Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!csri.toronto.edu!mccool
From: mccool@csri.toronto.edu (Michael David McCool)
Newsgroups: tor.general
Subject: Education and Degrees
Message-ID: <1989Nov14.083540.21939@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Date: 14 Nov 89 13:35:40 GMT
Distribution: tor
Lines: 22

It always seemed to me that Canadians put too much emphasis on degrees, 
although job experience seems to count for more, in my own experience.

I'm in a Master's program now and will eventually try to get a PhD, but
I could be doing EXACTLY the same thing in the field.  But if I did,
I would eventually close doors.  This experience isn't the same for all
fields; I'm an engineer, so... [e.g. warning, techie bias]

Job experience varies though; so universities are seen as a kind of
standard, but a MINIMAL standard for technical training.  To what extent
do employers consider the other supposed benefits of a univerisity
training, e.g. enlarged experience, personal integration?  How many
employers would consider alternates to this, e.g. volunteer work and/or
travel?  Not many, I bet (I concede some would).  Those that are in the
habit of hiring university graduates get out of the habit of evaluating
people on their own merit.

So people who for some reason or another never get around to getting the
piece of paper may find themselves disadvantaged, although they are
competent.  And taking a set of professional accreditation exams may not
be feasible; I doubt most university graduates could pass them, but still
be considered competent.