To those adults who have/have not earned a college degree...

[Tanstalas]

mrstickball said:

Akvod said:

mrstickball said:

Akvod said:
IDK, college is simply another way of automatically weeding out the prospective employees. Although it's an expensive way to prove work ethic O.o But what else are we going to do to prove it?

Tests?

Its a really crappy thing to require a $50,000 piece of paper to say you can, or cannot do something. It doesn't mean your very good at something - just that the college says you can.

The real test for any job would be to test the employee for a probationary period to see if they can do what they say they can.

For example, if your a web programmer, there are many tests you can take to prove the validity of your skills for sites like E-lance, and you get graded on your work to show prospective employers....That is a great way to do it.

Most local governments have a good way of doing it via civil service tests. They give you a test based on required skills for the job you are wanting. They grade all the prospective employees to see how well they did on the test, and take the top 5-15 candidates. Then they schedule interviews to see how legitimate they are with the potential job.

I mean, to me it's the same. Some arbitrary and unrelated test to measure how good you'll be at a job. I mean, what test can be truly measure your ability to do a job? It's ultimately job experience that teaches you.

Well, it depends on what kind of job we're talking about.

I never suggested an arbitrary or unrelated test. I never stated the kind of test either.

For example, when I got hired as a business analyst at the company I work for, I was requested to do a business analysis on the company's website as well as its monetization structure, and an analysis of a competing market.

I produced 2, 20-page reports. I got the job the next week.

That was the test they gave me. They used the test to show if I really knew what I needed to about business analysis and presentation, as they flew me to their company HQ for the presentation.

In many job scenarios, I would imagine that similar tests would be very critical. For example, if you were in the IT field as a database manager, I would expect that a good test would be for them to give you a piece of SQL database, and ask you to generate reports based on their requests within a given amount of time.

For other scenarios that such tests may not be viable - such as a CEO - that is where your group of contacts works wonders. If people know you, your skills and abilities, they can reccomend you for jobs, as they can vouch for you meeting the criteria the job has demanded. Furthermore, that is why many 100k+ jobs require a few years' experience in a relevant field. If I keep up my work as an analyst, I could easily apply for a job somewhere else, and make 2-4 times as much money as I would have the or equivilent experience part of many job requirements....Despite the fact I lack any and all college courses in that field.

Good points, however, if an employer is looking at two people with similar past job experiences, and one holds a degree and the other does not then the person with the degree will most likely get it.  Unless they are asking for a lot more money than the other person :)