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Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

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Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#41

Post by donw »

byrneseyeview wrote: post #6

Degrees are for signaling. If you want to signal that you're as smart as a typical CS or Business student, pick a program they would drop out of (Math instead of CS, Economics instead of Business). If you just pick music, it's not a strong indicator of your skills. I used to work as a recruiter, and the candidate for whom I got the most interview requests ever had a triple-major: music, physics, and math. You don't h…

This made me smile a little bit; I majored in Math because I thought CS would be too easy.

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#42

Post by jon_dahl »

michael_dorfman wrote: post #2

I've hired a lot of programmers, and a music degree from Oxford is something I'd view as a plus, provided you could demonstrate that you also have the necessary technical skills. Personally, I was a philosophy major.

Agreed. I've hired a dozen programmers in my day, and I'd rather hire a music or philosophy or math(s) major than a IS or business major. To me, a CS major is neutral; I've seen too many people with CS degrees who couldn't code themselves out of a paper bag. (A CS degree after 5 years of production coding experience, on the other hand, would be a big plus.)

There is a strong connection between music and programming, that shouldn't be ignored. Doesn't mean that programmers are necessarily musical, or vice versa, but programming well requires similar thought patterns to music (and writing, and philosophy).

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#43

Post by arethuza »

byrneseyeview wrote: post #6

Degrees are for signaling. If you want to signal that you're as smart as a typical CS or Business student, pick a program they would drop out of (Math instead of CS, Economics instead of Business). If you just pick music, it's not a strong indicator of your skills. I used to work as a recruiter, and the candidate for whom I got the most interview requests ever had a triple-major: music, physics, and math. You don't h…

But this is the UK we are talking about and the university in question is Oxford - so the rules are somewhat different.

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#44

Post by corin_ »

gaius wrote: post #39
corin_ wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm very aware that there are plenty of non-Oxbridge universities in the UK (and elsewhere of course) that are of a high quality, my reasons for wanting to go to Oxford specifically aren't (entirely) because of the name it's made for itself. - Most of my ancestors on my mother's side went to Oxford or Cambridge, so feels roughly inherited (no university on my Dad's side) - I've lived in Oxford all my life, and a.) lo…

Indeed. There is practically no difference between the quality of any of the Russell Group universities. But only Oxbridge graduates feel the need to mention their college within 2 minutes of you meeting them.

May be true for some oxbridge students, but not all (and not me if I do end up doing it)

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#45

Post by akeefer »

rdouble wrote: post #11

I double majored in the two most irrelevant degrees, philosophy and mathematics. The main skill this has imparted upon me is superhuman-like bullshit detection. While useful, this has proven to be rather depressing, as bullshit is in no short supply. If I could do it over again, I would have majored in music.

I did my undergraduate work in philosophy, and I honestly have found it really useful in CS. The ability to break down a complicated argument into small steps that are independently verifiable is very close to the ability required to break a complicated program or operation down into smaller components that are independently verifiable. In addition, philosophy improved the clarity and rigor of my thinking and writing on complicated subjects, and it made me better at presenting my arguments in an unbiased, rhetoric free way that helps get to the right answer, instead of just trying to convince people I'm right.

So while the actual content of philosophy classes is pretty much irrelevant to anything in real life, the process of philosophical thinking and writing (at least analytic philosophy) turns out to be very good training for CS and probably a fair number of other things.

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#47

Post by j_baker »

loumf wrote: post #16

The hard part will be getting past resume screens and other less sophisticated filters. If I picked up a resume and it was 80% about music, I'd probably skip over it, but if it was 80% relevant and had music, then I'd think it was interesting and read it more carefully. It will also be vital for you to have a persuasive cover letter. Finally, when it comes down to it, you have to have the required technical skills --…

I'd assume that you would look at it a bit differently if you were in the music business though.

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#48

Post by sophacles »

I have a Bachelors degree in Geography. I work at a university doing systems programming for a research group in electrical systems and security. I have been published more than once. I will be doing some fun research this year about big data. The only thing my degree content has been used for so far is one time when I was talking to a GIS company about some work related displays, I spoke the language correctly.

The most important role my degree has played: I was able to get a "College degree required" job. The importance of this cannot be understated. Many places will not consider you without the piece of paper, whether it is related or not is much less important. The paper itself signifies the ability to get through 4 years of doing something.

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#49

Post by solost »

akeefer wrote: post #45
rdouble wrote: post #11

I double majored in the two most irrelevant degrees, philosophy and mathematics. The main skill this has imparted upon me is superhuman-like bullshit detection. While useful, this has proven to be rather depressing, as bullshit is in no short supply. If I could do it over again, I would have majored in music.

I did my undergraduate work in philosophy, and I honestly have found it really useful in CS. The ability to break down a complicated argument into small steps that are independently verifiable is very close to the ability required to break a complicated program or operation down into smaller components that are independently verifiable. In addition, philosophy improved the clarity and rigor of my thinking and writing…

I have had the exact same experience and I highly recommend it especially if you want to go on and get an advanced degree.

Re: Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?

#50

Post by mathgladiator »

Degrees are like checkpoints in life.

While not required (at least at good companies that look for talented people rather than degrees), they serve as a nice launching board (and as a negotiating point for salary).

If you are passionate, then school is a great idea to get a breadth level exposure to the field.

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