Formal education levels of ATS readers and posters

I'll bite
H.S. dropout, got GED, almost perfect score,
6 yrs USN, aviation and all the schools that go with that, BE&E, advanced electronics, ground support, aircrew survival, etc.,
1 yr comm. coll. chem major,
1yr San Diego State: Aeronautical Engineering,
2 yrs University South Florida: Mechanical Engineering,
No degrees just alot of information I use to cross reference things with.
IQ, have been tested as high as 165 and as low as 120 (hangovers, LOL)
I build houses in Florida now, and yes it's tough out there.

Ed.S. Educational Administration
M.S.Ed. Adaptive Special Education
M.S.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction
B.S.Ed. Social Studies Education

I am presently employed as an assistant principal.

reply to post by JonInMichigan


Sleestak, sweet. Whatever happened to Chaka?

Wow, I am glad that this thread is getting a lot of replies. I hope this continues.

Question: What is more important, formal education or life experience?

My grandfather is 70, 8th grade education and still drives a truck. His advice is invaluable to me.

My father has JD and a couple B.A.s and I wouldn't take advice from him if my life depended on it.

So is formal education over rated?

Sure it can help you financially, but what else?

I am also surprised by the amount of posters who say they have at least some college...almost 75%.

High school grad.

I've managed to carve out a pretty descent living and life without college, however, had I gone on to study further my back would probably not ache as much.

reply to post by SuperSecretSquirrel


I think the difference is that if you are more intelligent you are more likely to want tertiary education.

HS diploma at age 42. I'm an overachiever...cut me some slack here.

Bachelor of Science, Geology / Chemistry. Never used it and went into the Construction Trades.

Reached Journeyman level as an Industrial Electrician in Mining and Oil Field work.

Returned to school briefly for the core of an MBA. Nothing I learned has been of any use in my business other than basic accounting skills.

Self-Employed since with a PhD in the business school of hard knocks

Over 10 years in Photography first as an Amateur and now occasionally on the side as a Professional.

Over 8 years learning Computer Graphics and now 3D modeling to enhance my current business and earn extra on the side doing desktop publishing. Self-taught.

I'm fast approaching retirement age which I guess makes me one of the fossils on ATS.

reply to post by SuperSecretSquirrel


If the majority of people that post have some college or less, then how essential is formal education? Is it worth it to have that piece of paper at such a high monetary cost when you can just educate yourself?

Is college necessary to think critically?
post by SuperSecretSquirrel[/url]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
formal education is perhaps the easiest path to opportunities.
Being born rich would be better.
industrious and motivated next best
but formal education being the easiest of the three.
...very hard to achieve social status without it...if that is important to you.
Doctor's and Lawyer's can't practice their trade without it. (today)
...native intelligence vs. formal education? (perception wins)
...look how many people that responded, took offense or made justifications or....let me put it this way...it was like you asked a group of men the size of their "manhood" you would have the braggers and then you would have the; "well, its how you use it that matters". But most people responding made some type of rationalization rather than just say..."here is my education or lack there of."
How many, "ok, I'll bite" starting statements did you read? Come on you Psychology majors, read all the posts and what do you come up with?

Me......"ok, I'll bite"......I'm 42....BA in Psychology/Sociology w/criminal justice emphasis and if I pass my Jurisprudence final tomorrow at 9am, I will be a semester away from my JD. (Juris Doctor) I am @ least in the bottom half of my class. I was a Security Guard (in one shape or form) for 20 years. I have 7 kids and been married 3 times. I have had one A in law school and that was for Professional Ethics. I failed English in 8th grade. I failed Abnormal Psychology in college and some History class. both because of attendance (see justification, rationalization, excuses)
I am lazy and a procrastanator and spell as good as a 5 year old.
I am a musical genius (if you literally go by what the standards of genius are) I can't be much above retarded in math.....All true. My pants lay on the floor for all to appreciate or mock.

CNA certificate.
I will start taking classes to be an RN next year.

Edith Giana's School of Prostitution....jk






[edit on 12/3/08 by Jezabels Dream]

My turn.

Dropped out of high school as a sophomore. Got GED. (The GED is way to easy to pass)

Got a technical degree in Swedish massage therapy.

Took 2 college classes. Dropped out because ....it wasn't for me.

Streetwise I have spent more than a year on the streets homeless and a year in jail. Six months for a drug crime I did commit and six more months for a drug crime I was not guilty of.

I have been IQ tested before aswell but I can not remember what kind... I remember my score though. 138. On the scale used I was 2 points below genius.

Sorry if this ends up posting twice - wrong button!

HS Grad, less than semester of night classes in college (requireds), industry specific certifications (insurance)

Taught myself most by reading (voraciously)

Life Exp = grew up in the country trying to get out, lived in urban areas for most of my career years, finally made it back to the country but still working in the city.

Was told by one boss that another person was promoted over me because he had a degree. (anthropology degree in an insurance office) "It means you are able to stick to doing something".

I guess feeding yourself and taking care of your family doesn't qualify as "doing something". Lost all respect for the opinion that higher education really matters.

Over my career have made anywhere from 5 figures to 6 figures without a degree.

Some College. I had some issues with family to deal with.
Maybe I will finish before all my brain cells fall out.

Masters degree in Psychology, BA degree in Criminology...I intended on going into Forensic Psychology but now I just push paper around a desk for the government.

Very interesting replies so far.

From what I hear most people who start a 4 year university do not graduate from it, which could be the reason many people post "some college".

Anyways

A.S. in Business Admin.
4 Semesters away from B.A. in Economics and Accounting.

B.A. in Political Science...

But it took five years. I'm glad I have it, but I think that everyone takes their own path.

- Boat

Originally posted by RFBurns
I wont play the stature game for what this thread is.

Put yourself so high up on a pillar, the fall hurts the more when you come crumbling down.

Hmm......sounds to me like the piece of paper failed....as did the people who have it.

So, you won't "play" but you will condemn those who do have an interest in the people they interact with.

The fall is going to hurt?
What, are we going to have a competition. Diploma judo? Degree wrestling?

The piece of paper failed along with the people who had it?
Have those of us who have at tempted to learn and educate ourselves? Am I a big B.S.ing loser because I've tried to better myself and have a better future?

The problem here is that you seem to have equated the posters here with losers because they have participated in the thread as it was intended. Should we all live with a sense of self loathing and remorse because we've gone to school or should we feel ashamed and apologetic because we have accomplished something and had the audacity to be happy that we've achieved?

You are coming from one of 2 directions.

1 You are educated - in which case you are by your own assesment as much of a sad loser as the rest of us educated folks .
OR
2 You are uneducated and are exibiting clear signs of immature jealousy.

So which of these sad pathetic people do you represent?

We all know that everybody learns in their own way. Not one method fits all and we know that. There are many happy successful people that have no real education at all. Some have walls full of sheepskin but no success whatsoever. This is life.

The misguided and sour notion that we should all be ashamed for having a past present or future plans or successes in education or intelligence is laughable.
The miserable notion of taking the 'high road' by belittling others who are proud of their achievements is juvenile.
Go be morally superior somewhere else.







[edit on 3-12-2008 by badgerprints]

I read the forums often but have never
posted.

G.E.D.
B.S. Mathematics
J.D.
Mensa Member

reply to post by SuperSecretSquirrel
Formal education: High school grad. Out of 1000 students I came in at 200.

Two years at a community college (nursing) with an additonal 5 courses within the last ten years for my office job.

Read an average of 2 books every week for the last 45 years (mainly political, theology, science, conspiracies and history books).

Favorite channels (when I do watch TV): History, Discovery, Senate and House of Rep Meetings, Animal Planet, HGTV, Travel Channel and Food Network.

A good book to read about education I just finished is "The Dumbing Down of America" by Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt you can get a free .pdf copy here: www.deliberatedumbingdown.com...


[edit on 4-12-2008 by ofhumandescent]

Originally posted by enjoies05
You might want to look at this graph from an ATS Demographics poll they did.

files.abovetopsecret.com...


I finished High School. Nothing after that.

[edit on 12/2/08 by enjoies05]

I find it interesting that the majority of users have "some college" rather than none or a degree. I guess I have an empathy for this "group" considering that I dropped out of college after my first couple years...but after many rejection slips, I gave up on my dream of making it as a writer and went back to finish my English degree, more just for fun than for really expecting anything out of it. Sure, I think my degree helped in some part in getting my current job, but I'm certainly not doing what I want with my life, and I certainly don't feel any more intelligent, enlightened, satisfied or successful than I did when I was a drop out. School is fun for me, but aside from that , I don't think it does much more than give you a rather arbitrary "validation."

Anyway I think my point is that it really doesn't matter. Schools are full of kids who are just there because its what is expected of them, or because they need a degree for a job...not because they really have a passion for knowledge, learning, questioning, debating, reading, writing, etc. I feel that all people should have access to knowledge and learning, but I also think that the current system is more suited to churning out lots of "graduates" (products) rather then being true centers of intellectual activity.