Results 11 to 20 of 26
-
01-21-2009, 01:37 AM #11
Khendra hit it right on the head. I am looking at going back to school for turf management. Most everybody I have spoken to has said the hands on is 100X more valuable then the degree. The degree is more a less showing that you understand the basic operations of the job you are about to enter.
INTERNSHIPS ARE KEY :D
As far as the reteaching part goes, I hate it. I got an associates in computer programming and now 90% of my knowledge is outdated material thanks to the ever changing technology. I have not done much to reteach myself at this point in time due to my possible career move.
Jay
-
-
01-21-2009, 04:39 AM #12
Overall a degree just shows that you are trainable. It really differs from field to field on how valuable the degree is right out of school. In most college programs they teach you a broad overview and concepts in general. Real world experience is where you really get into the detail and learn how things are really done. I do think a college degree is very important but there is no substitute for real world experience.
On a side note to much real world experience can be a huge pain for the employer because the new employee tends to be set in their ways and not as open to new ideas. Where the recent college grad is very trainable and usually open to learning the way you want it done. They just tend to be more adaptable. (This totally depends on the person but in general tends to be true.)
-
01-21-2009, 10:43 AM #13
I think real world experience is becoming more and more valuable because employers are seeing a lot of college graduates who can't or won't do the job the way they're supposed to.
College used to be for the best and the brightest and a college degree meant you had really accomplished something. Now, pretty much anybody can get a college degree if they actually try. It used to be a college degree set you apart from everyone else, put you one step ahead. Now, you're three steps behind if you don't have one and if you do have one, you're just in the mix with everyone else. Now you have to get your masters to stand out, and even that is becoming less so. Pretty soon you'll have to have a PhD to get a step ahead. Right now, having a general four year degree is the equivalent of what a high school diploma was 30 years ago.
In a way that's a good thing, but it's also a bad thing. America in general is more "educated" and there are more qualified workers, but it also drives the price of goods and services up while at the same time watering down the value of a college education. And if almost anyone can get a college education, employers don't look at that as highly as they used to and hands on expierence becomes a more important factor again.
-
-
01-21-2009, 10:54 AM #14
I think it depends on a couple of things. First off, the school. Not the name or the prestige or anything like that. I mean just the actual education you get. I think that a lot of the time, if you want to really learn something, you have to make the effort. You can memorize what you've been taught and regurgitate it for a test or you can take it further.
I'll take English as an example. I was a math major, but I've always loved to read. I could have just read the books from school, written my essays, and been done with it, but I chose to read more and build upon that. I think the school can give you a foundation, and cover the basics, but if you want to really learn about something, it's on you.
The second big thing is the teachers and professors. If they make it fun, you'll push yourself harder. If not, then you'll likely do what's needed to get by.
The more I look back at it, the more I see that the social aspects I got from my schooling were just as important as the education I received, if not more so.
-
01-21-2009, 11:15 AM #15
Right now with studying for school I really have no time to re-teach myself anything. lol I can remember a lot of stuff but theres a lot of stuff that I dont remember. I'd say math and history are the two things that I know least about. I've always been REALLY bad in math and I learn it for when I need it but after a test it all goes away..same for history..I've always found it to be so boring (although my last class wasnt too bad) so I dont put an effort in to really remember it. I know I should though.
Ashley
-
-
01-21-2009, 02:51 PM #16
Good discussion here. A little off-track from the "self-education" angle, but it's still involving education, so I hope that is OK.
I'll add that if you want to get a college degree, make it in something that involves technology and inanimate reasoning, like business or engineering. Subjective and verbally-inclined Liberal Arts majors like English, Psychology, and Sociology impress no one these days. I even had an internship in my English program, and I took clerical assessment tests at Adecco, but they haven't really helped my job search in this economy. Employers are not impressed with grammar and geekiness - they are impressed with math, science, high levels of energy and social expression, and especially with experience.
A college degree of any sort may help down the line in promotions, but if you are looking for a job at 24 years old and have no prior experience in a field to show for it but an internship, degree, and a nerdy GPA, employers will look for other people to fill the void. I went to the local college, and while most people here don't go to college, and Joplin has one of the lowest educational standards in Missouri (joplinnala.org reports that 1 in 5 residents struggle with basic literacy), I'm still sending out resumes and applications left and right.
My aim is not to dissuade people from college entirely, but please do not go through the same thing I am going through right now - be practical and major in a technology and math-oriented subject. You may not enjoy math or be particularly good at it, but at least try. With enough experience and repetition, most people become better at a skill anyway.
-
01-21-2009, 03:01 PM #17
I'll add that if you want to get a college degree, make it in something that involves technology and inanimate reasoning, like business or engineering. Subjective and verbally-inclined Liberal Arts majors like English, Psychology, and Sociology impress no one these days. I even had an internship in my English program, and I took clerical assessment tests at Adecco, but they haven't really helped my job search in this economy. Employers are not impressed with grammar and geekiness - they are impressed with math, science, high levels of energy and social expression, and especially with experience.
Actually I'll go a step farther and say don't make it in business...make it a technical field where you will have a specific knowledge and/or set of skills that is not common or generalized. I have a degree in marketing and it has gotten me next to nothing. I guess technically it helped me get my first "real" job, but that was answering phones for 8 hours a day in a call center for a soulless corporation...nothing to do with marketing.
Business and related degrees are one of the main ones that have become watered down. Almost everyone who doesn't know what they want to do or doesn't want the technical fields, gets a business degree. I went 4 years to a prestigious university to get my marketing degree, while my wife went 2 years for general ed at the local univ and then added a year and a half from the local community college and actually has two certifications, one in phlebotomy (drawing blood/IVs/etc) and one in xray. She can easily get better jobs than me and is always in demand, while my degree looks pretty all framed up on the wall but has really done nothing for me.
So if you want the best chance of getting a job in your field, go technical and, if possible, specialize. Engineering, comp sci, IT, any medical area, etc. There are fewer people in those fields and the fields require specific knowledge that you can't just pick up off the street (as with a lot of business). Oh and they usually get paid more anyway...
-
-
01-21-2009, 03:36 PM #18
I try to read a vast amount of articles online, then check up on the tech biz....great website to check out to see some sweet gizmos and gadgets is: www.gizmodo.com
-
01-21-2009, 05:45 PM #19
That doesnt make me feel too good...lol. I'm majoring in marketing and management.
Ashley
-
01-21-2009, 05:53 PM #20
That doesnt make me feel too good...lol. I'm majoring in marketing and management.
Ashley
Ha...it's extremely interesting and I wish I could find a job in the field. The problem is the majority of marketing jobs I find (in my area at least) are marketing directors for companies, but of course they want someone with quite a bit of experience. Almost all the entry level positions I've seen are in sales, which I'm no good at, so I don't even try. Hope you have better luck than me!!
-
Originally Posted by OnePimpTiger 
