Does what college you went to really matter? : Othor Games

» Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:28 pm

They can be people with connections or actually supremely talented people. I doubt there's much middle ground.

I suppose that's really the only option. It just bugs me when people can skip 4-5 years of work, even if they're incredibly smart or show exceptional talent.

» Wed Aug 18, 2010 5:24 pm

I suppose that's really the only option. It just bugs me when people can skip 4-5 years of work, even if they're incredibly smart or show exceptional talent.

If they're capable, like really. I mean [censored] amazing and they proved it, I think it's better to just get them out there working. Sort of for the greater good sort of thing. The one exception to this (that I know of now) is children, no matter how smart or gifted they might be I don't agree they should be pushed into everything.

» Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:37 pm

If they're capable, like really. I mean [censored] amazing and they proved it, I think it's better to just get them out there working. Sort of for the greater good sort of thing. The one exception to this (that I know of now) is children, no matter how smart or gifted they might be I don't agree they should be pushed into everything.

I guess my issue is that you can be [censored] brilliant and not have the motivation to complete anything. It's a rather big gamble.

Not to say that people don't burn out normally in Ph.D / medschool, of course.

» Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:30 pm

I'd have enjoyed studying English, but at 3 grand a year my own self preservation instincts kicked in and told me to study something horrible and useful instead.

I don't know what you're studying but this is the exact same for me. I was all set to do some linguistic sciences at Durham and then bam! I realised since I'm spending so much money I should do something with better job prospects, damn it all...

» Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:47 pm

No, at my school every year there are a couple of people accepted into medschool without an undergrad degree (last year there were 2 I think). On top of that a handful whose grades were below the cutoff.

If you completed your PHd at Umich, then surely you have heard of these cases?

Noel Ignatiev got into harvard as a masters student without an undergrad degree, harvard is even more prestigious than my school. (a lot more prestigious)

Do you mind telling me which school you go to?

» Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:51 pm

I mean, when is there much difference between the places a person gets a degree? I understand the difference between getting a degree at a state university and somewhere like Harvard or MIT, but beyond big schools like that, is there really much of a difference as long as you get your degree with good grades?

Yes. Look a the http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-computer-sciences-and-it here. There is a definite correlation between the place on the list and the number of people in graduate level jobs after leaving.

The thing is, just about everything in the OS, you can find instructions on how to use it within the OS built-in manual; matter of fact, responding "I don't quite remember that command, I would need to look at the man page to give you the correct answer" is a very valid response in a technical interview. You don't want to ay that off the bat, obviously, and not a number of times either...

There must be some general principals though? The same thing could be said of programming however you are going be a useless Java programmer if you don't understand encapsulation. Also if you applied for a Java job you are expected to know the core set of Java functions.

» Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:28 pm

There must be some general principals though? The same thing could be said of programming however you are going be a useless Java programmer if you don't understand encapsulation. Also if you applied for a Java job you are expected to know the core set of Java functions.

... or the other 3 for that matter...

There are general principles, sure, but when it goes to systems administration, at its most basic, it is doing specific single tasks, being running a command, editing an option in a conf file, etc, and knowing the general principles of any aspect of the OS may not really help you in being able to successfully carry out a task. And it's been my experience that tech interviewers ask questions about specific tasks. About the only questions I've ever had posed to me related to principles, is shell theory, which to some is like arguing politics or religion.

» Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:59 am

I had an extremely bitter professor who worked at both a more expensive college and the public college I was at and he claimed it was all about economic segregation by putting a rubber stamp on the people that could afford the more expensive colleges. I suspect it's some combination of legitimate reasons and darker reasons like that.