Re: [OFF TOPIC] College Degree
- From: Kellyn Pedersen <kjped1313@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: cicciuxdba@xxxxxxxxx, andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2009 15:02:34 -0800 (PST)
I just went through an interesting test of this, my last go around on the job
market, as I have an odd situation, so I'm going to share...
I actually have two degrees, one in Journalism and a second in mathematics.
Post my degrees, I suffered a couple strokes in my early 20's due to a medical
condition that simply needed the right doctor to figure out and to be honest,
those years of my life are pretty much blank slates. I started over,
literally.... I sold computers while my brain healed and as it healed, my
second go around in life showed I had a knack for software, the rest is history.
I worked my way into database support and then was certified in Oracle 8 to
become an Oracle DBA at US West.
After eToys went out of business, I had become quite tired of people asking me
why I wasn't a journalist or utilizing my accounting skills that I had worked
so hard for in my college years, so I just left it off my resume this last time
around on the job market to see what would happen.
I was unemployed for all of one week.... :) I know many HR representatives and
recruiters ask about a degree, but in the technical arena, they are starting to
stop- looking more to experience and certifications, realizing that techies
are a little different breed. Does the college curriculum really create the
best technical specialists? Not when often the arena is changing so fast, a
"just the facts" certification with natural skills are better equipped to be
successful.
The work ethic my parents shared with me, my IQ that thankfully had a few extra
points to spare during the difficult times and my natural adaptive skills have
served me better than any college time I lost along with those years...
Nobody tell my parents though, I think they would have rather used the money to
go to Europe than sending me to Tulane!
Kellyn Pedersen
Multi-Platform DBA
I-Behavior Inc.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kellynpedersen
"Go away before I replace you with a very small and efficient shell script..."
--- On Mon, 12/7/09, Andrew Kerber <andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Andrew Kerber <andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [OFF TOPIC] College Degree
To: cicciuxdba@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: "oracle-l-freelists" <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Monday, December 7, 2009, 3:02 PM
Well, that is kind of strange computer engineering degree. My degree is in
computer science, which included 5 semesters of EE. That was about 20 years
ago. These days, it seems like the computer science degree is really more a
programming degree. On the other hand, if you expect to have a decent
professional career (at least in the US), a college degree is mandatory, though
just about any real degree is sufficient.
On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 3:40 PM, Guillermo Alan Bort <cicciuxdba@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Well, I've been doing a little soul searching, I've been studying computer
engineering for a few years now.
I don't like programming, I don't like project management... and that's about
all they teach over here in comp eng....
So... my question to you is, what is your degree (if any) and what is your
opinion on college degrees and real life work.
I've been working with Oracle for a few years (4 or 5) and I've come to know it
a little, I got a good job as a DBA, but I don't really like the 'regular'
careers that are usually associated with Systems Administrations... so... if I
got, say, a degree in mathematics or physics... how would it affect my
work-life?
thanks for your input.
cheers.
Alan.-
--
Andrew W. Kerber
'If at first you dont succeed, dont take up skydiving.'
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