Re: Re[2]: bogus resume stuff

[Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>]

On Fri, 15 Sep 1995, Gwen Barnes wrote:

> Some of the people here have college degrees, a lot of them don't. We
> hire self-taught programmers who don't have degrees, if they can show us
> they do good work. I like it that way ...

I have a lot of sympathy for Gwen's stand. Several of my boys are
programmers.  Two of them are completely self-taught.  One of these is
the head programmer for a small software development company. The other
is a consultant in the field.  Both are doing at least as well as their
brothers who went the traditional route and earned college degrees.

In my own case, I also never took an SAT.  (I took an entrance exam at
the university where I earned my undergrad degree.  It was generally
administered and I have no idea what it was called or what my scores
were.) And like many others, if I had taken an SAT, I would question how
valid a predictor those scores are as to my ability today, 30+ years later!

I do remember that after I took the exam, I was told that my scores were
average, but I should not expect to be able to handle extra coursework as
I had planned.  Ignoring that advice, I finished my 4 year program in 3
years with a B average overall and worked a 30 hour week in addition.
When I returned to school in '93 for a MA, the department I entered did
not require the GRE, although I took it anyway -- again, average
scores. Obviously I perform better than I test, since I graduated with a
4.0 despite working full time in addition.

Like many others, I would think twice about applying to a company that
put so much stock on scores.

        RoMay Sitze,  rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu