FSF looking for Sys Admin

Jon maddog Hall maddog at li.org
Thu Dec 16 10:52:01 EST 2004


Christopher,

crschmidt at crschmidt.net said:
> Does anyone have any experience with hiring, such that they could tell  me
> how screwed I am if I ever leave my current job, since I dropped out  of
> college to take it? At the moment, I'm quite happy, and planning on  resuming
> studies (although not full time) relatively soon to finish a  degree, but if
> I were to quit my job today and start looking, how  difficult would it be to
> move into some IT or programming (mostly web)  position given a lack of
> degree? 

This is a hard question, and the answer to it really depends on a lot of factors,
including the times you live in and your own abilities.

Some people get started in times of short supply of college graduates, or
where the field is new, and degrees of study in that area are rare.

There are obvious examples of people who never went to college, never got
a "degree", yet were remarkably successful business and technical people.
There are even examples of people who were almost stunted because they were so
intelligent that the colleges they attended actually worked against them.
Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison come to mind as examples.

On the other hand, a lot of people benefit from college on two main levels:

	o college teaches them (or tries to teach them) how to learn on their
          own
	o college exposes them to things that they would not normally investigate
	  on their own

Finally, some employers look at college degrees as a "litmus test" of whether
or not someone can start a four-year (or two-year) project and commit to its
end.

Many other things in life can substitute for the degree that you get.  Life
experiences have even been acknowledged by colleges themselves as having
equivalent value as courses.  But the degree has been acknowledged as one
main indicator that the person can meet the needs of the corporation.  Not
a guarantee, but an indicator.

lists at karas.net said:
>  I've known plenty of places that hire without a college degree. Hell *I*
> have no college degree and I'm a hiring manager...  

And I have known many people who I respect and acknowledge who have no degrees.
It is the main reason I left Bell Labs.  Certain people inside of Bell Labs
believed that no one had any good ideas unless they had at least a master's
degree.  This idiocy did not directly affect me, since I had my MSCS.  But
when my TAs (some of whom were going at night for their BS) had good ideas, no
one in upper management would even listen to them unless I also gave my
blessing as a Member of Technical Staff.  This pissed me off, so I
took a job with a company that put emphasis on the idea, not the degree the
person had.  That company was Digital Equipment Corporation.

Later on, all four TAs who worked for me at the labs ended up working for
Digital.  Some finished their degrees, some did not.  All were successful
to some extent or another.

I would like to agree with Brian that not having a degree is muted once you get
some experience under your belt, but unless your name is Bill Gates,
Warren Buffet or some other like person, you may still be filtered through an
HR department who may be directed to look for "college graduates".  Then,
ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL, you will lose out to the person who has the
degree.  Remember, I said "ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL"....the degree may
just be the tie breaker.

You have the inclination to go back and complete your degree.  I recommend
that you follow that inclination.

Warmest regards,

maddog
-- 
Jon "maddog" Hall
Executive Director           Linux International(R)
email: maddog at li.org         80 Amherst St. 
Voice: +1.603.672.4557       Amherst, N.H. 03031-3032 U.S.A.
WWW: http://www.li.org

Board Member: Uniforum Association, USENIX Association

(R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries.
(R)Linux International is a registered trademark in the USA used pursuant
   to a license from Linux Mark Institute, authorized licensor of Linus
   Torvalds, owner of the Linux trademark on a worldwide basis
(R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the USA and other
   countries.




More information about the gnhlug-discuss mailing list