Do you think a college degree is important?

[Kyanimal]

I think the process of getting the degree is more important than the degree itself.

BINGO!, Quanchi!!!

The EXPERIENCE of getting the degree is FAR More Important than the Diploma itself!!

Hopefully, You'll learn to NETWORK! And, meet some people who might be Influential in Your Life!

Yeah! I have a degree! And though the "Sheepskin" may be important for getting into a company, working for someone else, that's only the beginning! It's what you've learned to DO with it that counts!

Upon our Graduation, our Dean said, "With this Diploma, and a Quarter, you can get a cup of coffee anywhere in the World!" (Yeah! It was THAT long ago!)

It is SO True that "WHO" You Know is sometimes more important than "WHAT" You Know! But, if You expect that to get You anywhere, You'ld still better KNOW what You are Doing!

What You may learn "Outside" of the Classroom can have far more repercussions on how well You will do beyond School!

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[backpacker]

Why do the college graduates often get picked over people with more experience, but no degree? One reason is that companies want to hire people who can grow with the company. They not only look if they can do job, but what is the potential that they can grow into higher level jobs within the company. Companies need to cultivate talent to be successful in the long run.

 

[drhladnjak]

I agree with what Endlight wrote above. For pretty much any white collar position, having a college degree is at least used as a first cut. It doesn't really matter where it's from or what it's in so much as that you have one at all. A couple of my friends here work for the county government doing jobs that certainly don't require college-level knowledge at all. It's even true for a lot of blue collar positions like firefighters and police officers now too.

For example, one does benefits and payroll, which is mostly following regulations, filing and data entry--things any intelligent person with some basic computer and organizational skills could pick up fairly quickly. He makes decent money, has good benefits and lots of stability. Anybody being considered for the job has to have a college degree. There are so many candidates that it's the easiest way to narrow down the field. There are even coworkers who do the same job who have been around for a long time who don't have college degrees, but that's only because they were hired back when the applicant pool and expectations were different.

Where I work (major corporation you've all heard of), I can't think of anybody who doesn't have a college degree except maybe the people who clean the building and work in the cafeteria. A college degree has become the union card of the white collar world.

 

[LatinoSTAR]

I have my high school diploma, but i dont want to go to college, because i feel a degree is just a piece of paper, i make good money where im at right now, so it doesnt bother me

 

[Swellegant]

Like many above, I believe that a college education is important, but a degree is only important in certain fields of endeavor. I mean, if you're planning to enter one of the trades, if you want to drive a truck or build houses or landscape gardens, a degree will do you no good at all; but if you want to enter the business world, you'll need at least a BA/BS in order to get a foot in the door... that's the current climate.

But when you're going for that degree, focusing on the educational rather than the documentary side of things is paramount. When an employer looks at your resume, s/he's not looking to see what particular tasks you learned in college that will be an asset to their company... they don't really care if you got your degree in business or biology or basketweaving for that matter. What they're looking for is can you commit yourself to a plan of action, do the required brainwork, and carry through to the end. If you can get through college, particularly a reputable college and with a high GPA, you've demonstrated that you are a good worker with your brain, and that's what's important to someone who is looking to employ your brain rather than your back and hands.

So in chasing down a college degree, unless you are in a hurry to get any old kind of degree and have to go for a business degree in one of those crammer colleges, go for something that you're passionate about. Health and Human Services, Humanities, Queer Studies, whatever. Any liberal arts education will train your mind to do better work; it will also enrich your life, open up your interests, reveal layers of meaning in everday things.

 

[Endlight]

But when you're going for that degree, focusing on the educational rather than the documentary side of things is paramount. When an employer looks at your resume, s/he's not looking to see what particular tasks you learned in college that will be an asset to their company... they don't really care if you got your degree in business or biology or basketweaving for that matter. What they're looking for is can you commit yourself to a plan of action, do the required brainwork, and carry through to the end. If you can get through college, particularly a reputable college and with a high GPA, you've demonstrated that you are a good worker with your brain, and that's what's important to someone who is looking to employ your brain rather than your back and hands.
QUOTE]


And that sir, is the best explanation I have ever encountered of why the first item checked on a resume, is: Does the applicant have a degree

Thank you

 

[Great Big C]

I think the process of getting the degree is more important than the degree itself.

Absolutely.

One of the best "life lessons" that I've learned is that knowledge isn't about knowing the answer, knowledge is knowing how to find the answer. That's what you learn in school.

That said, no it's not, and shouldn't be the be-all and end-all for all fields and career paths. In my industry, though, an undergraduate degree (and an apprenticeship) is required for licensure. I got my undergrad in the necessary field, double majored in Business Admin to give me two undergrad degrees. Now, I'm working on a graduate degree. Had I not had that education, I could not have even gotten into my field, much less been able to follow a career path beyond my original position. Then again, my first partner, and still friend, didn't go to college, and works in the insurance industry. He has been incredibly successful and makes gobs more money than I do.

 

[shyboy]

the thing with those qualfications and certificates is... .that a person cannot be judged just by this piece of paper, and that definately doesnt mean a person is intelligent or dumb....

i mean... a friend of mine is highly qualifed in several subjects (about 15 or 18) and i only have a proper qualification for 7... but damn... he's got a slow brain... when we tell jokes between us.. it takes him about 10 or 15 mins to figure them out.

another fact is

my colleague at work has just finished a diploma in marketing, and i dont have any diploma... however he aint even able to do half of the work i do, and i dont even have any marketing exerience!