Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess? (page 5)

Syme

A have a diploma (B.Sc.) in Materials Science & Engineering.

Now I'm doing my M.Sc. thesis in the same field.

Hopefully, I will continue for a PhD.

I'm 32, maybe a little older than usual for a graduate student, but, you see, when I was 25, I devoted myself to ...MTS and pioneering and speaking to big crowds and getting a lot of applause...

Fortunately, I'm done with these, and thus free to pursue an academic career and devote myself to science instead, which had basically always been my dream.

I also do a lot of reading on my own, as a hobby: mainly biology, well evolution especially; then physics, history & politics.

Dang, Syme, I'm envious; I love materials science and have been looking around for some of the leading textbooks in the field (I already have a couple). I'm also reading on my own the other subjects you mentioned and have many books on the subjects.

Magnum

Oubliette, I understand your point, but I think we're referring to two different things. You seem to be referring more to success in pursuing a career and earning money; I was referring to simply learning a particular subject and/or just being educated in general.

Having a college degree can be important to finding and advancing in a job. But having a college degree does not mean one is more educated or learned than one who does not have a degree. I've seen people get through a year of English and not know the difference between an adjective and an adverb. I've seen people get through a year of biology but not really grasp the subject. They just memorize facts and pass tests. They don't grasp the big picture and can't relate facts to form a real understanding of the subject. And they even forget the isolated facts shortly after passing tests.

And, really, degrees differ so greatly not only from major to major, but from school to school, etc. Some people might think "oh, he's smart; he's got a college degree." But the fact that the has a college degree is, to me, meaningless until I find out what the degree is in, how smart the person is, what kind of knowledge he has, whether he can assimilate and process knowledge and apply it properly, etc.

cantleave

A degree can help open the door, but success once you have stepped through that door depends on many other factors.

Oubliette

Magnum, no I'm talking about exactly the same things you are.

You keep talking about individual exceptions as if that means that it is true of the majority of people.

Data outliers do not disprove the trend or preponderance of evidence.

Oubliette

hoser

I don't have much formal education but I have been as successful in business as a lot of degree holders. The difference with a degree though is that bankers tend to favor giving loans to people with degrees. It has been a struggle for me to get adequate financing to grow my business.

Oubliette

cantleave: A degree can help open the door, but success once you have stepped through that door depends on many other factors.

True dat!

Mostly it depends on persistence and hard work.

Bungi Bill

Though I think credentials are important and add weight to a person's argument, I also think a well read person with life experience is just as qualified

The problem I see more and more of is the insistence on formal qualifications ahead of outright practical experience and ability. As an example, in my field, just about every position now stipulates that applicants must have dual qualifications - Electrical and Instrumentation; whereas previously most such positions were filled by persons like myself, i.e. licensed electricians with extensive instrument experience.

Despite having decades of experience in instrument work (including having managed a NATA registered Calibration Laboratory), someone like myself is now ruled out through not having that magic "Certificate IV" in instrumentation.

So........ having just completed the Advanced Diploma course in Electrical, the next one is going to have to be (at least) Cert. IV in Instrumentation!

Bill.

steve2

A post graduate degree confers entry into a field or profession. Once in it, you must be a registered practitioner, apply for an annual practising certificate and are accountable to a bevy of appointed bodies.

NewYork44M

PhD in accounting. I have a CPA and a few other certificates. I am a tenure track professor at a state school in New York. I teach auditing and advanced accounting.

Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess?

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