree but personally as i knew what i wanted to do, had a basic education i just wanted to get right into industry.

Rob



Servers live with the rule - What goes up must come down

 

[onpnt]

I dropped out of high school when I was 17 and lived on the streets for while. The punk scene thing! I saw some horrid things and missed out on going to college and getting the educational background that most of my co-workers have all around me. For instance proper grammar!

Now I'm pushing 30 and came out of the gutter to finish high school, finish a AAS degree in CIS and moving on to a BS soon. I have a great job, great family and a decent house in a nice quiet neighborhood.

"Would I do it again?"

Absolutely!!! Exactly the same way. The way I did things is what made me who I am today.

I know my work and help is respected not only here but all around me. That is all I need to feel good about my past and how I became what I am. Not a piece of paper when I was 22 or 24 years old so I would be a few steps farther at 30.

I feel complete and that's all we should be worried about. If your missing something in life then go find it. Don't whine about doing it over the so called right way.


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[mikeyb123]

I agree with Robbie.

The furthest I got in education was a HND in electrical and electronic engineering - I only got to university 'cos they changed from a poly to uni whilst I was there....

I've never wanted to go through 3/4 years of education in a field that may not be relevent to what you do/are interrested in.

I ended up working in telecoms more by accident than anything else and I got a place at poly to make the numbers up on the course.

Too much pressure is put on students today to go to uni and not consider anything else.


It's not getting any smarter out there. You have to come to terms with stupidity, and make it work for you.

 

[sha76]

onpnt - good post, but particularly the last line, life's far too short for regrets.

 

[onpnt]

Thanks sha76

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[RileyCat]

Too much pressure is put on students today to go to uni and not consider anything else."

Amen to that! My only regret to my early college years was that I was going to school to pursue my parents dreams rather than my own. Yes, I graduated -- with a 2-year degree after 4 years of college -- and got a job right out of college. The thing was though, I hated it!

Fortunately, I had the wherewithal to come to my senses and do what I had to do to get into the career field that I was interested in. Now, several years later I am more successful in my career choice than I would have been if I had stayed in the career my parents had chosen for me.

Now, I am returning to school to complete a degree, not because I need to to retain or advance in my career but for my own personal satisfaction of saying I did it!

My first degree was in Accounting |-I -- my career choice is I.T. The two are obviously not related. Instead of sitting around and moaping about a poor first choice of careers I did what it took to get my foot in the door and prove my abilities in the I.T. world.

Would I do it again -- yes. Because it taught me to not give up and to have the drive and motivation to do what was necessary to make myself happy and comfortable rather than to please those around me. Nobody should be pressured to pursue a degree, career, or anything for that matter that doesn't meet their individual dreams or needs.

 

[lespaul]

I would have to disagree with you, RileyCat, in your assertion that accounting and IT are obviously not related. Every aspect of business and IT are obviously related!

I am a self taught Staff Accountant, worked for 10 years in the accounting field. Decided to get a BBA with an MIS concentration. One of my top "ultimate" jobs would be to create an accounting program. Why? Because I know accounting, I know how to program, and I have a unique perspective on how to build an accounting program. My previous experience as a data entry clerk gives me another unique perspective in how to create easy to enter data screens.

The idea that IT is insular from the rest of the business only perpetuates the idea that all we know is computers. I believe that you need to be able to see each component of the business and apply IT practices to making that portion of the business run smoother and more efficiently, ultimately reducing costs.

Leslie

 

[screwloose]

Leslie,

I know a guy who spent four years developing an accounting/farm management program from scratch in C++ and owned his own little business in a rural area with access to a larger town of 30,000 about 15 minutes away.

He attempted to sell his program and the companies who agreed to market it for him, with large ads in magazines, etc., wanted a split of 80/20; they get 80% of the revenue, due to the cost of marketing and no surety of getting their costs back. He didn’t want to do that because of his hard work and the software ultimately became shelf-ware at his home.

He also had a wife and small child and ended up turning to corporate life as a programmer in a very large city out of state.

 

[lespaul]

Oh, I don't want to develop a commercial package, but something in house would be cool!

Leslie

 

[CajunCenturion]

...my career choice is I.T. The two are obviously not related.

You're kidding right?

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Swi]

They may not be related in RileyCat's case. It all depends on where RileyCat works. I have been programming professionally for 4 years now (I know, not very long) and have never had to develop anything direcly related to accounting.

Swi

 

[lespaul]

That's not my point, my point is that you have to understand other aspects of business. Whatever that business is. I work in a courthouse. I have to know about how the statute and the fines correspond, how the bond is applied to a person but can be used to pay for fines, how the accounting department refunds bonds, how the clerks enter the citations into our system, how each sentence is applied, how to convert a financial fine to a community service payment (and how to convert it back if the person doesn't successfully complete the community service). You have to be able to see how IT can improve the business, no matter what the business is. If you don't know what debits and credits are and whether or not a credit is a positive or negative number depending on what kind of account it is, then you are going to have to learn the basics of accounting before you can design a system to improve the efficiency of the accounting department. I have to know how the courtroom process works in order to improve the efficiency of the courtroom.

The people who work in IT not only have to know our own functions but also the functions of every other department in the business. Accounting, purchasing, administration, whatever. IT is not its own little world! We have to interact with all the other divisions within our companies and know how they do their jobs and what can make their jobs easier.

Leslie

 

[EBGreen]

I don't think an IT professional must know any particular aspect of business. However, I think he/she must be able to identify and assimilate what portion of his/her companies business is required to be the best IT professional that they can be.

[blue]"Well, once again my friend, we find that science is a two headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences,...but the other head of science is BAD! Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur; it bites!!" - The Tick[/blue]