Re: Degree or Not Degree?

[Mc Jdub <wigginje -at- PSSCH -dot- PS -dot- GE -dot- COM>]

It is an established fact that, on average, those who hold degrees make
more money over the course of their lives than those who do not.  Often
twice as much. And, the more advanced the degree, the more money.

This is true not because there is any inherent value in holding a degree
per se, but only because we live in a classist society that seeks to
oppress people by pitting them one against the other in whatever way(s)
possible to exploit them to the greatest degree possible (npi) without
inciting outright revolt.

It's interesting that the issue of dress code is running in parallel
with the topic of "to degree or not to degree," because dress, too, is a
way of differentiating people one from the other based on (hu?)man-made
distinctions that have no relation to worth. It's a system of
oppression, a holdover from earlier times when to be a "gentleman" or a
"lady" was to be privileged in ways that others were not, and was
signified by things such as dress, or inclusion in the "professions,"
defined narrowly.  Don't kid yourself: attitudes such as these exist
even today -- even more so, I would venture, than most of us are willing
either to believe or acknowledge.

But maybe this is starting to change with more rational attitudes toward
dress in the workplace and more enlightened attitudes about what it
means to be "educated" to do a particular job. What could it possible
matter what a tech writer is wearing while writing? (And the same of
course holds true for *most* jobs/professions.) What could it possibly
matter where a tech writer gained his or her skills? Isn't the end
result the same -- having the skills? We need to resist the temptation
to agree that these things ultimately matter, or that they have any
relevance to doing a particular task.

I have a degree, and I'm getting another one. I choose to do this
because of the fact initially mentioned, and because I think it will be
an intensive way for me to gain some of the skills I seek to have. I
also feel privileged to have the opportunity to do so.  However, I don't
think this makes me any "better" than someone who has earned their
knowledge in other ways. Bickering over whether a degree makes one
"better" -- better qualified, better educated, etc. -- only perpetuates
divisions that already exist, divisions that we, as members of a
profession (widely defined), should always seek to eradicate.

$.02 and IMHO,
Jeff Wiggin
wiggnje -at- pssch -dot- ps -dot- ge -dot- com




> ----------
> From:         Phillip Winn[SMTP:pwinn -at- S7 -dot- COM]
> Sent:         Monday, July 21, 1997 5:50 PM
> To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject:      Re: Degree or Not Degree?
>
> >I heard a radio report this morning about a study that showed that
> those
> >with a college degree do much better financially than those without.
> They
> >said that a college degree indicated that a person was able to learn,
> which
> >is what companies want, and that companies have to take more of a
> risk to
> >hire a person without a degree. The person without a college degree
> may
> >also be able to learn, but colleges provide certification of learning
> >ability.
> >
> >Of course, the study was funded by a group of private colleges and
> >universities, so that might have skewed their conclusions.
>
> Gee, just maybe. Of course, my perspective is somewhat limited, but
> here it
> is:
> I was one of three roommates, all of which were software engineers,
> one of
> which had a little more emphasis on physics, one on programming, and
> one
> tended toward the creative writing side of life (that's me!). The
> physicist
> was going to college, incurring student loan debt, while working part
> time
> at a great company, while the other two of us went straight from high
> school to jobs. We both earned far more than the third roommate, but
> he
> kept telling us to watch out, because he was getting a huge raise once
> he
> graduated and became a full-fledged physicist. He did, but by then the
> other two of us had received a couple of merit-based raises, and we
> still
> out-earned the third by a good bit, not even counting the fact that he
> had
> student loans to pay off. It's been a few years now, and both of us
> still
> out-earn him.
>
> An isolated example, I know. I moved from California to the Midwest,
> where
> I took two more high-school-educated people and turned them into
> technical
> wizards. One of them is now a programmer, while the other does
> technical
> installation and documentation of large phone systems. Both of them
> are
> making excellent money, more than anybody their age that they know.
>
> All isolated incidents, I know. Anecdotal evidence does not
> necessarily
> invalidate a documented trend, but I would definitely suspect any
> research
> in this area performed by a university. Perhaps larger employers would
> be
> more likely to be objective?
>
> Another move, this time to Dallas, and yes, I still earn more than any
> of
> my college-educated friends, and I still don't have any student loans.
>
> I'm not saying that degrees are bad, just wondering when exactly they
> are
> supposed to pay for themselves. Keep in mind that more than 80% of
> degreed
> people end up working in a field unrelated to their degree.
>
>
>
> |- Phillip Winn -|- Strategy 7 -|- vox 972.458.2817 -|
> |- pwinn -at- s7 -dot- com -|- Dallas, TX -|- fax 972.458.2218 -|
>
> ~~
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