Are all people with degrees closed minded?

[Staples]

I met some people yesterday. We were at some restaurant. If you met me in person, I'd appear no different than any other smart professional person. Anyway, the conversation came to the topic of, what is your degree in? I told them I don't have one. I stopped going to college after a few years. Now the tone has change and I am somehow lesser and even dumber than them because they have degrees and I don't.

Some guy told me he worked with people who have never gone to college and that you can tell who went and who did because there was a big gap in the intellegence and work ethics. I told him that idiots are idiots, it isn't because they skipped college. They just are not interested in learning anything and that is why they are dumb. He still believed that college is the only way to get "smart" and if you have not gone, then you must be a dumb ass.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Staples
I met some people yesterday. We were at some restaurant. If you met me in person, I'd appear no different than any other smart professional person. ...

Shens

 

[johnjohn320]

Well, your grammar sucks, so you're not really helping your case much so far.

edit-and no, of cousre I don't think you're stupid if you don't go to college. Just pointing out some humorous irony.

 

[Red Dawn]

It's a way to validate themselves

 

[mugs]

What do you do?

 

[veggz]

I certainly see plenty of what you speak of at work, where everyone is either a Wharton, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Northwestern, or Stanford grad; I even see it between my coworkers and those from "lesser" colleges. There is a strongly negative stereotype associated with those who dropped out/never went to college, since it only makes sense that someone truly intellectually curious would attend at least some form of a post-high school institution. For myself I would say that someone who does not have a degree would probably have to work harder to earn my respect, as wrong as that sounds. However it is easy to tell whether one is truly intelligent after having spoken with him/her a couple times.

That being said, college is considered by many to be the greatest learning experience not just in academics but also in time management/work ethic, so I can see where the people you were speaking with are coming from.

 

[Staples]

Originally posted by: johnjohn320
Well, your grammar sucks, so you're not really helping your case much so far.

edit-and no, of cousre I don't think you're stupid if you don't go to college. Just pointing out some humorous irony.

Maybe I should tone it down a bit to deserve the certificate of 'not good enough for an internet forum.'

 

[yobarman]

Although im happy i gradauted college, i still think you can get by, if not better, without a college degree.

 

[Staples]

Originally posted by: mugs
What do you do?

Well I will have to admit, getting a foot the door has not been an easy task. But I was never under any false illusion. I knew it would not be easy and it has proven just that. The only decent paying jobs are contract. What I do right now is babysit a computer lab for adult continuing education. I help the students with whatever they need. It is usually MS Office suite or internet/email.

 

[johnjohn320]

Originally posted by: Staples

Originally posted by: johnjohn320
Well, your grammar sucks, so you're not really helping your case much so far.

edit-and no, of cousre I don't think you're stupid if you don't go to college. Just pointing out some humorous irony.

Maybe I should tone it down a bit to deserve the certificate of 'not good enough for an internet forum.'

Relax, man, I was just yanking your chain. That said, most people would make an attempt to write intelligently if the whole purpose of their writing is to persuade others that they are "smart." But again, I'm just fooling around. I'm sure you're a bright guy, no offense was intended.

 

[Greenman]

You run to that sometimes, it's life. A lot of people feel the need to be better than others, they talk about how much money they make, how many people work under them, how important their job is, I always just answer with "thats nice", and let it go. I?ve always been much more interested in a person?s character, rather than their bank balance or education.

 

[veggz]

Not to hijack, but at least at my school there was also this sort of discrimination between persons of different majors, i.e. engineers would often talk down to, say, English majors, which I always found completely absurd.

Regardless, after an entry level job your degree should not matter as much (in most professions, that is).

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: veggz
Regardless, after an entry level job your degree should not matter as much (in most professions, that is).

Correct. Work experience is what matters, along with your ability to communicate and to fit into a team.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: veggz
Not to hijack, but at least at my school there was also this sort of discrimination between persons of different majors, i.e. engineers would often talk down to, say, English majors, which I always found completely absurd.

Regardless, after an entry level job your degree should not matter as much (in most professions, that is).

English/Communication here - there's no worse combo for inviting derision. But I work in HR now so I'm hiring and firing the brilliant engineers.

As far as grammar goes, some of the college grads I met have TERRIBLE grammar and spelling.

Close minded? Not all. People who are snobbish about their degrees just prove that for all they learned in college, they didn't learn the value of life experience and individual worth. My dad doesn't a degree and I respect him and his achievements more than almost anyone I've ever met.

 

[Koing]

They are just being idiots.

It doesn't mean jack sh!t if you have a degree. It just meant you studied/ crammed for your exams and learnt 'stuff'.

People from lesser Uni's are sometimes impressed if you went to a higher end Uni though. Well I have found this to be true of a lot of friends of friends I have met. To me they are all just Uni's.

Koing

 

[mobobuff]

Didn't Bill Gates drop out? Or was that just a myth?

Going to college or deciding not to is certainly not the deciding factor in a person's intelligence. You could make an argument that people who attend college are more likely to have a limited, structured or "fed" intelligence. (Not that I am -- but you could).

 

[Philippine Mango]

I've met people who've graduated top schools, but soon as you put them into a new environment, they're completely clueless and useless.

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: Staples
I met some people yesterday. We were at some restaurant. If you met me in person, I'd appear no different than any other smart professional person. Anyway, the conversation came to the topic of, what is your degree in? I told them I don't have one. I stopped going to college after a few years. Now the tone has change and I am somehow lesser and even dumber than them because they have degrees and I don't.

Some guy told me he worked with people who have never gone to college and that you can tell who went and who did because there was a big gap in the intellegence and work ethics. I told him that idiots are idiots, it isn't because they skipped college. They just are not interested in learning anything and that is why they are dumb. He still believed that college is the only way to get "smart" and if you have not gone, then you must be a dumb ass.

Its social status, it has nothing to do with intelligence.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: Staples
I met some people yesterday. We were at some restaurant. If you met me in person, I'd appear no different than any other smart professional person. Anyway, the conversation came to the topic of, what is your degree in? I told them I don't have one. I stopped going to college after a few years. Now the tone has change and I am somehow lesser and even dumber than them because they have degrees and I don't.

Some guy told me he worked with people who have never gone to college and that you can tell who went and who did because there was a big gap in the intellegence and work ethics. I told him that idiots are idiots, it isn't because they skipped college. They just are not interested in learning anything and that is why they are dumb. He still believed that college is the only way to get "smart" and if you have not gone, then you must be a dumb ass.

I agree with you. People who rely on College degrees are idiots. You don't learn anything in College except how to bull ****** IMO.

 

[veggz]

Originally posted by: Koing
They are just being idiots.

It doesn't mean jack sh!t if you have a degree. It just meant you studied/ crammed for your exams and learnt 'stuff'.

People from lesser Uni's are sometimes impressed if you went to a higher end Uni though. Well I have found this to be true of a lot of friends of friends I have met. To me they are all just Uni's.

Koing

I disagree; if having a degree means "jack sh!t" then why would so many work so hard pursuing one? I think that college is a huge factor in shaping the person you turn out to be, even if all you did was studied (in which case you will have wasted your college experience, IMO).

Also, all universities ARE NOT the same. You will receive a better education if you study economics at UofC or Harvard than you will at, say, Wyoming State, or even most other colleges in the country. To me a college degree and where it is from are preliminary indications of a person's intellectual curiosity.

 

[veggz]

Originally posted by: mobobuff
Didn't Bill Gates drop out? Or was that just a myth?

Going to college or deciding not to is certainly not the deciding factor in a person's intelligence. You could make an argument that people who attend college are more likely to have a limited, structured or "fed" intelligence. (Not that I am -- but you could).

Yes, college is not a deciding factor, but I don't think anyone can argue that it is a factor, however small or large.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Originally posted by: Koing
They are just being idiots.

It doesn't mean jack sh!t if you have a degree. It just meant you studied/ crammed for your exams and learnt 'stuff'.

I'm sorry, but that is a load of crap.

The "stuff" that you learn is important. A degree has intrinsic value, because it is prima facie evidence that you learned (or at least were exposed to) "stuff."

The "stuff" that you are exposed to makes you a more well-rounded person who can better relate to other educated people. A person glancing at resumes does not read them too terribly deeply, and usually passes over those without a formal education.

Is this fair? Who gives a sh!t? That is reality.

I hear this "I did not think I needed to finish college" crap all the time. Invariably, the person saying it really did need to finish college, because they are trapped in a dead end job (or trying to get a dead end job in the first place).

Bill Gates managed to make a killer job for himself without finishing college. Mr. Gates is the exception, and not the rule.

Stay in school.

 

[aswedc]

I don't think having a college degree has anything to do with intelligence. However, if you don't have one, I'll certainly question your judgement. There better be a damn good reason you decided to limit your career and earning potential so severely. Numerous studies have shown a college education to be an investment with fantastic returns.

 

[aux]

There are well known examples of very successful college dropouts, you should've mentioned some of them. I don't want to be labeled closed minded, so I won't comment on why you didn't do that

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: veggz

Originally posted by: Koing
They are just being idiots.

It doesn't mean jack sh!t if you have a degree. It just meant you studied/ crammed for your exams and learnt 'stuff'.

People from lesser Uni's are sometimes impressed if you went to a higher end Uni though. Well I have found this to be true of a lot of friends of friends I have met. To me they are all just Uni's.

Koing

I disagree; if having a degree means "jack sh!t" then why would so many work so hard pursuing one? I think that college is a huge factor in shaping the person you turn out to be, even if all you did was studied (in which case you will have wasted your college experience, IMO).

Also, all universities ARE NOT the same. You will receive a better education if you study economics at UofC or Harvard than you will at, say, Wyoming State, or even most other colleges in the country. To me a college degree and where it is from are preliminary indications of a person's intellectual curiosity.

What does where my degree is from have to do with my ability to do the job? Any job?

Some people squeaked by/cheated their way thru college.

I go by the following rating system when rating a potential addition to my department (Network/Server Admin):

1. Real world experience, proven by a hands-on test that I give you. Let's see if you can walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

2. Communication skills. You may be able to debug a 4GB dump file, but can you SPEAK? How are you in group settings? Can you communicate w/your coworkers and not just the console?

3. Work experience. How long have you been doing this? References? VERIFIABLE references?

4. College degree in whatever.

All a degree does is get your foot in the door for more jobs. In my case, I'm 30 credits away from a BS in Management. I need the degree b/c a few years from now, I want to be the IT Head. The CIO...or the CIO in Training. To do that, you need the degree.

I can manage servers. I can manage people. I want more money. Ergo the degree. But the degree is not necessary to do my current job; SKILLS are.