| I disagree. Why would you claim something falsely? It's possible they wouldn't press further, but it's also possible the person would say "Oh, X University! Was there Z when you went?" Now, you could go on and tell me about how it's just that easy to make up something else, like, "Hmm, I don't remember that," but I learned a long time ago that making up facts about yourself can easily bite you in the ass. As I've grown older, I generally try to steer away from doing this. Taking the high road and being honest doesn't mean you have a chip on your shoulder. The only "clearly fucking with" I got out of the grandparent post was the degreed person taking a jab at the non-degreed person, and it's not the first time I've seen a person with a lack of higher education insulted offhandedly that way. It's almost like people with degrees have a chip on their shoulder, or something... (I kid). Now, to agree slightly with your post, I do sometimes mention that I have no college education (nor did I finish high school). At the same time, I am paid more than many people who do have degrees, but I am limited from many jobs because I lack a degree of any sort. However, I don't try to debate whether my way is better, because I know that learning works differently for different people. As for validation? You may have a point there, but it's amazing to ME that so many people fail to realize that you can learn almost anything yourself. I don't think it's wrong to be proud that you gained the same (or better, being real-world experience) knowledge that another person had to pay $35,000 to learn. Please don't think I'm being dismissive of college education though. I miss out on a great many things simply because it doesn't fall into my area of interest (classic literature and ancient history being prime examples). By getting a degree, you ensure that you're at least passingly familiar with the same basics as everyone else. I do intend to go back to school eventually, but I have very little pressing need to earn a specific degree. If things keep going the way of MIT and free online courseware, I may skip the degree portion and gain personal enrichment without paying an institution for the privilege. |
Nothing about those answers are false. It's a truthful answer designed to promote good will, not a lie. It's called having social skills.
His inability to play this game got him a stinging insult in front of a bunch of the execs' peers. Way to go dude. I'm just offering advice on how to avoid getting socially "stung", not on how to live your life in general.
> ability to learn anything yourself
I agree, I majored in economics and I'm a search engineer making over 200k. My degree is nearly worthless to me.