The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
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The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
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Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#2On one hand, there's this.
On the other hand, with the toughening of the job market, companies are selecting by degrees and pedigrees more than ever. The last company I worked for is currently doing this exactly, only looking at applications from people graduating from select universities.
So far it's working for them. As the job market gets worse, I think this trend of stronger emphasis on degrees and pedigrees will only get stronger.
Of course at the individual level, there are always exceptional individuals. But by definition, they are few and far between. It's not like going to school precludes you from learning other things and being flexible, creative, with burning passion for learning, etc. I would still encourage my kids to finish school and aim to get into a good university, I think.
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#3Everybody is self-taught. If you went to university (for example), the professor was there to set the curriculum and force you to study (things that otherwise you didn't know were important or didn't want to pick on your own). Teachers helping with a student's question is a very small fraction of learning. We learnt x because we practiced x ourselves.
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#4On one hand, there's this. On the other hand, with the toughening of the job market, companies are selecting by degrees and pedigrees more than ever. The last company I worked for is currently doing this exactly, only looking at applications from people graduating from select universities. So far it's working for them. As the job market gets worse, I think this trend of stronger emphasis on degrees and pedigrees will…
Somehow, late stage capitalism seems to bring us to this winner-take-all environment. We are being separated into rich and poor and forced farther and farther apart.
In large part for the reasons you stated, I'm sending one kid to a $100k per year private university instead of the $7k per year state school.
I was helping my kid try to apply for summer jobs. It involved a lot of 2FA apps and QR codes, which needed to be installed on a phone with the latest security updates, plenty of space, and a fast internet connection. The same was true onboarding the student onto the university.
Why do we tolerate this world where the bar is so high and getting higher all the time?
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#5On one hand, there's this. On the other hand, with the toughening of the job market, companies are selecting by degrees and pedigrees more than ever. The last company I worked for is currently doing this exactly, only looking at applications from people graduating from select universities. So far it's working for them. As the job market gets worse, I think this trend of stronger emphasis on degrees and pedigrees will…
Somehow, late stage capitalism seems to bring us to this winner-take-all environment. We are being separated into rich and poor and forced farther and farther apart. In large part for the reasons you stated, I'm sending one kid to a $100k per year private university instead of the $7k per year state school. I was helping my kid try to apply for summer jobs. It involved a lot of 2FA apps and QR codes, which needed to…
While I wouldn't describe it as late-stage capitalism, the situation OP is describing definitely isn't sustainable, we're all becoming more like Korea or China, high stratified and overstressed societies that may well be dead ends given their declining birthrates.
I recall the controversy about Amy Chua's Tiger Mom a decade ago, the funny thing is that Amy Chua today believes that her methods would be insufficient for the competition today. When we have parents fighting for top kindergartens and extracurriculars for 5 year-olds, you know this is getting out of hand. And the worst part is, for all the rise of "overachievers" going into these jobs, services and products in society just seem to be getting worse and worse.
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#6Everybody is self-taught. If you went to university (for example), the professor was there to set the curriculum and force you to study (things that otherwise you didn't know were important or didn't want to pick on your own). Teachers helping with a student's question is a very small fraction of learning. We learnt x because we practiced x ourselves.
It is not unlike like hiring a personal trainer, you are still the one who needs to do the work.
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#7On one hand, there's this. On the other hand, with the toughening of the job market, companies are selecting by degrees and pedigrees more than ever. The last company I worked for is currently doing this exactly, only looking at applications from people graduating from select universities. So far it's working for them. As the job market gets worse, I think this trend of stronger emphasis on degrees and pedigrees will…
I never managed to finish my degree mainly due to dyslexia, and started working as a self-taught programmer, but I can only second this opinion. My CV doesn't get past most first screenings and even then people sort of treat you like a second class citizen.
Maybe I should start lying about my lack of a degree like a real con man.
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#8[2018]
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#9On one hand, there's this. On the other hand, with the toughening of the job market, companies are selecting by degrees and pedigrees more than ever. The last company I worked for is currently doing this exactly, only looking at applications from people graduating from select universities. So far it's working for them. As the job market gets worse, I think this trend of stronger emphasis on degrees and pedigrees will…
Somehow, late stage capitalism seems to bring us to this winner-take-all environment. We are being separated into rich and poor and forced farther and farther apart. In large part for the reasons you stated, I'm sending one kid to a $100k per year private university instead of the $7k per year state school. I was helping my kid try to apply for summer jobs. It involved a lot of 2FA apps and QR codes, which needed to…
> Why do we tolerate this world where the bar is so high and getting higher all the time?
There isn’t a single “bar”. The company the parent commenter was talking about was a single company at a single point in the job market using a single heuristic.
These anecdotes are anecdotes, not representative of the entire industry.
The pointy end of the job market has always been selective. There have been companies that select from specific universities for decades, if not longer. It’s not a new phenomenon, nor is it a universal practice.
The pointy end of the job market has always been exclusive.
Re: The Era of the Autodidact Is Here (2018)
#10[deleted]