"Charles K. Clarkson" wrote: > Hello, > > A recent job posting has left me curious. I would never > take a full time job as a programmer or as anything else for > that matter. I just don't make a good employee any more. > Been there. Done that. > > The job posting demanded a college degree. I had one > semester of college 20 years ago and normally classify > myself as "finished high school". I'm curious: What level of > education have list members attained? > > TEA, > > Charles K. Clarkson
Well, I earned a couple AAS [two-year] degrees a couple years ago. One was in Network Ops. One was in Programming. I finished both in the space of seven terms, and got my degree a quarter century after taking my first class at the school. What did I get out of it? The networking side provided a lot of exposure to a LAN for the first time. I'd heard of Netware only in passing before then, for instance. On the programming side, what I found most valuable was to have someone look at my code and its output. That can be pretty hard to find. I'd also note that six years ago I was a high-school dropout working in a mas-production job and making 23 K. NOw with a couple honors degrees in the field of the future, I reap about 13 K from my half-time job. Hmmm. One thing is that I don't apply for jobs that demand qualifications I don't have. Even though I know most of these employers are willing to settle for whatever they get, I don't like the power-positioning involved in such demands. I think that the HR people who control access to employment know that their expectations are unrealistic, and it strikes me as just plain dishonest. I'm pretty uch allergic, with a few special exceptions, to large organizations anyway. Part of the problem for me is a local genius glut. Since my community has had an off-and-on reputation as a highly livable region, many very talented people over the years. It has created a buyers market for brains. Its really not unusual hereabouts to see PhDs washing dishes or mopping floors for a living. Anyway, I think I will continue programming as an avocation, and if I happen to run across a project that truly engages my imagination, and also pays, well great--but I aint holding my breath. Joseph -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://learn.perl.org/> <http://learn.perl.org/first-response>
