A Matter of Degree

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A Matter of Degree

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Adam Angelini SSCrazy Eights Points: 8548 More actions · Answer 1

Associate in computer information systems. Also have my MCP on sql administration.

I am also a home brewer, but no formal education there:D

Patrick Cahill SSCertifiable Points: 6483 More actions · Answer 2

I got a BA in Chinese and spent 10 years as a translator. I then went back to school and got a BS in computer science. I've now been in the IT world for about 7 years.

fhanlon SSChampion Points: 13131 More actions · Answer 3

I have a BSc in Computer Science and a MBA in management. I works as A SQL Server DBA for a healthcare facility. Ongoing education is very important. It only the theory from University that is still relevent. The technology I trained with and learned is obsolete. (the relational database I studied at school was System R) So ongoing studies to keep up is important. I did my MCSD and MCDBA and continue to read and learn in order to continue to be able to do my job.

Francis

Will SQL 4 Food SSCrazy Points: 2253 More actions · Answer 4

I started down the path toward a Computer Engineering degree but eventually switched and earned a BS in mathematics. I taught high school for two years, then cut my teeth with VBA for Excel and some Oracle DB backend work. My career then moved to web development with SQL Server backend. This led me to more and more DBA work, and eventually to the full time DBA post I now hold.

Ahh, the twists and turns of a career in IT!

But boss, why must the urgent always take precedence over the important?

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736478 More actions · Answer 5

Thanks for sharing and it's very interesting to see where everyone's been.

I tried brewing in college, my roommate and I decided we liked the tasting more than the science 😉

I learned Pascal, C, ADA, LISP, APL, Assembler, and Fortran in college. Only the C has been used since. And I'd prefer not to go back there. The best thing about 12 semesters of math is that I can help my kids with homework without ever feeling lost or confused:hehe:

Timothy-313907 Ten Centuries Points: 1226 More actions · Answer 6

B.S. in Computer Science here. I ended up working for the university I graduated from and thought about pursuing a masters in Computer Engineering but didn't really relish the required business classes. And I guess I also just don't have the motivation to either. I make good enough money for me and most of the things I learned in college I haven't used directly in a long while. I never had any classes for my current work of web and database development. And while I did have a year of software development classes I continue to learn new things, refine how I develop, etc so even those courses have been somewhat obsoleted now. (But they did give me a better foundation to start from so they were good for that.)

I guess like others have said getting a degree demonstrates a certain level of commitment but there are other ways of demonstrating that. Not everyone learns the same way either. Structured classes might be good for some, hands on training might be best for others.

Charles Kincaid SSChampion Points: 13593 More actions · Answer 7

I take pride in being a 30 plus year NDP. That's a Non Degreed Professional. In school I was in the ROTC for four years. It's a 2 year program but they asked me to come back for two more so that I could teach. Every day after classes I would go back to my Junior High to work in the CAI lab. (Computer Aided Instruction.) It was one of the famous IBM 1500 systems. Coursewriter II and APL.

After school I went for an Associates in Computer Science. I got my first programming job the first week of class because I had four years programming already. I worked in the school computer center as an operator (volunteer). As time progressed I was spending more time working than in class until I no longer qualified as a student, even a part time one.

There is famous radio host in the U.S. that calls himself a Doctor Of Democracy. I'd rather be a Doctor Of Debauchery. :w00t:

What do you call the person who graduates last in their class at medical school?

Doctor.

Think about it.

ATBCharles Kincaid

Tony Davis SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4405 More actions · Answer 8

I've got a degree (BSc) in Chemistry, and even went as far as to get a PhD in the subject.

I'd like to say that I use what I learned there in my current job, but the surface chemistry of III-V semiconductors just isn't a topic that comes up much in the office, for some reason....;).

Cheers,

Tony.

cy-dba SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4179 More actions · Answer 9

MS/BS in Physics and haven't done anything relating to it since school. I've been a SQL Server DBA for almost six years and was in marketing/product management before that.

Stephanie J Brown Hall of Fame Points: 3896 More actions · Answer 10

AA in Political Science, and Certificate of Data Processing, back in '81. I was tutoring COBOL while I was taking the class (most problems were logic-related, not language-related 😀 ). My Independent Studies project was on those "new" relational databases. Spent years trying to get a chance to actually work on one, and ended up teaching myself Access 1.0 and Paradox. Now I'm learning SQL Server since we migrated from Access to SQL to support web functionality.

Continuing education in the Degree of Life includes teaching Motorcycle Safety, editing club newsletter for 3 years, helping raise step-kids, growing tomatos and green beans, bicycling (STP twice), and anything else that interests me. I'm an avid reader - so many books, so little time! :hehe:

I've considered going back to college, but haven't seen a degree that truly interests me. I prefer broad knowledge to narrow degrees. Data warehousing looks interesting tho; I'm a data hound at heart.

Here there be dragons...,

Steph Brown

Brandie Tarvin SSC Guru Points: 173080 More actions · Answer 11

My first college experience was a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts, followed by a near-Bachelor Degree in History (just 1 term paper / class short when I moved out of town). I worked as a newspaper carrier 2 different times when I was growing up, then fast food / department store / university library... and lots of customer service-retail jobs before I became a DBA.

Oddly enough, those experiences have actually helped me on a day-to-day basis with the DBA position. Weird, isn't it? @=)

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I should add that I have had a lot of programming experience & classes from High School on (Basic, Fortran, Assembly, Pascal, Cobol, etc.) and cut my virtual teeth on the state of the art Commodore 64 my dad brought home one day. But all the computer related stuff wasn't, at the time, job training so much as it was having fun with new technology. My very first program was a pretty "moving" graphic of a Christmas tree with falling snow. And I programmed each one of those axis points individually.. :hehe:

Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

Chris Hornung SSC Journeyman Points: 80 More actions · Answer 12

BS in Wildlife Ecology

then 3 years of Post Grad in Zoology

GrasshopperQ Newbie Points: 6 More actions · Answer 13

All my college education has been classes that interest me. Some English, Writing, Math, Languages. No use for a CS degree. I'm making good enough money right now, and after having to teach degreed programmers how to program, degreed DBAs how to DBA all from self-taught experience I feared being degreed might dumb me down a bit...and I can't afford that!

I went from construction worker to IC manufacturer to AP auditor where I cut my teeth on Clipper and FoxPro to help the other auditor with their work. Then it was tech-work, web development and SQL Server support. It was all downhill from there.

John Chambers SSC Enthusiast Points: 101 More actions · Answer 14

BS in Psychology, MA in Counseling, worked 3 years in Career Services for a liberal arts college. Had more fun playing with Apple II's in our office, then used early Mac database software to manage the campus jobs program.

Took night classes in COBOL and PL/1 to get into a corporate training program, have spent 20 years doing everything from mainframe to Smalltalk to SQL Server.

Seems like a weird change of direction, but I was too analytical and logical for the counseling biz... 😛

Miles Neale SSChampion Points: 13147 More actions · Answer 15

BA 71 in Political Science with following degrees in what was call in those days Data Processing and then that a degree in the Bible.

Started in the IT field in 72 working in the OJT fields of interpersonal relationships, system design, controlling personal feelings while under stress, application development, data management and an advanced degree in problem solving.

Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!