Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Well, I'm guessing here, but:

Real job = a good day's pay for a good day's work.
Not a real job = capitalist pigs making money off the backs of innocent proles.

I'm glad I haven't got a real job.

In the example we were discussing, if you're in training for your career, and you will soon start your career, you're not in your real job yet. More broadly than that, I don't know.

Of course it is: when you want to stay in academia, you have to do certain things to make a career out of it (teaching + research + writing publications). You're not working for a company in the free market, but I don't see how this is different from being a school teacher (which is actually easier).

No, it's different because you're training for your job; you don't have it yet. The school teacher has the job that they trained for. I spent 6 years making ~$10000/year in grad school. I was in training. Then I got my real job that I was training for.

I'm not really sure why this is a big controversial point. I was simply expressing amazement that someone would spend the time to get 3 PhDs in a row, because they would have spent so much time in training. If they're real PhD programs, which usually require full-time status, the individual would have to be almost middle-aged and not have yet started their real career/their real job/at their full pay/whatever you want to call it. I stand by that, and it turned out that wasn't the case anyway.

[edit] I seem to be working towards a PhD in Thread Derailment, so I'm going to drop out before I finish.

so you could say you went from the jv team to the varsity team then?

To continue the derail only for a moment...

If your planned career is academic, then your grad school work is indeed what your career is; you're IN that profession, but instead of working independently, you're actually an apprentice. And in academe, an apprentice is indeed a working slob that doesn't make beans.

My part of derail over.

ON topic item: how long has it taken folks to get these degrees? I went through high school in the normal period of time (never skipped a grade nor was held back), but it was about 11 years before I got my first associates' degree. About three years later I got my second AAS, four years after that my BS (none of these were independent: I applied stuff that went to each AAS to my BS). After 10 years of not taking a class, I went back to school to get the prerequisites for my masters' program-it took a full year (due to class scheduling) to get the prereqs, and the master's program takes three years. I have mere days left in the second year of that program, with the third being all field and clinical work. So... How long did it take everyone else to get to the degree(s) they have?

That's not true, if you plan to stay in academia, it's not job training, it's work experience.

High School Diploma for me... and rather low in my overall graduation class (like around 200 out of 320). I did some college but dropped out. I was a really sucky student. Hasn't affected my earning potential however. I got into the IT field in the early 80's and back then, the Computer Science degrees were worthless (in my humble opinion). I've taught myself everything I know which is almost mandatory in this field because it changes so rapidly.

As of next December, I will have my bachelors in Mechanic Engineer in 8 semesters of classes with no transfer credits or summer classes. Not incredibly impressive, but I am in the minority.

Do you mean 7? 8 semesters/2 semesters per year = 4 years which is normal.

I have 8 days left of classes and I will have a BS in CS. Graduation in a may, start work in june

I've found that most schools have very useful summer semesters-I got a lot out of the summer of 2005, getting my prereqs. And my current program is full-on, every semester chock-full of required courses (this program is considered a "group-lockstep" model). Working on my first BS, I took classes every summer until my last - working full time AND taking 9-12 hours of classes after work wears you out pretty quickly. But those summer semesters cut my time on campus by a year, so they were worth it.

I received a BSEE in 1960 and worked in the field for many years. My last real job was with experts in Avionics/Airplane design and most of my co-workers had higher degrees and were recognized experts in their fields such as flight controls, aerodynamics, real-time software, etc. Technical learning can extend beyond formal academic training in the proper environment. The academic degree is merely a learner's permit to begin a life-long exercise.

Now, I engage in analysis of yDNA profiles with a group of "amateurs" (retired physicists, geneticists, engineers, anthropologists, etc) attempting to aid in tracing the ascent of humankind. Analytical capability, pattern recognition, and database design are the requisite skills in this endeavor. Working for a living was interesting; but, it should not be the goal. sam

I agree, my school is very strict about transfer credits and hasn't been close to my internships so I haven't been able to take any summer classes.

But he said he didn't take any, which is why i assume he meant 7 semesters, because graduating in 4 years with BS isn't difficult.

Unless it's a 4+ year program. A lot of engineering programs are like that, as was my goddaughter's philosophy program. Technically, my computer science program was considered a 5-year program, but I actually brought a lot of transfer credit with me, so my four years on campus were mostly 3/4 time.

ABD, huh? Well, as I understand, you can still practice.

I have a BSE which took the normal 4 years, and a PhD, which took about 5. By passing my general exams for the PhD, I obtained a MA, which in engineering is not worth the paper it is printed on .

I have a BSc, which took 3 years, and I'm on my second year of three in my PhD.

Amorya

My dissertation was going to be "In Before Lock: Derrida, Foucalt, and the Deconstruction of the MacNN Thread." But I think I'll just take my Master's so I can get on with my life.

Plus, you don't want to be "Just another asshole with a PhD" (tm).