Degrees with Expiry Dates LO6276

Archie Kregear (kregear@lims.lockheed.com)
Thu, 28 Mar 1996 11:38:05 -0800

Replying to LO6260 --

>Should degrees have an expiration date? Steven Wright says that he
>doesn't worry about when he'll die. He already knows when it will happen
>because his birth certificate has an expiration date on it.

Great, I love it!

(Other good stuff removed)

>Howard Gardner claims that, for all our education, we'll largely cling to
>the 5 year-old mind. Perhaps we do need to be recalled, once education
>begins preparing folks for the 21st century rather than recapping the
>19th.

After being in the workplace for 20 years, I can say that I have not seen
anyone who was really prepared for a position in business by the
educational system. This, of course, includes myself. There are so many
differences between the workplace and educational or research institution.
I do not want to be critical of the educational system, it is just that
there is so much more to learn in order to be really productive in the
workplace. Recalling degrees is not the answer. Better preparation for
the workplace is. (A whole discussion in itself)

If the degree recall premise was true, then individuals would make the
most money the day they graduate as their value to the marketplace would
be the highest. Then as the knowledge base grows and the "education" of
the individual remains at his degree level, his value to the company drops
and there would be a point where the individual is forced back to school
in order to survive economically.

I really believe that the opposite is true. This is a big reason why entry
level salaries are less than half of what senior level individuals are
making. Maybe any individual who can double their initial entry level
income should be given a Doctorate.

Archie Kregear
kregear@lims.lockheed.com

-- 

kregear@lims.lockheed.com (Archie Kregear)

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