University Degrees - necessary in making a valuable contribution?

[Liara Covert]

Hi Antiventurecapital,

I agree with you that a person can do different things to distinguish himself from a crowd. A degree itself doesn't reveal much about a person, but the approaches taken to develop onself and valuable lessons learned may expand on the picture considerably.

You describe success as getting ahead and "having a crack at better jobs." I'm curious what makes you believe certain lifestyles or jobs are necessarily better than others?

[Antiventurecapital]

Originally Posted by Liara Covert

You describe success as getting ahead and "having a crack at better jobs." I'm curious what makes you believe certain lifestyles or jobs are necessarily better than others?

I don't believe that all jobs and lifestyles are equal.

Just off the top of my head, last December the media told us about several dozen employees at Goldman Sachs receiving $25 million XMAS bonuses. Now compare that with someone earning next to minimum wage at Wal-marts and not even having any medical benefits.

Are both jobs equal?

Yes, some jobs are better than others. The great thing is that you are the final arbiter of which job is best for you.

[Erki]

Last time I heard that plumbers get pretty cool money in some countries. Can anyone give me directions to the plumber college?

[Erki]

Originally Posted by Antiventurecapital

Well, what would you call it?

A profession?

I wouldn't.

It would be good if someone defined "profession" here.

My understanding is that professional X is someone who does X for living, be it selling burgers, being a CEO, blogging, emptying trash containers.

[hindweb]

I think it all depends on your career planning. If you are thinking of taking up a job with a big corporation, then you need the certificates. If you are gonna go the Bill Gates way, then why do you need these papers?

Sadly I am from the first group, I am now preparing for an avanced certification even thou I have 8 years of exp, but this paper does add value to my career.

[Antiventurecapital]

Originally Posted by Erki

It would be good if someone defined "profession" here.

My understanding is that professional X is someone who does X for living, be it selling burgers, being a CEO, blogging, emptying trash containers.

The word has been watered down just like "hero" and "superstar" of late. Its true meaning is a career path that requires one to first accumulate a body of knowledge through an academic environment. Think doctor, lawyer, architect, engineer.

I still roll my eyes whenever I hear phrases such as "carpet-cleaning professional","real estate professional", and "waste management professional".

[Antiventurecapital]

Professional: A person who practices an occupation involving high standards of intellectual knowledge after successfully completing the required education and training.

Professional Services: The rendering of personal services by a person authorized to practice as one of the following professions as defined: Physicians, Dentists, Attorneys at law, Professional engineers, Architects, Certified public accountants and licensed public accountants, Veterinarians, Chiropractors, Podiatrists, Registered nurses, Optometrists, Physical therapists, Landscape architects, Land surveyors, Opticians, and Physician assistants. Source: Rhode Island General Laws

Source

[Erki]

OK, but then I ask, is being a professional somehow better or more estimable than being a non-professional?

[Liara Covert]

Tere Tere Erki!

To answer your question, whether 'professional or non-professional jobs are better' depends upon your point of view. People will always have their own opinions. We all place value judgments on different kinds of success based on our own priorities. You benenfit from deciding on your own views.

For example, if you're a talented football player and your idea of success is making a large salary, having a non-professional job on a sports team, even for a few years, would make you feel successful.

Then again, if scientific learning is your goal, like the sister of a friend of mine, you might complete a professional medical degree and then fight for $35,000 grants each year to perform cancer research to feel successful.

Of course, if earning money isn't your idea of success, yet developing intellectual learning is, you might earn a philosophy or cultural degree and then work for someone like the Dalai Lama. Estimable may not be your goal.

Its useful to point out that traditional professional services are changing dramatically as the result of globalisation. People may train in one place and move to another to practice. Professional standards are increasingly internationalized in many sectors yet, sometimes recertification is still required in different countries. If you find your passion, you're more likely to make sacrifices to alter your own idea of success. Consider my Estonian grandfather. He was a physician in Estonia, fled during WWII, recertified to practice in Germany, moved to Italy, recertified in Australia and then in Canada.

[Liara Covert]

Hi Antiventurecapital.

Thanks for your reply. You make a valid point: people in Western cultures rarely consider "all jobs and lifestyles are equal." Let's take a closer look...

If you analyze this deeper, perhaps what you mean to say is that all jobs and lifestyles aren't desirable for yourself (or others)? Jobs that enable us to feel "adequate" or "sufficiently challenged and compensated" bring up issues of entitlement, expectations or assumptions about training with predictable outcomes. It's interesting that not all people who train to be professionals emerge in job roles, with responsibility and status they expect.

The Goldman Sachs and Walmart comparison you offer clearly demonstrates that all employees in business retail aren't paid the same. That's clear. You could also say that McDonald's employees aren't paid the same as a waiter in a luxury restaurant. People in different environments are required to have different skills and experience. In my mind, work conditions and standards differ from "equality."

A few thoughts for reflection:
Judgment & cultural history tell us to believe that all people aren't born equal.
Reality and views of success reveal people have different levels of potential.
Not even identical twins are identical in absolutely every way.
Gender, sexual and cultural discrimination result in prejudice & violence
Human rights organizations evolve to dedicate to action for the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women and other under-represented groups

You may enjoy reading Samuel P. Huntington's book "The Clash of Civilisations." It expands on a controversial theory that people's cultural/religious identity will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world.

[Antiventurecapital]

Originally Posted by Erki

OK, but then I ask, is being a professional somehow better or more estimable than being a non-professional?

Society in general seems to think so, but as I said above you are the one who makes the final decision.