Degree ? Waste Of Time

[darmstadt]

So you work illegally in Germany?

Why say you that? I have a tax number, registered at the Finanzamt, have a MwST number, what on earth has a degree got to do with all that as benes says? I work in a number of EU (and non-EU) countries and no-one has ever asked for a degree.

[Mordac]

do you have the MSDN qualification ?

Milan.

Milan, it's MCSD. Or could MCAD. Do keep up, laddie.

[expat]

Why say you that? I have a tax number, registered at the Finanzamt, have a MwST number, what on earth has a degree got to do with all that as benes says? I work in a number of EU (and non-EU) countries and no-one has ever asked for a degree.

In France when I was employed, my employer wanted to see the degree but nobody else needed to. When I was self-employed, naturally no-one did.

It is not like having to qualify for a visa (e.g. H1B in the US), if you are an EU citizen you can live in an EU country as an employed person, a self-employed person, or an unemployed person. You don't need a degree.

[milanbenes]

I can't be bothered to argue and go into details

we'll have to agree to disagree

Milan.

[Denny]

Only the educated realise that they are not free.

It's the educated ones that realise they are freerer than the ones that aren't. Only the uneducated ones think they are free.

My view is that it is better to have a degree than not as it potentially opens up more doors for you. It certainly has for me.

Having a degree (or two, as in my case) also means that I have the option of moving into a different profession without necessarily having to trawl through the first degree stage in my new chosen field. I would only need to do a year's transfer diploma to get into teaching or law for example. Not that I want to, mind. If I didn't have a degree I would need to get one first and then do the post-graduate stage to move into each of these professions.

True, having no degree doesn't necessarily hold you back if you are in business for yourself or you have the right breaks or contacts but it sure does limit your options if you're not self-employed, don't have those contacts or breaks and it can certainly stop you from reaching the top in some major organisations.

I think it is difficult for the young these days who have to seriously weigh up the merits of being in debt for years getting their degree or deciding early on to move straight from school into a field where financial reward is instantaneous. In my youth, having a degree was mandatory if you wanted to be considered for so called white collar 'middle class' jobs as opposed to blue collar jobs or bottom line clerical work, and you would have been a social pariah without one unless you mixed with plumbers, bricklayers or factory workers all the time. The only people who could do well when I was growing up were natural entrepreneurs and artists who got their breaks to big money or stardom otherwise you were relegated to a life of tedium and low pay, the military rankings or manual work. There wasn't much else you could do. Nowadays, social distinctions are not so marked as they once were and whilst the value of having a degree has lessened as more people move into higher education the blue collar work that was once looked down on as undesirable in my younger days has now grown in cache as social distinctions become more blurred. Today, it's cool to be a plumber as they too can make £70K a year if they work hard.

so I guess its six of one, half a dozen of the other.

[ps - having a degree also means you can write an essay instead of a forum one liner post ]

[Cowboy Bob]

I'd recommend to anyone that asked not to go at 18 ... get a job ... piss about a bit .. then perhaps go at 21 ...

Exactly what I did. Best way IMO. Plus I got the "mature student" grant, though that probably doesn't exist anymore.

[Francko]

[ps - having a degree also means you can write an essay instead of a forum one liner post ]

Not having a degree you realise that it's such a stupid thing to do and use your time more wisely.*

*P.s. I have a degree but I liked this comeback

[Mordac]

As far as I'm concerned, not having a degree hasn't been a problem. No-one has ever even asked for my A Level grades (which is just as well )
Degrees have become so commonplace now that you need one to be considered for almost any job, so 20 years ago I would have agreed that they are a waste of time, unless you count the time spent drinking and shagging, but now they are essential.

[Francko]

Degrees have become so commonplace now that you need one to be considered for almost any job, so 20 years ago I would have agreed that they are a waste of time, unless you count the time spent drinking and shagging, but now they are essential.

Not so sure. Degrees are just so shallow now that employers have started doubting about their usefulness. It can only certify that you have spent 4 years getting drunk from tuesday to monday. Wouldn't bet it's really essential.... plus I am from the street school, to succeed you need to be hungry and people who have all their education paid are not that hungry generally as parents are probably reasonably wealthy and the ones who paid themselves don't have such a huge financial acumen. I did my first degree in Italy because it was free and because it was an alternative to unemployment or unpaid work. I did my master in England only because I knew it would have made my start much easier. Shall I choose now I would consider it very well if I had to pay all by myself.

[madhippy]

Not having a degree you realise that it's such a stupid thing to do and use your time more wisely.*

*P.s. I have a degree but I liked this comeback

me too - but I couldn't think of a decent counter-comeback.