RE: [SAGE] Computer Sciences degrees in IT

["Jon 'maddog' Hall" <maddog@li.org>]

Jeff,

> 
> And I sincerely believe I have something to offer it too.  But who would
> actually listen to me if they knew that I didn't go to school to learn it.
> Two words folks...  IMHO:
> 
> No one.
> 

You are wrong.  I would listen.  And to prove that point I left a very
good-paying and secure job in an environment very invigorating and
interesting environment to work solely because I did not believe in that
philosophy.

In a private email someone pointed out that Bell Labs was a "university
environment", and that rationalized the philosophy.  I will admit that
as a research organization Bell Labs excelled in hiring people that were
"academic", and followed the "academic rigor" in a lot of the things
they did, and they did have a track record of solving research problems.
But that did not explain or condone an attitude of not listening to
"good ideas" from people with no degree.

I do not wish to condemn all of Bell Labs or the people who worked there
for this attitude.  I know of many labs people who are "enlightened".
But it is what I (and my TAs) experienced at our location, and it made
me sick.

I think there are other people on this list that would listen also, even
people with advanced degrees.

When I taught at Hartford State Technical College the technical college
system had a rule that you could not be hired as a professor (no matter
what your degree) until you had at least three years of practical work
experience.  I admired that in the educational system, and I feel it
made all the difference in the world between what our students learned
at HSTC and what they might have learned at other schools.

I have often thought about going back to a university and getting my
Ph.D. "so I would be qualified to teach" (loud, raucous laughter is
heard from the thousands of students that I have had over the past
thirty-eight years), but I am afraid of reporting an academic that has
gone from BS to MS to Ph.D. without ever having been in the real world.
And as Rodney Dangerfield in "Back to School", I think I would have
problems.  I *know* I would have problems.

I recommend this:

You have skills (seen by your letter) both in writing and in systems
administration.  Why not leverage those skills by volunteering to give
talks to the local business league?
Create and give a presentation to your local LUG.

Go to a couple of the local colleges, both private and public and offer
to teach a course at night on systems administration?
A lot of these colleges are desperate for knowledgeable people with
real-world experience.

Write some articles for magazines.  See if you can get them published.

Investigate and solve a problem in systems administration and write a
paper for LISA.

Then you can put these on your resume.

And smart people will listen to you.

Finally, as you go through life, all you can do is the best you can.  If
anyone wants anything better than that out of you, that is their
problem, not yours.

Warmest regards,

maddog