Comments on: ADASS 2004

By: Kris

Kris — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 20:33:22 +0000

My friends I did my undergrad with (Colorado School of Mines) are mostly of the opposite viewpoint.
They can’t understand why I *would* go to grad school, since from an experience / hire-ability point of view, it is better to have 4-5 years of experience than to have 4-5 years more of college.
I guess the experience part mostly can’t be learned in school, but certain details and even fundamentals of your field will only be glossed over in the workplace… eh. just my $0.02
Bottom line: If you like your job, you are doing better than many; funny, most of my engineering friends complain about how boring their jobs are, but it is the money that keeps them from going back to school.

By: Mir

Mir — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 00:44:25 +0000

Pat-on-the-back for your presentation! And IMHO, the only legitimate reason to get a PhD is to be able to do a job you like. Which you're already doing. So you've saved yourself a ton of time and money, and these people you're meeting at the conference are probably feeling threatened about it :)

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 06:48:24 +0000

“Whatever, doc.” You’re doing great. :)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 28 Oct 2004 03:24:19 +0000

How DOES this even come up? When I went to the nursing home, one of the residents suddenly urged me to get a Master’s degree (thanks — sometime after I get that second bachelor’s).

By: Kathy Brantley

Kathy Brantley — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 06:12:47 +0000

It sounds like they’re of the mindset, “*I* suffered through graduate school, so I’m going to look down on anyone who HASN’T … because if I don’t make a fuss about it, people might not recognize that I’m smarter because I’ve got my PhD!” I don’t doubt your career path at all. Take it from me … if you’ve got a job you like and you didn’t need a PhD to get it, you’re got it made. You’re doing interesting stuff. You’re making a contribution. And you didn’t have to sell your soul to a bunch of snobby professors to do so. I think you’re right about the experience part, too. I think, also, that in some ways you can learn MORE if you’re not in graduate school because you’ve got time to explore other intellectual things just for fun, like digital photography or reading popular science books. So … they’re idiots, just ignore them! :) And if you get “Don’t Ask Me About Grad School” T-shirts, let me know :)