Level of Education for the Average EEVBlog Forum Member?

[CaptnYellowShirt]

After asking some fairly difficult questions about semiconductor physics to the EEVBlog group, I started to wonder what the level of education was for the average respondent.

I'll be the first to tell you that education (by itself) doesn't mean a hill of beans. But in occidental society, it does tend to group people into classes. So I'm curious, how long has the average EEVBloger been stuck in a classroom?

[Prime73]

You should probably rephrase the question... Level of education in what field? In electronics? or say ( of a sake of an argument) in geology/art, etc ? One could be a PhD in literature and a newbie in electronics and vice versa.  On the other hand if you just asking about an overall level of education on eevblog that makes sense.

[mtdoc]

The point about what field your degree(s) is/are in is important. I have a M.S. and an M.D. but neither in engineering....


Also - I'm not sure what you mean by Ast. Professor.   Assistant Professor is not a degree but a job title.  Depending on the field - one could be an assistant professor with a masters degree or pHd - or potentially even with a Bachelor's.

[CaptnYellowShirt]

You should probably rephrase the question... Level of education in what field? In electronics? or say ( of a sake of an argument) in geology/art, etc ? One could be a PhD in literature and a newbie in electronics and vice versa.  On the other hand if you just asking about an overall level of education on eevblog that makes sense.

Ok. For EEVblog purposes, lets add 'in a hard science'.

Engineering/Physics grade stuff.

However, if there are any social scientists, physiologists, poets, or artists on the site, I'd love to hear from them.

[CaptnYellowShirt]

Also - I'm not sure what you mean by Ast. Professor.   Assistant Professor is not a degree but a job title.  Depending on the field - one could be an assistant professor with a masters degree or pHd - or potentially even with a Bachelor's.

Its my understanding that in some systems the professorship is an academic degree, not just a job title.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habilitation

[Rerouter]

Care to add "Trade"? I've completed high-school, but leaning most trades is almost a practical spin on a uni course

My highest level would be instrumentation cert 4, 

[IanB]

Level of academic qualification can also be a little misleading, since such qualifications are usually obtained very early in ones career. As such an academic degree should be the start of your learning process and you might expect to advance far beyond that level of learning as your career progresses.

[jpb]

Level of academic qualification can also be a little misleading, since such qualifications are usually obtained very early in ones career. As such an academic degree should be the start of your learning process and you might expect to advance far beyond that level of learning as your career progresses.

In my case I went back to university to do postgraduate study/research 24 years after finishing my first degree - most of my fellow students hadn't even been born when I'd last sat an exam (I still got on with them very well)!

[Rigby]

I have a lot of technical training, and my highest degree of education isn't listed.

[photonpunk]

I find college education to be kind of a scam.

I got an Associates degree in Computer Programming, which only required taking two actual classes on programming (C and HTML). Then when I started taking classes towards a bachelors, I found that my university doesn't actually "teach" anything. The teacher says "here's your assignment, figure it out, no questions allowed in class." And the students just sit there and try to figure out how to do whatever the project is by reading the text book quietly. I can do the same thing at home for free.

I learned way more on the job in one year than I have in all of my years of education.

[Rigby]

I learned way more on the job in one year than I have in all of my years of education.

Yeah that's how it goes with technical stuff.  I'm starting to wonder if the immense pressure to go to college is actually coming from college loan providers.  There is something to be said about the work ethic of those who can sit in a chair for 4 years and get a Bachelors, though.  There are lots of talented people who just cannot keep a job.  If you have a degree you are very likely not one of those who cannot keep a job.

[mtdoc]

Ok. For EEVblog purposes, lets add 'in a hard science'.

Engineering/Physics grade stuff.

However, if there are any social scientists, physiologists, poets, or artists on the site, I'd love to hear from them.

Um, are you saying physiology (and by extension all biological sciences) are not "hard science " -lumped in with social science and artists no less?!! 

[IanB]

Then when I started taking classes towards a bachelors, I found that my university doesn't actually "teach" anything. The teacher says "here's your assignment, figure it out, no questions allowed in class." And the students just sit there and try to figure out how to do whatever the project is by reading the text book quietly.

Sadly, that sounds like a bad university or teaching program. That's not what you pay your college fees for... 

[EEVblog]

This is some old data:

[2joki]

i was studying almost 10 years  O0
and finally not finish  degree coz my lazyness

[free_electron]

Where is the years of experience poll.

Years i been doin it as a hobby : 36
Professionally  : 22

[CaptnYellowShirt]

Care to add "Trade"? I've completed high-school, but leaning most trades is almost a practical spin on a uni course

How's that look?

[CaptnYellowShirt]

Ok. For EEVblog purposes, lets add 'in a hard science'.

Engineering/Physics grade stuff.

However, if there are any social scientists, physiologists, poets, or artists on the site, I'd love to hear from them.

Um, are you saying physiology (and by extension all biological sciences) are not "hard science " -lumped in with social science and artists no less?!!

Carl Sagan would be mad with me for implying such a thing.  How would you word it?

[CaptnYellowShirt]

Where is the years of experience poll.

Years i been doin it as a hobby : 36
Professionally  : 22

I've read a lot of your posts here. Personally, I'd take your advice over the average professor any day.

I'm just interested in education for this poll.

[Tinkerer]

I'm starting to wonder if the immense pressure to go to college is actually coming from college loan providers.  There is something to be said about the work ethic of those who can sit in a chair for 4 years and get a Bachelors, though.  There are lots of talented people who just cannot keep a job.  If you have a degree you are very likely not one of those who cannot keep a job.

This is the case, they want that student loan money. Thats one reason for college costs, at least in the US, being so high. They know people will take out the loans and they are very happy to accept them. Quality has gone downhill.

A degree mostly just shows you have dedication to stick with something. Anything else it shows is up for debate.
As for not keeping jobs, half the problem is the simple fact that people who are highly technical/intelligent(I use this broadly for anything from engineer to chemist) overwhelmingly have personality types that that just dont work well socially. I am sure you know exactly what I speak of. Plenty of these people get along just fine. However, in a world where human interaction is an absolute must, its harder for those less socially inclined to get along well, and by far, a vast majority of these people are the ones who are highly intelligent and talented.

[Rigby]

That's certainly true.

At my employer we go through personality training (that makes it sound like more than it is) where you take a small online test, then you get results back about your personality.  You get these colored foam Legos and you are meant to arrange them in the way the report describes you.  I'm very, very much a blue, which is the anti-social engineer, "do it right" type.  there's also "do it now," "do it without making enemies," and "do it together."  In order of most to least significant, I am 'do it right, do it without making enemies, do it now, do it together."  So the most important thing to me is to do it properly, the least important is to do it in a team.

My point here is that as we learned about ourselves, everyone learned that not everyone sees things the way they do, and that their way is just as important and justified as your own.  Most importantly it's the "do it now" people who learned a great deal about the "do it right" people.  We all put our foam legos on our cubes and when you walk up to someone's desk, you see their stack and you know (generally) what kind of personality they have.

It's helped a great deal in my workplace relations.  I've been given a whole lot to do on my own, and it is amazing.

[CaptnYellowShirt]

... half the problem is the simple fact that people who are highly technical/intelligent(I use this broadly for anything from engineer to chemist) overwhelmingly have personality types that that just dont work well socially.

I've never met anyone like that... just people who can't keep up with my genius.

heh.

[EEVblog]

At my employer we go through personality training (that makes it sound like more than it is) where you take a small online test, then you get results back about your personality.  You get these colored foam Legos and you are meant to arrange them in the way the report describes you.  I'm very, very much a blue, which is the anti-social engineer, "do it right" type.  there's also "do it now," "do it without making enemies," and "do it together."  In order of most to least significant, I am 'do it right, do it without making enemies, do it now, do it together."  So the most important thing to me is to do it properly, the least important is to do it in a team.

I went for an engineering job at Nokia way back in the 90's and sat a 2 hour psych test. The processed the results while I waited and then promptly offered me a some managerial job because that's what the psych test said I was good at. I turned them down of course.

[zapta]

i was studying almost 10 years 

You are good! 

I took me 13 years just to finish K12.

;-)

[Rigby]

I went for an engineering job at Nokia way back in the 90's and sat a 2 hour psych test. The processed the results while I waited and then promptly offered me a some managerial job because that's what the psych test said I was good at. I turned them down of course.

That's a shame.  Mine was dead-on, and spooky how accurate it was.  If I hadn't remembered taking the test I would have been convinced someone was following me for months.