Howefamily

I dont have a masters either, I didnt go to university but rather did a technician course in my free time and then my professional accounting designation in my free time whilst working.
As I had been in that line of work for so long when we moved here, with the designation, my transfer to the Canadian one was a painless process.

It may well have been a different story if I were in my early twenties at the time.

Almost Canadian

I only have a LL.B. from an English University. I have been able to work as a lawyer on both sides of the Atlantic for almost 20 years.

I have worked with at least one lawyer that had a PhD. There may have been others but they, sensibly, kept that fact to themselves. The lawyer I refer to was a statistics professor in Calgary before she saw the light

Eddmac

True enough - I did the HNC also, I just call it a diploma out of habit as most people don't know what I'm talking about otherwise

The Canadian company were more than happy to hire me with experience over qualifications, in fact, they got rid of a guy with qualifications (and a string of 'letters' after his name) and no experience, because he was poop at his job.

My point was kind of that Degrees are not only unnecessary, but can in fact go against you in the hunt to find a job - even here in Canada. I'm not talking about those jobs that REQUIRE degrees, such as doctors/lawyers etc. but everything else. We tend to hire BCIT students with more 'hands-on' ability for our technicians, rather than people with degrees, as they have shown to be better at their jobs. I have also found over the years that having a Degree can instil a kind of snobbery on some people, the friend I talked about before expected to not only earn more than me, but couldn't fathom how I could be his boss, when he had a degree and I didn't. Needless to say, he and I are not friends any more.

Oink

As someone earlier said, formal liberal education creates well-rounded and informed citizens and should be encouraged if someone has the intellectual capacity to take advantage of the opportunity, plus I think people who have degrees are generally nicer people and their children are usually better off.

Eddmac

I'm sure that there are statistics that prove this, however statistics can be made to prove anything.

Some of the most opinionated and idiotic people I know are the most educated and some of the smartest (and most well off) people I know have nothing beyond secondary level education. Qualifications do not necessarily denote intelligence or understanding, simply an ability to regurgitate information.

I know many people with phd's - some of them can even string a sentence together.

Oink

But the experience of being a young adult who spends three or four years learning in an intellectually stimulating and demanding environment is invaluable to the development of human capacity.

scrubbedexpat091

Doctors are not really a good comparison in my view since they have a specialized degree not comparable to a general academic degree.

Almost Canadian

That was precisely the point I was making. Getting a degree because it is a requirement for admission to a profession is one thing; obtaining a degree to "broaden one's thinking" is another.

Someone suggested that, to obtain a job, education above a degree is a "must." I disagree.

Aren't all degrees specialized?

dbd33

In Canada one can take a degree without a subject. General Studies, or something.

It might make sense to take an undemanding course like that if the objective of being at university was to find a partner or if one intended to take a job for which any degree would do.

scrubbedexpat091

I wouldn't call degrees specialized, some are pretty vague like general studies that some schools have.

Depends on the industry one is in as well, hotels want degrees if you want to move up, no amount of experience will replace a degree in the view of many of the large hospitality companies.

Retail can be pretty bad as well now, no degree needed for entry level, but without one, you likely won't go anywhere.

Pilots don't need degrees to do their job if they have the flight training and experience, but many airlines now require a degree on top of the flight training. Check Delta's website for example, listed under their min, requirements is 4 year degree from an accredited university. At some point airlines have decided they want pilots with degrees.

Professions requiring a skill may not need a degree to go up, but in industries where no real skill is needed, companies use the degree requirement to thin out the amount of applicants.

Some hotel chains won't even hire non-university students into some entry level jobs as they only hire those in year 3 or 4 of a degree, so they can prep them for future management.

I have no doubt, I would have been able to go further up in the hotel and airline industries if I had a degree.

Heck even my dad's employer has stuck in a degree requirement for his job, he is retiring, no degree, good income, and nobody prior to him in this position had a degree, but now its been decided a degree is necessary for the position. They don't care what the degree is in though, just need a 4 year degree or higher.

Howefamily

sadly, whatever most peoples personal opinion on how valuable HE is or isnt, the above seems to sum it up entirely... in short without it you could well be at a disadvantage when entering the work force or trying to move up....

Eddmac

I have been fortunate in that the four different companies I have worked at, based promotion on performance and not qualifications.

I do not have a degree, yet I have had many people with degrees working for me. Having or not having a degree has been no indication of future performance of any given worker.

I have applied for (and got) positions that have stated a degree is a requirement for the position, yet I do not have a degree. I think that having a degree MAY help you to "get your foot in the door" as it were, but won't guarantee you being successful, or even keeping your job, your actual ability will do that.

dbd33

Obviously having a degree isn't relevant to one's performance in most jobs. It is, however, necessary in order to get a job in many organisations. It would, I think, be derelict not to arrange for one's children to have degrees.

bats

Does one?

Eddmac

I would prefer to have my children have relevant qualifications to achieve their ambitions. I have seen far too many people with useless degrees in rather menial positions because their parents thought it would be smart to force them into meaningless degrees because their egos thought it necessary. What a waste of four years.

"Arrange for one's children to have degrees"

Unfortunately I don't think this will work for you, or your children. Far better, I think, to give them the chance to earn a useful one. Or have degrees become so debased and valueless to be guaranteed these days?