On Wed, 22 May 2002, Scott Granados wrote:
the other hand I can think of some good reasons why someone might not have a degree but still be totally qualified.
*jumping on my soap box* I have to say that the idea of requiring a degree for the IT industry is obsurd. Sure it is an easy way to discount the ones that are too stupid to perform the job, but there are a lot of very qualified people in the pool that don't have degrees. For instance, I do network engineering, design and troubleshooting for a lot of people (including being a Level-3 with VT's 4help staff) but I don't have a degree YET..In fact I'm failing several classes that aren't related to Comp Engineering. So why should I be judged over my abilities to find the forces on objects instead of my abilities to troubleshoot a network that is having problems? Here's my current problem...I had a very good offer for a co-op at the same place where I had an internship for last summer and MORE than proved my abilities. But because it was a government position they asked for my transcript and then "selectively lost" my co-op forms. So why should I be judged on my GPA (which is still higher than most of the engineers at Virginia Tech) instead of my past experience level? I know several degree holding people who couldn't code or troubleshoot a network if they tried, and that is what they studied in college. And lastly, why should I be required to hold a degree in a field that isn't even the same as what I do for a living....A computer engineer/scientist only learns in college how to code software or design hardware. Not how to maintain a network or configure a router. That is what the career certs are for, they should be designed into college curriculums and then maybe I would enjoy my college experience...... *stepping down* BTW I'm looking for a summer job, it seems nobody wants networking interns....I've had 10 full-time offers but nothing for summer only....And yes companies are hiring left and right for IT people and the industry is picking back up. - Andrew --- <zerocool@netpath.net> http://www.andrewsworld.net/ ICQ: 2895251 Cisco Certified Network Associate Development Assistant: Netpath/Stratonet, Inc. (http://www.netpath.net/) Email: dorsett@netpath.net "Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself."