[ubuntu-uk] Ubuntu jobs

[Mark Harrison]

Rhys Morgan wrote:
>
> Sorry did not mean to be arrogant, like I said it was just a rant really 
> i have been searching for weeks for jobs which from experience i have 
> done better quicker and more competently than people who have degree 
> level qualifications and falling at every hurdle some would say its my 
> own fault for not going to university and gaining said qualifications 
> but at that age I decided to join the parachute regiment instead and now 
> have a wife and baby ( wife is in uni studying to be a midwife  )  so 
> its not viable for me to go back to education.
>
> Anyway apologies to any CS grads that I have upset I was not presuming 
> to be better than you just speaking from the experience of CS grads I 
> have met in the past ( and their errors I've had to correct )
>   
Rhys,

I have degrees in "Mathematics and Computation", so I'm _almost_ one of 
the "CS Grads" in question :-)

I personally wasn't offended by your rant. I too have met many people 
who I consider excellent in IT  - some of whom have no academic 
qualifications (but, of course, some who do.)


In part, I agree with the sentiment - at the risk of making a sweeping 
generalisation, those of us who studied IT at University almost 20 years 
ago were, compared with those going off to Uni this week:

- A) a far smaller percentage of our age group, and
- B) typically more motivated by a fascination in understanding how to 
make things works than in the income prospects that such a degree might 
bring about :-)

Obviously, many currently studying IT are motivated just as we are, but, 
from anecdotal evidence, no longer represent 100% of those on such courses.

As an aside to others on the list, if you ARE about to start Uni - WELL 
DONE - I applaud your decision, and hope it works out for you - by 
virtue of being on this list you've already demonstrated a "vocation"... 
however, expect to meet people on your course who are doing it because 
they think it's where the big bucks lie [1].

As an aside to others of that age-group on the list, if you are about to 
start something OTHER than Uni - WELL DONE - I applaud your decision, 
and hope it works out for you.


However, I would caution you, when applying for jobs, to make comments 
like that on an open list. The manager who is about to interview you may 
well BE a CS grad, and take personal offence, and count this against 
you. (Heh, I've met some IT Managers who had IT degrees who I wouldn't 
trust to run a whelk stall [2].) On the flip side, however, you may find 
that someone reading this shares your views and IS in a position to 
offer you a job - so it may all work out.

The general principle of "don't slag off a large part of your potential 
customer-base [3] on a forum that is easily readable by Google" holds 
though :-)

Regards,

PS - under the circumstances, I'll write it out some letters so you know 
my biases :-)

Mark Harrison, BA, MA, MBCS


NOTES:

[1] - it isn't particularly, BTW, but that's another subject for another 
day.

[2] - I'm a better entrepreneur than I am a manager, BTW, see point [1] 
above :-)

[3] - I tend to use the word "customer" in the sense of "anyone who you 
might potentially provide a service to, or who has the ability to 
influence such a buying decision", and class "hire" as a special case of 
"buy"...