P.S. Let me add, too, that things are changing! It's possible we're in an education bubble[1] and it's possible that many schools will be gone in a decade or two. This might be the most expensive time in history to get a degree, depending on the school, your desired field, and your goals -- like buying a house in 2007-2008. Not that the virtues of a university education or home ownership aren't real, but it'd be a mistake to not consider the costs.
There's an interesting startup from a guy out of BYU called http://degreed.com/. He suspects that just as music was first sold in albums and later in singles, education will also be unbundled over time. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_education_bubble [2] http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2013/03/03/in-15-years-from-now-half-of-us-universities-may-be-in-bankruptcy-my-surprise-discussion-with-claychristensen/ > Hey Grant, I can see your points. I'd probably chalk up > mission/marriage/family as (valid) reasons for reducing the *supply* of > people with degrees in Utah, but I'd attribute our being in the tech industry > to reducing the *demand* for degrees. E.g., you still need formal schooling > to practice law, be a doctor, or cut hair in Utah. Getting married doesn't > make it more acceptable in Utah to be a doctor without a degree. :) But > programmers, on the other hand, are fortunate to be in high demand and to > have no occupational licensing requirements. > > If you have some combination of time, flexibility, youth, money, etc. then > I'd suggest going to a university. > > If the choice is between learning on your own/on the job vs. an expensive > for-profit school, and you're planning to stay in technology where there's no > occupational licensing requirement, I'd take the former. > > I actually think not having a degree will hurt you in the *short-term*, if at > all, not the long-term. Long-term, each subsequent employer will care less > and less about your degree. > > (Regarding high-level executives -- possibly the direction of causation is > reversed? Perhaps the type of ambitious people that want to be high-level > executives make certain they get a university degree? Maybe it wasn't the > degree that created the executive? And of course you can search > https://www.google.com/search?q=people+without+a+college+degree and find > exceptions all day long.) > > Richard > > > > >> Just throwing my hat in the ring and don't mean to offend anyone with my >> comments here: >> >> I haven't lived in Utah for 10 years now. I do think there is sort of a >> bubble and different mentality around getting a degree in Utah versus other >> parts of the country. From my experience, it is more accepted to not have >> a degree in Utah because other things in life get in the way -- Mission / >> Marriage / having to work a full time job to support your family all before >> graduating college. The average age of college graduates in Utah is *MUCH* >> higher than other parts of the country. >> >> It always felt like getting your degree was 2nd to other life priorities >> there. >> >> I have interviewed hundreds of people for jobs for my current employer and >> I always give preference to someone with a formal degree from a recognized >> school. TBH, when someone listed an online school or some other school on >> their resume, it would actually do more harm in my mind versus not having a >> degree. >> >> While you can get a job making a decent wage without a degree, it will hurt >> you in the long run. How many high level executives do you see without a >> degree? Sure, name off the exceptions like Bill Gates etc but those are >> exceptions, not the norm. >> >> -- >> gs _______________________________________________ UPHPU mailing list [email protected] http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net
