Again, you can amass all of the theory you want. If you have never put it into practice, it means squat...

IMO, doctoral degrees, PhD, dEd, DJ (Doctor of Jurisprudence), etc are pretty much useless outside the academic world. The only exception I would make is if you are in one of the classical sciences (Chemistry, Engineering, Physics), etc). In those areas, particulary with large R and D segments, it makes sense to have PhD's. Then again, a lot of R and D is theorhetical work.

In the software development world, many of the best dont have a Comp Sci background. A lot of the best where english and history majors. A lot of the best never went to school.

That said, anybody who throws a degree in one's face pretty much as nothing else going for them....

I have similar thoughts about the whole certification process. What does it mean? Squat. Until there is a standard rule making body ala the AICPA, ABA, AMA, etc, no real certification exists in our industry.



>The best example I ever heard about the value of advanced degrees was in an interview with the former owner of "Janitor in a Drum". You remember those folks from way back when?
>
>Seems the owner went to a business seminar sponsered by the Harvard School of Business. They convinced him that the shirt sleeves rolled up way he was running his business just couldn't work correctly.
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>Even though his business was doing fine, he was convinced it could do better. He hired a Yale MBA grad as a business manager. The new guy came in and couldn't believe that people cheered when someone made a sale, unbuttoned their tie, etc. He fired a bunch of people and brought in a bunch of other Ivy League types.
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>By the time the owner relized the Yale guy had driven his business into the ground it was too late. No more "Janitor in a Drum".
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>PF
>
>>>
>>It's hard to get a Ph.D. without doing work in the subject, you know? But you insisted on getting chapter and verse.
>><
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>>Well, here is where you would be WRONG....
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>>Doing theorhetical/academic work in a subject and doing real-world work are two different things...
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>>There is rarely such a thing as a part-time doctoral program. Most, if not all, are full time. What are you doing when you are not working on your disertation? You are teaching.
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>>Ph.D.'s often having real world/relevant experience? Do you really want to have this debate? When did you graduate college? Talk about a group of folks that are often the most theorhetically driven windbags on the planet. I can't tell you how many times I had to sit an listen to a lecture from a PhD who I know had not done real/practical work in 10-20 years at least...
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>>They dont call it Piled High and Deeper for nothing....