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This Professor only has a PhD degree

earthsciences.hku.hk

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Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#81

Post by SeanDav »

buro9 wrote: post #36

I have an MSc in Computer Science but lack a BSc or A-levels. I was homeless and sleeping rough when my peers were in secondary education, I was living in squats and hitch-hiking around the UK when they were in university. Being self-taught, I applied for the MSc after 15 years experience as it was a source of personal anxiety for me to lead large technical projects in which almost every other person was highly educa…

Interesting. What reputable universities waive the MSc's pre-requisites based on life experience? Any in the UK?

I think this is a great idea as I find myself in the same boat. Very experienced and can do the job but no paper to impress people with.

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#83

Post by dlo »

aortega wrote: post #26
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many many more than that, but we don't typically bother with those details; if the guy/gal knows their stuff, who cares what their degree level is?

All credentials including PhDs are designed for getting into a job (I.E. research position, postdoc, etc.), and they are a very effective tool at it. In scientific articles (At least from IEEE) notice there are no titles associated with authors. It's a common misconception that you need a PhD to publish an article, there are many papers with authors in high-school.

Are there papers in top-tier journals and conferences whose primary authors are still in high school? I would be curious to read these!

EDIT: spelling

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#84

Post by buro9 »

SeanDav wrote: post #81
buro9 wrote: post #36

I have an MSc in Computer Science but lack a BSc or A-levels. I was homeless and sleeping rough when my peers were in secondary education, I was living in squats and hitch-hiking around the UK when they were in university. Being self-taught, I applied for the MSc after 15 years experience as it was a source of personal anxiety for me to lead large technical projects in which almost every other person was highly educa…

Interesting. What reputable universities waive the MSc's pre-requisites based on life experience? Any in the UK? I think this is a great idea as I find myself in the same boat. Very experienced and can do the job but no paper to impress people with.

Apparently most do.

There is no standard application process when you have little or no education. You have to get in touch with the admissions department and state that you have the experience and from there each university has a different process.

I went for Birkbeck, University of London ( http://www.dcs.bbk.ac.uk/courses/ ). They specialise in degrees in the evening, aimed at Londoners who are in work and yet want to pursue a degree without sacrificing their employment.

The entry test was trivial (not much beyond basic pointer work and FizzBuzz in C++), and the expectation during the course was that you find 24 hours per week for study time (comprised of 2 or 3 evenings per week of 3 hour lectures, and the rest of the time was research, assignments and reading). If you have ample experience you won't find the work outside of the evening lectures too taxing.

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#85

Post by fibbery »

tirrellp wrote: post #80

Ive seen something similar to this. My friend has a BS in Chemistry, and the head of the academic NanoTech lab where he worked said, "I really want you in our NanoTech PhD program. Just try it for a couple years. If after 2 years you don't like it, You can walk away and I will grant you a Master's for your trouble"

I thought this is the way it typically works... students are admitted to PHD programs after a BA/BS, and they get a terminal master's if they drop out but it's definitely not a prerequisite for the program.

Re: This Professor only has a PhD degree

#86

Post by aortega »

dlo wrote: post #83
aortega wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All credentials including PhDs are designed for getting into a job (I.E. research position, postdoc, etc.), and they are a very effective tool at it. In scientific articles (At least from IEEE) notice there are no titles associated with authors. It's a common misconception that you need a PhD to publish an article, there are many papers with authors in high-school.

Are there papers in top-tier journals and conferences whose primary authors are still in high school? I would be curious to read these! EDIT: spelling

Nature:

http://www.english.rfi.fr/node/142835

That was a very public case. I'm sure there are other not so public.

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