Jack, I would submit the following 2 points: First off, the fact is, college is on the whole proven to be a significantly more useful indicator of success than any cert.
Think of Cisco itself. You would think that if any company knew the value of the CCIE program, it would be Cisco itself. Yet of the executive management in Cisco, how many CCIE's do you find? I believe the answer is zero. Now how many of them are college graduates? Exactly. Case closed. If you don't believe, it, see for yourself: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/tln/exec_team/ Now ask yourself why is that? If certification was really so powerful than why doesn't Chambers just fire all his executive management and replace them with all CCIE's? Are you saying Chambers is being deliberately stupid in who he chooses to manage his company? If the college degree was really so useless, then why exactly do all of Cisco's top brass seem to have one? The same is true for every other large company. Bill Gates is perhaps the most famous and successful college dropouts in the world. You would think that if anybody would know the shortcomings of the degree, it would be him. Yet, every one of their Microsoft's top management positions is filled with degree'd people (if you don't believe it, look it up yourself - http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/default.asp), and usually from the most prestigious schools in the world. Is this a coincidence? Why doesn't Gates just fire all his managers and replace them with dropouts like himself? Are you saying you know more about how to run a business than Bill Gates? More likely, the most famous dropout in the world obviously thinks there is some value in that degree, otherwise why would he choose to fill his management with degree'd people? Secondly, even if you don't personally think that there is value in the degree, you conceded yourself that other people do. In particular, a lot of people who are in charge of hiring do. You've admitted yourself that you would have difficulty in getting hired in the Fortune 500 because you lack the degree and that you've lost deals to a competitor who had the sheepskin. Let's face it. While it's nice to follow your ideals, sometimes a little pragmatism needs to come into play. Sometimes you gotta do things you don't like and don't believe in. I, for example, think it's stupid that I have to stop at red lights at 3 in the morning when there's nobody around, but if I get pulled over, am I really going to convince the cop that since there's nobody out driving but me, I should be allowed to drive any way I want? Heck no. He's going to hand me a $250 ticket, and that's that. Similarly, if HR decides that a particular position will be filled only by a person with a degree, then you either have that degree or you don't. You're not going to get anywhere by arguing with them over how stupid you think that requirement is. They're the ones with the job, so they set the rules about who is eligible for that job, and if you don't have what they want, then you're not going to get it, simple as that. Therefore, even if you don't personally believe in the value of the degree, other people do and that, by itself, is a good enough reason to get it. Railing against the requirements of corporate America won't put food on the table. I'm not telling you that you should get that degree. The choice is up to you. But what I am saying is that if you choose not to, then you should understand that you are closing some doors to yourself, and you should accept that fact. If you choose not to follow the 'rules' of corporate America, then you should be prepared to accept the consequences. Just like if I choose to run red lights at 3 in the morning, then I will have to accept the fact that I will get ticketted. But there's no point in railing against the rules. The rules are the rules. Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=69933&t=69483 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
