[aclug-L] Re: Cool new fan site....hehe

[Carl D Cravens <raven@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

My point was that it doesn't matter in terms of ability to do something...
that having a degree doesn't mean you know how to do much of anything; it
just means you passed the classes.  I got my degree for the exact same
reason as you... to get me in the doors of companies that wouldn't even
look at me, regardless of what I knew.  I don't think the degree is all
that useful for nuts and bolts experience, but it's certainly the key to
unlocking the serious IT jobs out there.

On Fri, 14 Apr 2000, Jeffrey L. Hansen wrote:

> As someone who has been trying, in vain, to finish a BS CS since 1981, I
> can tell you for certain that companies refuse to even consider the resume
> of someone for a programming position when the person has no degree.  I
> have experience programming large projects in FORTRAN, Pascal, and VB.
> I'm currently working on experience in C.  I have all the schooling I need
> for the degree with the exception of a couple of electives and a few GenEd
> courses.  I can testify that it's a lost cause to try to convince the
> companies that I'm worth a try.  Please don't try to tell me that it
> doesn't matter.  I'll likely be stuck in this position for the duration as
> a result of not finishing.
> 
> Sorry about the divergence from the theme.  This seems to be the thread
> for it.
> 
> jeff
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, 14 Apr 2000, brinkley j harrell wrote:
> 
> > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: discussion-bounce@xxxxxxxxx 
> > >
> > >     {snip}
> > > 
> > > As someone who *does* have a four-year degree (BS in CS), I 
> > > don't think it
> > > means all that much.  When it comes down to it, you still 
> > > learn all the
> > > nuts and bolts on your own, and you find that being able to write BNF
> > > grammars, draw automata state diagrams, or calculate the 
> > > runtime magnitude
> > > of an algorithm really isn't all that useful when you're configuring a
> > > router.  i.e. it don't take a college degree to learn how to be a
> > > Unix/Linux system admin... it just takes hands-on experience 
> > > and a group
> > > of knowledgable peers.  You learn real system administration 
> > > from other
> > > administrators, not from a bunch of newbies trying to teach each other
> > > what they don't know.  
> > >
> > >     {snip}
> > 
> > 
> > As someone who writes personnel requirements and hires people, I
> > disagree with you strongly about the degree position. Having a BS in
> > Computer Science does not make you a literate computer user or
> > administrator. It will get you _P_A_I_D_ more!
> > 
> > Frankly, if you have the professional computer experience and can back
> > it up, I could care less what the degree is in.
> > 
> > --
> > -----------------------------------------
> > Brinkley Harrell
> > Sprint ATD, ION Service Development
> > mailto:brinkley.j.harrell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > -----------------------------------------
> > 
> > 
> > 
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> > 
> 
> 
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--
Carl D Cravens (raven@xxxxxxxxxxx)
Hey! We're out of wine, women, and song! !@#$*!?% NO MERRIER


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