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by dikdik 3808 days ago
Best reasons I can think of is projection and pride. If I couldn't do this job without a PhD and 10 years of experience then of course NO ONE else could possibly do it without those credentials.

Then there's the, if I HAD to have all these credentials to get a decent paying job, then everyone else should have to jump through those same hoops to or it won't be fair to me.

1 comments

It depend on the problem. Some problems really do require you have a lot of knowledge depth to be able to solve.
You can tell from the tone of some other comments that pride is a pretty big factor.
It might be, but it is also a shared culture. People like to work with people who have a shared background and understanding.

The natural sciences are similar in that you have to have a PhD to be taken at all seriously even though most of the time there is really no difference between a person with a BSc and 5 years of experience and someone with a PhD.

>It might be, but it is also a shared culture. People like to work with people who have a shared background and understanding.

This is clearly the case for many people, judging from the complete lack of diversity at many tech companies.

For a "meritocracy" Silicon Valley sure loves credentialing.