What degrees do you have and which do you want to get and the intentions behind them.

General Discussion
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What degrees do you have and which do you want to get and the intentions behind them.
I think with the excellent spread of interests that we have here, we should display them for each other and follow through with what you want to augment them with.
Just as important would be the desires that lead you in the pursuits of these degrees and what you intend to do with them to make the world a better, brighter place.

2

I’m someone who has spent perhaps a bit too much time in college. My degrees are: Bachelor’s Degrees in Computer Science and Music, and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies.
The music degrees were primarily to provide time and training to improve my musical skills, which is an extremely enjoyable endeavor. And, in a way, it has taught me a lot about how to think.
The computer science degree was to provide income, in an area which I also enjoyed. I originally wanted to be a programmer, but I just picked up a related job of a Controls Engineer - I got the hire because the hiring manager liked my CS degree. So far, it’s been a lot of fun and there are surprising parallels. It’s a job I hadn’t even really known about until a recruiter recruited me.

3

I don’t rate listing of degrees as any more important than listing everyone’s weight, blood pressure, etc. I’ve known delightful, brilliant people who had PhDs and the same with nothing more than a high school diploma. Similarly, I’ve known complete asses across the spectrum of education. Even within a given degree, the breadth of knowledge is strange. I’ve met a few PhD chemists who didn’t seem capable of passing a freshman Chem course and others who could think circles around the rest of us including some instructors with years of experience.
The most important thing is not to judge people by what paper they have hanging on their walls, but what your experience tells you about them.
Occam

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I don't rate listing of degrees as any more important than listing everyone's weight, blood pressure, etc. I've known delightful, brilliant people who had PhDs and the same with nothing more than a high school diploma. Similarly, I've known complete asses across the spectrum of education. Even within a given degree, the breadth of knowledge is strange. I've met a few PhD chemists who didn't seem capable of passing a freshman Chem course and others who could think circles around the rest of us including some instructors with years of experience. The most important thing is not to judge people by what paper they have hanging on their walls, but what your experience tells you about them. Occam
I never post in order to get wither the person is good or bad. I tend to think they would relate that if they became perturbed at someone. I just like people who have the ambition to excel in something well enough to get educated in it. It's the passion that matters and the degrees are just a way point in peoples lives. Education is like money. It's not how much you have, it's what you use it for that matters. I wasn't kidding when I posted the topic lighthearted posts. Everyone is a veritable gold mine of wonder. They have a past and always has a future. I don't really care if their personality is light or dark. Sometimes the darker the soul the more interesting the individual. People come to these sites for many reasons. I think that many come for acknowledgment that they can't find elsewhere. It's a home away from home that doesn't have all the attachments that drowns so many in a blanket of drama. Places like these who have talented people, interested in so much, without restraint are goldmines of humanity. The topic of degrees is only a n open door into that world.
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I think a bigger question is can people still think properly.
Americans are NOT stupid - WITH SUBTITLES - YouTube (the title could have been better)
It would also be interesting to know about people who study in modern setting vs those who study in classical settings. (would they have fared better in the above video)
http://www.amazon.com/Educating-Your-Child-Modern-Times/dp/0974164100
- YouTube

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Today academics; yesterday religion - both, in some ways, authoritarian structures.

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What degrees do you have and which do you want to get and the intentions behind them. I think with the excellent spread of interests that we have here, we should display them for each other and follow through with what you want to augment them with. Just as important would be the desires that lead you in the pursuits of these degrees and what you intend to do with them to make the world a better, brighter place.
There are many reasons to choose a formal course of study. Basic interests, career mindedness, one’s one capability, need for structure etc. My first motivation was to feed myself, not being from wealth I had to earn a living. I was introduced to chemistry in High School and liked that kind of thing and it seemed to be a career where you could earn a living wage and to be reasonably intellectually stimulated. During that time I was introduced to chemical engineering and that seemed a much better fit so I did that as an undergrad. As my career evolved I became interested in computer science as it applies to my engineering problems so I took an MS in that. Soon after, I felt I needed more advanced knowledge in ChemE. So I took a second MS there. I prefer the structure that university provides. Many don’t require that or feel too constrained by that very old process. It is a difficult thing to decide though as most of us were very young when we have to make that kind of decision.
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Ah yes. As I recall from my undergraduate years a fellow chem major gave the old definition: A chemical engineer is a person who talks engineering when with chemists, chemistry when with engineers, and politics when with both. Sorry about that, but my antique mind drags up weird stuff. :lol:
Occam

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Ah yes. As I recall from my undergraduate years a fellow chem major gave the old definition: A chemical engineer is a person who talks engineering when with chemists, chemistry when with engineers, and politics when with both. Sorry about that, but my antique mind drags up weird stuff. :lol: Occam
There is a lot of truth to that. Talking politics is tricky; It makes some people lose their senses.
10

Education serves a number of purposes, but knowledge does not make the top of the list. We all judge others initially by a stereotype and a PhD form Harvard is probably going to score higher in intelligence and conscientiousness than a burger flipper. And a PhD from Harvard is also more likely to produce children who may one day become PhD themselves compared to a burger flipper. So education predominately serves the purpose of attracting a spouse and obtaining a job. IOW, it’s a certificate of certain biological qualities most of us consider important, or what the economists refer to as conspicuous consumption. Who knows, maybe one day your girlfriend and your employer will simply read your genetic code and see what you have and people won’t have to spend crazy money and wasting many years in school to display what they may be capable of; I purposely say “may be capable of,” since just like with education there are no guarantees. But until then, education is as important to us as is a tail to a peacock.

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I don’t know, George, the damned peacocks that were let loose in my neighborhood about eighty years ago are usually in trouble with their tails, what with running across the street and having a car run over the dragging tail. While education helped me get decent jobs, its main importance to me was the enjoyment of being able to understand more and more about more and more topics. I found it fun, and l almost always dropped any class that wasn’t.
Occam

12

Sure, the tail is a disadvantage. That’s the whole point. And because only the best can afford to cope with it, the peahens find it attractive. The same as with education. Only the best can afford, monetarily and mentally, to spend decades getting a title. But maybe the cars are really killing all the peacocks and their tails have now turned into a maladaptation. Just like education has, since people now spend most of their productive time getting all kinds of degrees and often run out of time to have kids.

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Education serves a number of purposes, but knowledge does not make the top of the list. We all judge others initially by a stereotype and a PhD form Harvard is probably going to score higher in intelligence and conscientiousness than a burger flipper. And a PhD from Harvard is also more likely to produce children who may one day become PhD themselves compared to a burger flipper.
Lack of a PhD is not necessarily evidence of lack of intelligence, there are brilliant 'burger flippers' out there, who did not have an opportunity for a college education. And yes, a PhD from Harvard is more likely to provide his or her children the opportunity to obtain a subsequent PhD than even a brilliant burger flipper.
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Yes, Asanta. And some birds don’t fly, like penguins and kiwis, for example.

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To continue the metaphor, kiwis have gone extinct from hunting, and penguins are eaten by killer whales.
Occam