Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Remember, many years of bad experience does not an expert make.



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  • In his defense, picking a Ph.D. thesis is not something to be taken lightly. My friends who have gotten degrees have all looked for ideas from their professors or mentors. My wife just began doctoral studies in education and even bounces ideas off me. The gurus here might have better insight into what the next frontier should be than his professors.

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  • Bob Hovious (2/13/2009)


    The gurus here might have better insight into what the next frontier should be than his professors.

    Agreed. I chatted with lots of people before picking my master's thesis, supervisor included. But asking for a basic book? If someone has less than an introductory level of understanding of a field, they shouldn't be considering a PhD thesis in it.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
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  • It will look bloody good on the resume....:hehe:

    -Roy

  • Roy Ernest (2/13/2009)


    It will look bloody good on the resume....:hehe:

    Funny you should say that...it's been said that you should study for a PhD for yourself, not for anyone else - not least because it's a hell of a lot of hard work. Most of the PhD's I know work in an area entirely unrelated to their studies.

    I reckon having a PhD on your cv, whether or not it's related to the work you're pitching for, isn't going to make much difference when it comes to choosing "the one" from a bunch of candidates. Might help you become one of them, though.

    “Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw

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  • And I dont even have a Masters... 😛

    -Roy

  • I don't have a Bachelors. So there!

    And I don't have a single certification (well, a 14 or 15 year old one from Sybase, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't count).

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
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  • Not saying this is true of all PhD's, but many of the ones I have met seemed to have lost one very important thing, common sense. Is there a class in these PhD programs that teaches these people how to loose it?

  • Could be, of course, that common sense isn't all that common.

  • Lynn Pettis (2/13/2009)


    Not saying this is true of all PhD's, but many of the ones I have met seemed to have lost one very important thing, common sense. Is there a class in these PhD programs that teaches these people how to loose it?

    LOL add one to your list, Lynn, very astute. But then, nobody with any common sense would want to do a PhD!

    “Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw

    For fast, accurate and documented assistance in answering your questions, please read this article.
    Understanding and using APPLY, (I) and (II) Paul White
    Hidden RBAR: Triangular Joins / The "Numbers" or "Tally" Table: What it is and how it replaces a loop Jeff Moden

  • Chris Morris (2/13/2009)


    Lynn Pettis (2/13/2009)


    Not saying this is true of all PhD's, but many of the ones I have met seemed to have lost one very important thing, common sense. Is there a class in these PhD programs that teaches these people how to loose it?

    LOL add one to your list, Lynn, very astute. But then, nobody with any common sense would want to do a PhD!

    Not sure about that, I wouldn't mind going back to school to get a PhD myself, just to do it. I was a 'C' student in High School, and managed to be a 'B' student for my Bachelors and Masters programs.

    Notice, as was mentioned above, that I would do it for me, not anyone else.

  • I've always preferred someone with common sense and troubleshooting skills and wants to work over someone with a pile of certifications and lots of letters after their name.

    Especially these days, it seems like you can get certifications pretty easily.

    Some of the best developers I have worked with were plucked out of call centers because they just seemed to have desire and an aptitude for the work.

  • Grant Fritchey (2/13/2009)


    I don't have a Bachelors. So there!

    And I don't have a single certification (well, a 14 or 15 year old one from Sybase, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't count).

    I'm a kindergarden drop-out. Does that count for anything?

    (I can legitimately and truthfully claim that I dropped out of both kindergarden and college. Not many with those credentials!)

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  • GSquared (2/13/2009)


    I'm a kindergarden drop-out. Does that count for anything?

    (I can legitimately and truthfully claim that I dropped out of both kindergarden and college. Not many with those credentials!)

    You win on this one. I did pass kindergarden.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • First, I got my degrees to fill in the boxes while looking for work in my chosen career field. Plus I enjoyed going to school and learning.

    I will agree, that the degrees themselves don't mean much unless I make them mean something through my work. I strive to be the best I can and continue to learn more as I work.

    Two of the best developers I know don't have degrees. I met both of them at my previous employer, and one of them I got down here where I work now. If I could get the other one, in a heartbeat.

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