John,

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

It's a bit shortsighted, don't you think ? Let me ask you a question, Do you own a degree ?

>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....

To my knowledge Einstein failed his first degree :)

Seriously, There is some truth in your point. There are lot's of people who reach the highest rank without academic education. I do regard these people as exceptional gifted. As for all the other souls, an academic degree certainly helps to understand their course to become a good professional.

However, I do think that people with academic have a fairly strong basis to their knowledge, and often have knowledge in a broader band of their field, whereas the exceptional gifted people tent to be exceptional good at one certain field but have less knowledge about others.

Walter,