Why must schools make us study these things?

[Kosugi]

trmiv,

I do have alot to do with hiring for my department, since I am the manager. Granted, I have to get everything approved through our HR, but then that isn't as big a deal as it sounds. As long as the candidate seems reasonable and isn't a felon, they pretty much rubber stamp all my requests.

That being said, I much prefer candidates with a diverse background over the biggest geek of the bunch. What matters to me more than anything is the ability to communicate. Patience and equanimity are also prized.

I've had plenty of opportunity to hire people out of two year schools where they focused only on the technical esoterics of the IT field, but they rarely got a second look from me. Sorry, but I like to see people with a varied education. People who have taken classes in art and history and have done well indicate, to me at least, people who can think out of the box. Creative abilities are more valued than technical abilities. And leadership abilities are coveted the most. A diverse education will build those characteristics in you, so don't knock it. The information may seem irrelevant, and perhaps it is, but it can not be said that knowledge is "bad". The more you know, well, the more you know, and the more valuable you are.

Not get back to the books...

 

[trmiv]

<< then why don't you just go to a vocational or trade school? >>



I honestly wish I would have made that choice when I started school. But, I'm so far along now I have to finish. Plus, the whole first one in my family to graduate from college is important to my parents and grandparents.

I guess part of my discontent is that I have been in school SO long (working full time makes it hard to get classes that fit your schedule, I'm at work right now actually), and I'm getting restless with the whole thing, and I want it over with. It's to the point now where I'm like &quot;Bah!! I just want to get it done now!&quot; Where as when I was a wide-eyed freshman I was into everything that was going on at school, and the cool classes I could take. Now I'm just like that old guy that has been working at a company just a little too long, and he gets pissed at everything.

 

[LadyNiniane]

trmiv wrote: &quot;Why do schools do this stuff? &quot;

Short answer - &quot;Because they can&quot;

Longer answer - &quot;Because universities and many colleges operate on the premise that they are teaching you how to learn, not how to perform a task.&quot;

I don't disagree with any of the answers already given in this thread. However, there are a couple of things to consider when talking about higher education:

a) You're in college to get a degree.
Why? Because you need a degree in order to get a decent, reasonably high-paying job with some kind of a future. Never mind that your degree was in basket-weaving, and you're working as an IT mid-level manager; you've got a piece of paper that says you survived 4 (or more) years in an institution of higher learning, so you're more valuable to a company than the bloke in the next cube who has 25 years of experience but no degree (and your relative salary levels reflect that...)

b) You're in college to get an education.
Why? (or maybe What?) Because you have to prove (to yourself, your future employers, your fellow wage-slaves) that you can not only get that piece of paper but actually learn something while doing so. And you gain a sort of satisfaction in making it through &quot;the system&quot;. And you might even discover an untapped interest in something that would never have come to mind were it not for some stupid required course you took in order to accomplish a).

/begin shortlifestory
I was a &quot;cum laude&quot; graduate, with a degree that provided my actual work path for about 8 years; however my current line of work (20+ years) was inspired by a single, elective course taken during my junior year in college.

To be exact, I was a music education major and taught for about 8 years after graduation until I realized that I didn't care for public school work and couldn't make a living in the private sector in that line. I cast about for something else to do, and remembered that I enjoyed an elective math class in Fortran (WATFIV, for those who are curious), so I decided to try a couple of night classes in computer science. Two+ years (and several classes) later, I was offered a junior-level position as a mainframe systems programmer; I've never looked back.

(For the record, I am a systems programming consultant, installing and maintaining operating systems software. I've been in the business since IBM DOS/VSE and OS/VS2 days, and I've been a full-time consultant for over 11 years.)

I've done some part-time teaching in music since then; I've also done a fair bit of instruction work at various companies in support of the operating systems I maintain. I was asked some years ago whether I had ever envisioned myself working where I was and doing what I do; my answer, &quot;Heck, no! I resisted taking a typing course in high school because I didn't want to work for a corporation!&quot;
/end shortlifestory

I realize this doesn't really help you, the individual, with 2 term papers and 3 midterms due before the end of the week, but it might hopefully provide you with a somewhat renewed interest in completing those courses, regardless of their &quot;value&quot; or &quot;relevance&quot; to your current interests. You never know what paths your life will follow.

Good luck!

Lady Niniane

 

[Ladi]

Because history repeats itself and can be learned from.

Today's example: Contrast and compare the parallel lives of John D. Rockefeller, oil/etc magnate of the late 19th and early 20th century and William Gates.

~Ladi