[plug] [OT] After Year 12

[Andrew Cowie]

On Tue, 2004-08-03 at 17:32 +0800, Bill Kenworthy wrote:
> I am biased here but, dont underestimate the power of that piece of
> paper saying "Batchel... [lack of which may] limit your opportunities,
> sometimes drasticly.  This applies particularly to large organisations
> and the government.

A related issue is immigration - most Western countries [ie Australia,
Canada, the United States] require a Bachelor's degree as a pre-
requisite to any kind of serious {work, permanent residency} visa.

In the American case you have to demonstrate 3 years of "significant
contribution" to your field (which they basically define as post-
doctoral level work) for every year of a 4 year Bachelor's Degree you
are missing.

12 years of that kind of evidence? Yikes. That's hard to amount. But
with my degree in hand (literally! Somewhat ridiculously, I had to
present the actual parchment each year when I renewed my free trade
visa)

Australians are impressive for the degree to which such a large
percentage of the population have travelled and worked abroad. It brings
a level of understanding and perspective notably lacking in many other
cultures. Without an undergrad degree you will, rightly or wrongly,
constrict your options for working in and experiencing other countries.

On Tue, 2004-08-03 at 23:02 +0800, Arie Hol wrote: 
> In summary, going to uni is about more than just a piece of paper, it
> says something about your character and your personality, as well as
> the ability to make a serious commitment to your self and seeing it
> through to reach your stated objectives.

Hear, hear.

[Based on my experience, THAT is the reason it is a significant factor
in hiring. Almost every university graduate I know *accomplished*
something. Each in their own way had to surmount challenges to get to
the goal. A quality worth seeking]

AfC
Sydney

-- 
Andrew Frederick Cowie

OPERATIONAL DYNAMICS
Operations Consultants and Infrastructure Engineers

http://www.operationaldynamics.com/
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