-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Sharon Blackstock
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 1:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: What's in it for an employer to require a degree?

Happy Friday Everyone-

I'm participating in a compensation study here at work and the question that
has my brain on overload is the following: "What minimum level of education
do you believe is needed to perform your job at entry level?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sharon,

IMHO a degree shows an employer that you know how to set goals and achieve
them.

Degreed employees tend to have a more rounded education and are more open to
diversity and differences in general. In today's society, interpersonal
relationship skills are just as important as your technical skills (if not
moreso). So for positions where people skills are most important, a well
rounded education provides a candidate that is better equipped to deal with
a diversified workforce.

All that said, in a former position I was interviewing developers for an
open position. It was post bust so we had a myriad of candidates from which
to choose. I put all candidates through a rigorous 5 person interview. 3
technical resources (technical team leads) and 2 project managers made up
the team.

I had narrowed things down to 5 contenders: (from more than 300 résumé's)
1 with a PHD in a Computer related field
2 with Masters degrees - I don't recall in what fields
1 with a bachelors degree in computer science
1 with no degree

All had significant experience.

The unanimous first choice was the guy with no degree.
The second choice was one of the masters
Third was the bachelors
Fourth was the PHD
Fifth was the other masters

When we looked at the whole package, the degree didn't hold as much weight
as: 
1) experience completing projects
2) understanding of business rules and processes - not just the technical
side of things
3) ability to communicate successfully
4) Technical know how
5) overall personality - how he/she would fit in with the team

Pretty much in that order.

For a position in this industry you may weigh things a bit differently, but
I'm not sure I would make a degree weigh more heavily than experience and a
capable, well rounded individual. 

My .02

Hope that helps.

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance