Music Banter - View Single Post - The Profession-al Argument

Freebase Dali · 04-17-2010, 07:58 PM

I don't know how my story will apply to people at universities getting BA's in general educational fields, but it may provide a little insight into my thinking regarding education:

When I joined the Army, I specifically made it a point to join as a Network Administrator because I wanted the experience. I knew even before joining that it's not only a profitable field and rapidly expanding, but it's what I've always been good at and enjoy doing. So I racked up 6 years of military experience in the IT field and now that I'm out, the military is paying me to go to college. I get benefits for a 4 year degree at a university, but I chose to go to a technical college dealing with exactly the same field I already have 6 years of knowledge and experience in. Why? Well for one, you never really know as much as you think you know.. so the educational aspect is imperative if you want to be able to function and progress in your field, but also because just having a focused degree in the field you're making a career out of SIGNIFICANTLY improves your chances at a higher salary and hire rate, and in most cases is a prerequisite. That, along with IT certifications, is what sets one guy apart from the next when being considered for a focused IT career. And it can literally mean tens of thousands of dollars in salary differences.

So what does this mean to me?
Well, I think education is a functional resource. While it may give a lot of people the warm and fuzzies to be content just having a higher education for the sake of having it, I'd personally like to think that if you're going to invest yourself educationally, that you're going to use it to some extent and that it's going to give you an advantage at least in some aspect, otherwise it's almost wasted because it's not being used to contribute to anything productive. It's like buying a beautiful Les Paul guitar autographed by... I dunno.. Elvis. It's a great talking piece and it certainly holds a lot of pride for yourself... you look at it every time you pass it on the way to the bathroom. But you never play it and the only time you touch it is when you're wiping a layer of dust off it.
It's understandable as a showpiece, but as far as higher education is concerned, I don't think it was ever meant to be one.

You can know more than the next guy, but if you're not using the knowledge, you're not doing anything different.

04-17-2010, 07:58 PM	#35 (permalink)
Freebase Dali Partying on the inside Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,584	I don't know how my story will apply to people at universities getting BA's in general educational fields, but it may provide a little insight into my thinking regarding education: When I joined the Army, I specifically made it a point to join as a Network Administrator because I wanted the experience. I knew even before joining that it's not only a profitable field and rapidly expanding, but it's what I've always been good at and enjoy doing. So I racked up 6 years of military experience in the IT field and now that I'm out, the military is paying me to go to college. I get benefits for a 4 year degree at a university, but I chose to go to a technical college dealing with exactly the same field I already have 6 years of knowledge and experience in. Why? Well for one, you never really know as much as you think you know.. so the educational aspect is imperative if you want to be able to function and progress in your field, but also because just having a focused degree in the field you're making a career out of SIGNIFICANTLY improves your chances at a higher salary and hire rate, and in most cases is a prerequisite. That, along with IT certifications, is what sets one guy apart from the next when being considered for a focused IT career. And it can literally mean tens of thousands of dollars in salary differences. So what does this mean to me? Well, I think education is a functional resource. While it may give a lot of people the warm and fuzzies to be content just having a higher education for the sake of having it, I'd personally like to think that if you're going to invest yourself educationally, that you're going to use it to some extent and that it's going to give you an advantage at least in some aspect, otherwise it's almost wasted because it's not being used to contribute to anything productive. It's like buying a beautiful Les Paul guitar autographed by... I dunno.. Elvis. It's a great talking piece and it certainly holds a lot of pride for yourself... you look at it every time you pass it on the way to the bathroom. But you never play it and the only time you touch it is when you're wiping a layer of dust off it. It's understandable as a showpiece, but as far as higher education is concerned, I don't think it was ever meant to be one. You can know more than the next guy, but if you're not using the knowledge, you're not doing anything different.