College Degree?

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?

  • Have one / getting one

  • I do not have one


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IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
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completed my MS prior to BS.

BS grades would have kept me from Grad school; so snuck in the back door while an underGrad

I regret not finishing the MS. I work in a different field now so it wouldn't have been terribly useful, but I was so close.

If I had it to do over again, I'd seriously consider pharmacy though I really, really hate chemistry.
 

rcpratt

Lifer
Jul 2, 2009
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B.S. in engineering, will probably do some kind of M.S. in business or management at some point.
 

FDF12389

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2005
5,234
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No degree, not necessary. They are becoming less and less useful and important. Employers are finally realizing that the little piece of paper doesn't mean a damn thing and are putting more emphasis on your abilities and capability to do the job. Schools and test taking teach you very little aside from how to be a good test taker.

It took me a bit of work to get where I am without a degree, but now I have enough experience under my belt that a degree is totally irrelevant. successkid.jpg

Pretty much this, I have enough skill-sets to keep me at a compensation rate that I could be happy with living on for a good portion of the future, that being said I'm still slowly plugging away at a degree, but I prioritize my career.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
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Unfortunately, I've observed the exact opposite in my career. The last two companies have required degrees and we've had good candidates interview who did not have a degree and we weren't allowed to hire them.

That's just sad. Your higher ups have no business doing what they do.
 

sourceninja

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2005
8,805
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I don't need a degree. I have the job I want and the pay I want. I'm getting my degree because my job wants me to have it and is paying for it.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
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BBA and MBA

Use stuff from both everyday. MBA has assisted me in getting my last two jobs.
 
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ahenkel

Diamond Member
Jan 11, 2009
5,357
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No degree here, and I do regret it. I've never been good at the traditional school thing. Not the actual learning part I pick things up rather fast. Its the day to day crap like homework, showing up for class, the reading especially if it doesn't interest me. I do exceptionally well with tests though even with only a basic understanding of the material.
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
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I am debating an MBA but unfortunately, tuition reimbursement is only a little over $5K per year and that won't cut it for such a risky proposition IMO.
 

Toastedlightly

Diamond Member
Aug 7, 2004
7,214
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Will be getting my Bachelor of Chemical Engineering in May as well as my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry.

While I haven't used ~50% of the stuff I learned in school in my internships, the other 50% is absurdly useful. It would be nigh impossible to do what I am doing without a former education in chemistry and chemical engineering.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
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I kind of wish that were true. The reason why I created this thread was I was looking at the jobs available at Apple. Of course, the good ones not only require a degree but 5-10 years of experience as well.

I think my own work experience speaks for itself and I could be employed without a degree, but as far as doing something completely different I would have to form my own company because that silly piece of paper is the key to getting in to new professions if you are interested. :'(
Damn stupid, too. Do managers/h.r. think they are in a special click because of a piece of paper so they discriminate against those that don't have one. Fn stupid.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
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Its the day to day crap like homework, showing up for class, the reading especially if it doesn't interest me. I do exceptionally well with tests though even with only a basic understanding of the material.

This is pretty much my stance, too. School teaches you how to be a student. That's it. I pick up on things pretty easily and quickly. Learning isn't my problem, school is.
 

HamburgerBoy

Lifer
Apr 12, 2004
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The above sounds like high school, not college. Well, the worthless liberal arts and 100-level math classes might swamp you with homework, but generally as the material becomes more rigorous, tests take an increasingly large amount of the grade.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
7,775
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The above sounds like high school, not college. Well, the worthless liberal arts and 100-level math classes might swamp you with homework, but generally as the material becomes more rigorous, tests take an increasingly large amount of the grade.

Which is just as ridiculous because test taking just teaches you how to take tests efficiently. There are very few exceptions.
 
Dec 10, 2005
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A BS in biological chemistry and a BS in chemistry (yeah, they're pretty much the same thing. Since I took a certain level of physics, they throw in the BA in chem, and with 3 extra chem classes, you can get the BS).

Slowly working towards a PhD in chemistry.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
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I haz degrees...sort of. AS degrees...BUT, I also know that the community colleges keep those on rolls...and stored in the rest rooms for alternate use. :rolleyes:
 

HamburgerBoy

Lifer
Apr 12, 2004
27,111
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Which is just as ridiculous because test taking just teaches you how to take tests efficiently. There are very few exceptions.

Efficient test taking is useful when you have 15 minutes to answer a 50 question reading comprehension portion of the SAT, but I've never had a test in college where I thought the testing style was limiting me. If I ever stayed until the end of a test period and submitted a test that wasn't entirely complete, it's because I didn't understand everything and tried to BS instead. Granted, I go to a mediocre school so maybe at MIT they test all of their students with really tricky 100-problem multiple-choice exams to ensure that they graduate only the perfect.