Andrew's Upstanding US Citizen Homepage

I have a big, big problem - I don't have a college degree. Not a Master's, not a Bachelor's, not even an Associate's. I've been to college, sure, but I've never gotten very far. It wasn't that it was too tough for me, but rather my brain just doesn't work that way. In a world that values tangibles, it seems I've come up a little short. You certainly wouldn't know it without meeting me, but I'm a rather smart individual. I can put a few words together, if you know what I mean. Not to mention the already knowing what the problem is before you've finished explaining. I'd say I've got a leg up on the ones who took 4 years to figure out their craft. I'm more of a natural learner.

That's not to say that college doesn't produce a good employee. I'm sure that I would be offending many very smart people if I said that. What I mean to say is that there is a whole other breed of people out there who just aren't cut out for formal education. I've been told that companies like degrees because it indicates that people can be trained. It subtly hints that the owner of this resume has put in the time, studied, and emerged as a valid student of their craft. In days past, I might give up my case, but as they're saying, "College is the new High School." You wouldn't believe the wind bags that are making it through to their graduation these days.

A degree cannot be the standard of excellence. No matter what field you're in, no college is going to produce a chiseled key that slides right into the lock of your important job opening. As an individual who pours over resumes from time to time, I can tell you that the college degrees mean very little to me. What I look for instead is that the applicant has significant real-world experience in the areas I need him or her for. It goes without saying that there are some things you can't learn in school.

In school, you won't learn the delicate nature of information disclosure. You certainly can't expect a fresh graduate to be familiar with all the ways an SSL certificate can cause problems when installed in IIS. This really isn't my main point, but we "work experience" fellows certainly take issue when we see requirements for degrees, despite having all of the experience requisites.

What I'd really like to point out is that by ignoring applicants without a degree, you're essentially ignoring a vast pool of potentially genius employees. As one of those geniuses, I take umbrage. I actually take pride in the fact that I don't have a degree. Can you believe it? My reasoning for not liking school; I didn't want to learn stuff that's already been learned. Please admire my bravado, I was quite a young lad when I made that statement. I'm a trail-blazer, you see. I'm a tight rope walker, balancing above the depths of insanity, the pads of my feet gripping precariously to the taut cord of brilliance. Couple this with real experience and you get a very effective person. Sound like you need one of those?