Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a vast variety of knowledge in many fields yet I don't have a college degree (though I have dabbled in community college), and it annoys me when people assume I'm uneducated or lack skills.
I don't have this problem, no.
Generally, people don't even know that I don't have a degree because rather than claiming to have a "vast variety" of knowledge "in many fields," I generally come off to others as though I do without having to say it, and when I don't know something, I look it up and find the answer.
What annoys me is when people try to act more intelligent than they actually are and attempt to speak with authority on something they know little about. That has nothing to do with a lack of college education though... It's actually most common from people who are college educated but can't seem to stop acting like someone with a 2-digit IQ.
It's all about how you portray yourself to others.
However I've known people who use their degree as a defensive shield against criticism against their opinion or designs. Simply having a degree doesn't make on infallible nor open to criticism. I see this most often with educators, architects, and engineers. In my work we see the effects of bad engineer planning. An area is converted for a new purpose but the engineer didn't factor the amount of bodies and electronic devices generating heat when designing the HVAC system nor factoring in the machines using large amounts of water in their plumbing designs. There's also been problems of the amount of electrical use in the newly converted area tripping breakers because the electrical system in the area wasn't upgraded for the equipment to be used in the area. We bring up these concerns during planning and are shot down because he has the engineering degree and we don't.
And yet, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the number of competent engineers probably exceeds the number of incompetent engineers. The same could be said of any other career. I have too much faith in human industry to assume otherwise.
Specifically regarding educators, I am going to speak for most of us when I say: people need to get over it. I can think of very few jobs as publicly scrutinized and marginalized. The fact that people went to elementary/middle/high school has seemed to make them experts on educational practice and policy. The situation becomes even worse when related to a particular field: "Mr. So-and-so, I understand you are an accomplished astrophysicist, but the application of physics and the instruction of physics are two different undertakings." Thus we are inclined to defend ourselves, our content knowledge, and our practices.
And yet, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the number of competent engineers probably exceeds the number of incompetent engineers. The same could be said of any other career. I have too much faith in human industry to assume otherwise.
Specifically regarding educators, I am going to speak for most of us when I say: people need to get over it. I can think of very few jobs as publicly scrutinized and marginalized. The fact that people went to elementary/middle/high school has seemed to make them experts on educational practice and policy. The situation becomes even worse when related to a particular field: "Mr. So-and-so, I understand you are an accomplished astrophysicist, but the application of physics and the instruction of physics are two different undertakings." Thus we are inclined to defend ourselves, our content knowledge, and our practices.
Not disputing your points. My point is some use their degree as a weapon against criticism from those without a degree as if only the opinion of one with a degree mattered.
What annoys me is when people try to act more intelligent than they actually are and attempt to speak with authority on something they know little about. That has nothing to do with a lack of college education though... It's actually most common from people who are college educated but can't seem to stop acting like someone with a 2-digit IQ.
I have a (formerly) close friend with an extremely high IQ. Once, after not seeing him for a few years, my wife, his wife he and I were having brunch in a New York restaurant. We were talking politics. He was pompously holding forth about something with which I agreed, saying that people who oppose Israel often don't think much of the U.S. he was exactly parroting a recent article in Commentary Magazine. I called him out on his verbal plagiarism. His laughter got even more uproarious when he said I was sounding "very conservative" and I said "I don't form an opinion without reading the Wall Street Journal and Commentary Magazine first." That happens to have been a direct quote from his father about 22 years earlier. He was apparently amazed that I had the mental capacity to remember that.
There were similar incidents where he showed his belief that he was/is the only intelligent person in the world. Unfortunately at my wife's 50th birthday party he "let loose" on one of my wife's friends, totally belittling him and making him feel stupid, even though, as a successful Tulane graduate and lawyer he is hardly dumb.
Not disputing your points. My point is some use their degree as a weapon against criticism from those without a degree as if only the opinion of one with a degree mattered.
It often happens in highly applied technical fields, that there is an overarching theory and also a quiver of "best practices" developed from decades of hardscrabble trial and error. Often the research-oriented engineers will wield good grasp of theory, but will rely excessively upon it, and will underestimate the practical difficulties that motivate using a large safety-factor or other compensatory schemes. Meanwhile, the persons with more practical experience – who tend to be older, typically with less formal education, and a more intuitive and experiential approach to problem-solving – will more reliably converge towards the right answer in a given practical situation, but will be unable to theoretically justify why they're right, and will denigrate mere theory for its bullheaded (in their mind) insistence on equations instead of "common sense". This sets up conflict. The theoretician scoffs at the untutored pragmatism of his counterpart, while the latter dismisses the theoretician as being pompous, callow and effete.
I have a vast variety of knowledge in many fields yet I don't have a college degree (though I have dabbled in community college), and it annoys me when people assume I'm uneducated or lack skills.
I NEVER assume that those with lesser degrees, GED, or never graduated hs, have not done their share of erudite learning.
Where I live, almost everyone has a Master's. So, many with a PhD, MD, etc act like they should be worshiped.
ANYONE can get a degree with enough time and money. Especially since "for profit" education arrived on the scene.
I have 2 "rare diseases" that i have needed emergency treatment for on multiple occasions. Many times, these doctors and nurses, with much more "book knowledge" than I have, literally had no idea what I was talking about when I told them my "presenting problem." (eg, one doc once asked me, "oh, uveitis, is that like conjunctivitis?" It's not even close.)
So I get it. I really do. I never look down upon people who are less educated unless they give me a glaring reason to do so. I have supervised people with lesser degrees who are "smarter" than those w PhDs.
Heck, I don't assume that someone WITH a degree has an education. How annoying is that?
An "education" is a lot more than occupational training, and most "degrees" are actually occupational training. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, computer programmers, physicists, chemists, etc etc etc - very few of these people have educations, but they all have degrees. So?
In addition, Steve Jobs died b/c he thought he knew more than his doctors. I'd call it pretty ignorant to not listen to someone who knows more than you about something.
He didn't have much to live either way. Some people choose not to go through treatments. It's their sickness and their pain and I say let them choose. And I am no fan of Steve Jobs or alternative medicine but if I am in that position I also want people to respect my decision if I choose death over chemo.
I have a vast variety of knowledge in many fields yet I don't have a college degree (though I have dabbled in community college), and it annoys me when people assume I'm uneducated or lack skills.
If someone assumes that then they are not very bright.
Now if you are applying for a job, a degree will help a lot. Most good paying jobs have several people applying for them so recruiters and hiring managers use degrees to choose potential candidates
I would recommend all young people to get a degree especially from a public university(cheaper) if they want to work in a white collar environment. Layoffs are common and experience and networking sometimes is not enough when everybody in your company gets laid off at the same time.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know what you mean, OP
