Re:Is college worth the cost?
by ivankirigin on Wednesday August 29, 2007 @03:16PM
(#47928)
There is an interesting group of ideas around intelligence, education, credentialism, and signaling.
Getting a degree is a sign that you are smart enough to get a degree. Getting one from a good school is that much better. The biggest loss if you learned the exact same material on your own outside a university is that others aren't signaled that you've received that education.
If you build something good, it doesn't matter where you are. People know you're smart from what you've done.
There are millions of people paying for a credential that means less as more people get it. Companies treat college degrees as a sign that you're not a total failure.
It would be nice if there were better tests for ability. They work for things like the SAT II, but I can't imagine an accurate test for post-graduate ability besides a review of what you've made.
But companies are lazy. They don't have the time or money to really look at the quality of most candidates, so they use signaling tools as filters.
Getting a degree is a sign that you are smart enough to get a degree. Getting one from a good school is that much better. The biggest loss if you learned the exact same material on your own outside a university is that others aren't signaled that you've received that education.
If you build something good, it doesn't matter where you are. People know you're smart from what you've done.
There are millions of people paying for a credential that means less as more people get it. Companies treat college degrees as a sign that you're not a total failure.
It would be nice if there were better tests for ability. They work for things like the SAT II, but I can't imagine an accurate test for post-graduate ability besides a review of what you've made.
But companies are lazy. They don't have the time or money to really look at the quality of most candidates, so they use signaling tools as filters.