Are qualifications important? Is where they come from important? Are they worth the fees, or even the paper they are printed on. Today's news about the ranking of Australian (and other) universities got me thinking.
There is a lot of snobbery that relates to where a degree comes from and I think it is ill-founded.
While it is all well and good to aspire to a degree from a sandstone institution the fact is that for any number of reasons other than intellect, it is beyond the majority of the population. My latest qualification is from a university that is ranked towards the middle of the field and I can tell you that I had to study just as hard for it as for my degree from a more prestigious seat of learning.
Can I say though that none of the qualifications I have studied for and attained have been worth the money that they have cost. The administration and teaching has been average at best in many cases although there have been a couple of fantastic exceptions (that's you Paul Tranter and Ian McAllister both of UNSW@ADFA). For a user pays system there is a lot of paying for not much.
As someone who looks at resumes all the time with a view to employing people I think that it is important to look past the institution and see what has actually been studied and how those subjects have been used. For so many people, the closest university is their only option.
DJ Dr and I corresponded about these next two artists this week. He alerted me to this really cool live track where they play together. Well worth 5 minutes of your time.
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