What an Ivy League Phd thinks of us

[barcotta]

Yes it does feel good to finish! I don't know what I plan to do with it...but I'll just be happy to have it!

Here's some more wise words from the PHD....

non frog to me
show details 9:03 AM (4 hours ago) Reply

I can tell you're an academic at heart. it's obvious from talking to
you that you are smart, and that you soak up information and like it.
Not having a college degree doesn't make you any less smart or
academic, but I can understand it really feeling like you just SHOULD
have it. That makes sense to me.

You deserve it.

Funny thing is I have had friends from the local community college or the HR manager who received her degree from the state university tell me my degree will not be legit despite Excelsior's accreditation.

It's the PHD who has given me the most encouragement and thinks this is just another path to a degree! Of course he was also homeschooled during his elementary years so he knows that learning doesn't just take place in the classroom.

There have been threads on this issue in the past but this exchange reveals yet another wrinkle. I find it interesting that your PhD friend is so understanding and supportive, as are people like Anne Mulchahy--CEO of Xerox, but friends slugging through community college and your obviously uninformed HR manager are not. Here's an exchange I posted previously with regard to this issue:

Setting:

My daughter's friend was visiting our home and her father arrived to pick her up. Let's call him "Bob."

Bob: Hey, what's going on?
Me: Oh, I'm just studying. I'm trying to finish up my degree.
Bob: That's great! (stepping forward--clearly interested) What school are you going to?
Me: Excelsior College. It's a program mostly for adults based in NY.
Bob: Nice. (all of a sudden, it looks like someone's calling him for dinner). OK Sally, we gotta go. (as he starts backing out the door).

Bob, of course, was a graduate of very noteworthy California universities and has a graduate degree. Without saying anything, he made it clear how much HE values anything less than attending a noteworthy CA university.

Now, what I DIDN'T post previously is what Bob is doing today. Bob worked for a large health care provider in their marketing dept until he decided to go into business for himself. That business failed. Then he got a job selling inventory software. That business ultimately failed. He now has a job auditing light fixtures in large warehouses for a company that proposes to replace them and share in the electricity savings. While this may end up being a fine job, it doesn't sound like one you would be aiming for with an impressive, expensive graduate degree--and certainly doesn't make me wish I had followed his path.

So, without any undue disrespect to people like Bob, I think it's important to consider the source. Most people only have a handful of jobs in their career--so the only opinions you really need to worry about are those of the people that stand between you and a job you want. You're still young, but the older you get, the less your education will impact your future employment and the more your presence and experience will count anyway.

P.S. BTW...I think maybe that PhD friend of yours likes you