The applicant will essentially have the following:-

[SueEllen]

That's right, I've seen them. They spend all day, every day making the office brews. Some great on the job learning there.

That's called learning office politics.

[northernladyuk]

OK, I take it back, you clearly do have a chip on your shoulder.

Read SE's post carefully. Going to university is no more about learning some (soon to be redundant) technology than reading a book is about counting paragraphs. Either you didn't go to university (see above ), or you spectacularly missed the point.

Incidentally, I don't work in IT.

I do work in IT but have a degree in Latin. I've never written a line of code in my life and barely ever looked at a line of code. But spending three years at university learning to solve difficult logical problems (Latin), and also to analyse and sift through evidence to understand much fuzzier problems (Roman history) has left me very skilled at designing and implementing IT solutions (and occasionally non-IT operating models) to address complex problems. I seem to be much better it than my pure 'IT' colleagues, but they are better at other stuff. With mutual respect we get stuff done. It is however probably true that if I chose to study Latin, I had an innate talent / interest in solving these problems.

[pr1]

But spending three years at university learning to solve difficult logical problems (Latin)

...

It is however probably true that if I chose to study Latin, I had an innate talent / interest in solving these problems.

the da vinci code?

[northernladyuk]

the da vinci code?

If they'll pay a decent daily rate....

[perplexed]

I do work in IT but have a degree in Latin. I've never written a line of code in my life and barely ever looked at a line of code. But spending three years at university learning to solve difficult logical problems (Latin), and also to analyse and sift through evidence to understand much fuzzier problems (Roman history) has left me very skilled at designing and implementing IT solutions (and occasionally non-IT operating models) to address complex problems. I seem to be much better it than my pure 'IT' colleagues, but they are better at other stuff. With mutual respect we get stuff done. It is however probably true that if I chose to study Latin, I had an innate talent / interest in solving these problems.

Meh, I spent years at university abusing my liver and falling asleep in lectures. Other than some relational database theory, everything I've ever used in IT has been self-learnt.

Degrees are over-rated; even more so after successive governments have strived to push any and everybody into university rather than delivering appropriate educational needs, ie vocational / techical colleges.

[billybiro]

I do work in IT but have a degree in Latin. I've never written a line of code in my life and barely ever looked at a line of code. But spending three years at university learning to solve difficult logical problems (Latin), and also to analyse and sift through evidence to understand much fuzzier problems (Roman history) has left me very skilled at designing and implementing IT solutions (and occasionally non-IT operating models) to address complex problems. I seem to be much better it than my pure 'IT' colleagues, but they are better at other stuff. With mutual respect we get stuff done. It is however probably true that if I chose to study Latin, I had an innate talent / interest in solving these problems.

[Emphasis mine]

Seems to me that the "studying Latin in university" is entirely incidental here and it's that "innate talent / interest in solving problems" that counts.

You probably could have spent those university days solving Rubik's Cube's and other hand-held puzzles in your bedroom and it would have conditioned your brain in the same way with the problem-solving skills required to design and implement the IT solutions that you do today.

[SueEllen]

[Emphasis mine]

Seems to me that the "studying Latin in university" is entirely incidental here and it's that "innate talent / interest in solving problems" that counts.

You probably could have spent those university days solving Rubik's Cube's and other hand-held puzzles in your bedroom and it would have conditioned your brain in the same way with the problem-solving skills required to design and implement the IT solutions that you do today.

Depending on NLyUK's age that wouldn't have helped get a job.

[perplexed]

Depending on NLyUK's age that wouldn't have helped get a job.

I did hear they were so old that Rubiks cubes back in those days were only available in black and white...

[SueEllen]

I did hear they were so old that Rubiks cubes back in those days were only available in black and white...

You really mean 50 shades of grey....

[SussexSeagull]

I genuinely couldn't tell you if most of the people I have worked with in the last decade were graduates or not.