[Sussex] IT qualifications advice

[Mark Harrison]

The question of whether a degree is useful rather hinges on what you want to
do....


If the sole/primary motivation is making some real money, I agree that drive
and determination are far more important to financial success than
qualifications. I'd personally go further and say that a willingness to go
and take a "job" (ugh) is a positive hinderance, and that the entrepeneurial
mind-set, and a willingness to build one's own business is THE key
requirement to wealth.

My example - A couple of years ago, I met at Marylebone Station, someone
with whom I'd been at University. He's a lot brighter than me, got a much
better degree, and went on to do a doctorate. Now he works as a programmer
for an annual salary at roughly equal to the "graduate starting salaries" -
ie he's not made any progress in 8 years.

However, study after study has shown that education DOES correlate
positively with income. For example:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2068094.stm


On the other hand, there are a number of jobs that are notionally available
to graduates. Of course, the odd non-graduate manages to get accepted by
sheer brilliance and determination, but a degree massively increases the
chance of success.

If you want, for example, to be a Civil Engineer, or a Chartered Accountant,
or a Lawyer, or a Doctor... then go to university on an appropriate course!

To take the example of civil engineering, a professional qualification is
typically required for some roles. (For example, you can't get a
European-funded civil engineering contract without a FEANI-accredited
engineer as project manager.) To get a FEANI, you need to qualify as MICE
(Memebers of the Institute of Civil Engineers) and pay your application fee
to FEANI which is the pan-European umbrella body. Many of the older
professional bodies (including the ICE) will accredit graduates after 4
years suitable work experience... and non-graduates after 15. In both cases,
accreditation still requires separate interviews, and a proven learning /
work record on the job... but you can do it at age 25 with a degree or 32
without.

Regards,

Mark


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nik at wired4life.org>
To: "LUG email list for the Sussex Counties" <sussex at mailman.lug.org.uk>
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2003 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Sussex] IT qualifications advice


> > Perhaps, but I get the impression it's harder to get far without A
levels,
> > or equivilents these days. I suspect it's changed since the time you
were
> > at the same stage as me :)
> no, its harder to get far without a goal, determination, effort and
> drive.
>
> Heres my sample study .
>
>
> I am the MD of a Technical Company, I have no Degree or A Levels.
> The two other directors of this company are the same. Meanwhile the only
> UNI grad employee we have is the lowest earner, and will due to the
> nature of the employment market never earn as much as we have by the
> time he is thirty. Hes bloody good at coding and delivering a quick
> result. But he will have to work another 5 years to gain the experience
> that companies seek.
>
> My wife is a Uni Graduate and at 30 is still on less than I was at 25.
>
> I know several recent University graduates who have lots of
> qualifications but without the drive and determination will not achieve
> high salary levels.
>
> If you leave college after A Levels or GCSEs , and in  place of getting a
> University degree you are willing to start on a basic  10k a year salary.
You can
> study your Uni degreee through the open university and by the time your
> 25 you will see a better return on investment than your university
> patriots.
>
>
> Companies are seeking experienced candidates and many directors of large
> companies and those in hiring positions have expressed the opinion that
> A degreee does not guarentee the qualities in a candidate that 4 years
> of employment will.
>
>
> These skills are things like:
>
> How to answer the phone, speak to customers and suppliers. Arrange and
prioritise workloads and document
> as they go. Administration and office awareness are now basic skills that
Companies are not willing to take time to train employees in.
>
> So the better question is...
>
> Are you willing to strive, to drive and to insist on delivering a
> professional and high quality attitude as part of your career . If you can
do that your
> value to the employer is far higher than your certificates will ever be.
>
> Just my two pence, since im keen that people get a education but im more
> keen that people have An education.
>
>
> -- 
> nik at wired4life.org http://www.wired4life.org/ Wired4Life, an Answer.
>
> Any attempt to brew coffee with a teapot should result in the error code
"418: I'm a teapot".
>
> [RFC 2324] by Eric Green (eric @ at badtux . org)
>
>
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