# What's Your Education???



## Cat Laurelle (Oct 18, 2011)

I have an AA with an emphasis in Journalism, a BA in Psychology, minor, Sociology, and post-BA course work such as screen writing, photography, and graphic art.


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## beanlord56 (Oct 18, 2011)

Currently, just a high school diploma. But if I get accepted at Georgia Highlands (fingers crossed and praying), I can get an Associate's in two years. If I do get accepted, I'll attend the local campus and major in English. Hopefully, I'll figure out if I'll go anywhere after that by the time Fall semester 2012 starts. Hopefully...


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## Zootalaws (Oct 18, 2011)

I left school at 15, some 35+ years ago. No qualifications at all, except for some industry ones.

I regret not going to uni, but it hasn't really held me back, career-wise.


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## TheFuhrer02 (Oct 18, 2011)

I took up BS in Nursing in '06, then Physics in early '10 (Physics 1 and 2). Now I'm studying Medicine.


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## Gamer_2k4 (Oct 18, 2011)

BS in Software Engineering.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 18, 2011)

TheFuhrer02 said:


> I took up BS Nursing in '06, then Physics in early '10 (Physics 1 and 2). Now I'm studying Medicine.




BS Nursing? They have a cure for bullshit? I'm saved 

Good on you. My sister started out as a medical tech, worked at that a few years then went back to uni and got her doctorate in medicine. She is now a partner in a medical practice and loves it.

Cost her a chunk of time and family time, though. I think she and her family think it was worth it.


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## TheFuhrer02 (Oct 18, 2011)

Zootalaws said:


> BS Nursing? They have a cure for bullshit? I'm saved



Gah... I forgot to put in the "in" between BS and Nursing. X\'D


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## Bluesman (Oct 18, 2011)

I have nothing, left school at 15 and never regretted it at all, me and school just never hit it off just one of those things. Took up music, did some classical stuff but otherwise just enjoy playing for my own amusement.


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## The Backward OX (Oct 18, 2011)

Life.


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## candid petunia (Oct 18, 2011)

The Backward OX said:


> Life.


The best teacher there is.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 18, 2011)

TheFuhrer02 said:


> Gah... I forgot to put in the "in" between BS and Nursing. X\'D



So I am destined for a life of bull-shittery... no cure


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## Bloggsworth (Oct 18, 2011)

I have O* level _History and Philosophy of Science_ among others & a _Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing _from Birkbeck College, University of London.


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## DAAR84 (Oct 18, 2011)

Some college. Unfortunately at the time I was young & irresponsible and threw away a boatload of potential for something that turned out to be not worthwhile. I've considered going back but not sure what for. I'm a different person these days and nothing seems to interest me anymore education wise...


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## TheFuhrer02 (Oct 18, 2011)

Zootalaws said:


> So I am destined for a life of bull-shittery... no cure



Hmm... Afraid so.


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## Steerpike (Oct 18, 2011)

A bit of a winding path. BS in microbiology with a minor in chemistry. Spent a number of years as a researcher in molecular biology, mostly in a lab dealing with evolutionary biology and DNA work. Decided I wanted to pursue a PhD in biochemistry, and spent over two years doing that (finished up the course work actually). Taught classes in DNA science at the university and continued with research. The market for post docs was dismal so I left the program for law school. Been a patent, trademark, and copyright attorney for eleven years. Teach the occasional class in Constitutional law.

Along the way, I've done a variety of jobs, from landscaping, to being an editor, to working in a factory, to most recently building guns. All of those have been as valuable as the formal education in their own way.

I've lectured to junior high and high school students in the US and Canada and I am leaning heavily toward becoming a teacher when my youngest graduates high school.


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## Bilston Blue (Oct 18, 2011)

I have a joint BA(Honours) in History and War Studies. I wanted to do a Masters in Conflict Resolution but I had an argument with the tutor. marriage and mortgages and children came. Still, I'm happy with my lot.


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## Bloggsworth (Oct 18, 2011)

Steerpike said:


> A bit of a winding path. BS in microbiology with a minor in chemistry. Spent a number of years as a researcher in molecular biology, mostly in a lab dealing with evolutionary biology and DNA work. Decided I wanted to pursue a PhD in biochemistry, and spent over two years doing that (finished up the course work actually). Taught classes in DNA science at the university and continued with research. The market for post docs was dismal so I left the program for law school. Been a patent, trademark, and copyright attorney for eleven years. Teach the occasional class in Constitutional law.
> 
> Along the way, I've done a variety of jobs, from landscaping, to being an editor, to working in a factory, to most recently building guns. All of those have been as valuable as the formal education in their own way.
> 
> I've lectured to junior high and high school students in the US and Canada and I am leaning heavily toward becoming a teacher when my youngest graduates high school.



You used to be indecisive, but now...


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## Steerpike (Oct 18, 2011)

Bloggsworth said:


> You used to be indecisive, but now...



Yeah, I have too many interests, and I always like to be doing something new. It fits well with patent law because each invention that comes in the door is new. It lengthened my amount of time in school, however, as I kept taking classes in things like Anthropology and Philosophy that were not counting toward my graduation. 

I enjoy that sort of life style. Who knows what I'll be doing in a decade? Not much for settling into a routine...


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## Offeiriad (Oct 18, 2011)

I have a BA in English and have self-taught all of my computer knowledge.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 18, 2011)

I have 35 years of technical computing and have self-taught myself English 

(Every time I see your avatar it makes me smile...)


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## Offeiriad (Oct 18, 2011)

Mine? Probably because you're sure that the next time the elephant lands on the trampoline, he won't bounce back up.  :star:


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## Zootalaws (Oct 18, 2011)

No, he just looks so happy, with his trunk swinging... if it had audio I'll bet he's going 'Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!" 

I know I would.


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## Offeiriad (Oct 18, 2011)

Yeah there's just something about the feeling of jumping like that.


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## Bluesman (Oct 18, 2011)

Steerpike said:


> A bit of a winding path. BS in microbiology with a minor in chemistry. Spent a number of years as a researcher in molecular biology, mostly in a lab dealing with evolutionary biology and DNA work. Decided I wanted to pursue a PhD in biochemistry, and spent over two years doing that (finished up the course work actually). Taught classes in DNA science at the university and continued with research. The market for post docs was dismal so I left the program for law school. Been a patent, trademark, and copyright attorney for eleven years. Teach the occasional class in Constitutional law.
> 
> Along the way, I've done a variety of jobs, from landscaping, to being an editor, to working in a factory, to most recently building guns. All of those have been as valuable as the formal education in their own way.
> 
> I've lectured to junior high and high school students in the US and Canada and I am leaning heavily toward becoming a teacher when my youngest graduates high school.




I am a little stuck here ?  You have all the above and you make guns !!!!!

 I thought maybe you made mistake or perhaps your thread got mixed up with someone else ?

Ever thought of being a shepherd maybe just to add alittle someting different to your CV !!

I think it's wonderful Scivener people like you should be in charge of the world it would be a much more interesting place !! lol


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## Steerpike (Oct 18, 2011)

Bluesman said:


> I am a little stuck here ?  You have all the above and you make guns !!!!!



I spent the summer, in addition to my patent practice, working in a small production facility that makes a number of different assault rifles. Learned quite a lot doing it, and got to test fire some of them as well. It was a great time


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## Bluesman (Oct 18, 2011)

Steerpike said:


> I spent the summer, in addition to my patent practice, working in a small production facility that makes a number of different assault rifles. Learned quite a lot doing it, and got to test fire some of them as well. It was a great time



I'm very boring i really need to get a life and live a little. lol thx again for the giggle.


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## Tiamat (Oct 18, 2011)

What kind of education I have as in what pieces of paper I have that say I'm edumacated?  I have a high school diploma, and I'm a college dropout.  I made stupid decisions after high school (which is to say I believed the adults that told me that you should go to the best school you can get into.  Funny how they don't tell you that if you're not a minority and you have parents that are neither well-off nor veterans, you're pretty much screwed).  I plan to try the college thing again, the fiscally responsible way, in a few years (when I've saved up enough money to make me less dependent on loans).

But as for real education that doesn't involve pieces of paper, well, that's another matter all together.


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## Gamer_2k4 (Oct 18, 2011)

Tiamat10 said:


> I made stupid decisions after high school (which is to say I believed the adults that told me that you should go to the best school you can get into.  Funny how they don't tell you that if you're not a minority and you have parents that are neither well-off nor veterans, you're pretty much screwed).



It's just a matter of picking a degree that will earn you enough money to pay off the loans.  I went to a private college with some scholarships and STILL ended up with $70,000 in loans that I'll need to pay back.  But, software engineering is a good field, and I can manage that debt well enough.

I guess that since we're looking at it that way anyway, it bears asking if the college degree is worth it.  If you're spending thousands of dollars for a degree in something nebulous like "business" or "communications," you might be better off saving your money.  If the degree is in philosophy or something even more abstract, you're definitely better off saving your money.


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## ProcrastinationStation (Oct 18, 2011)

I have my leaving cert. which would be equivilent to a high school diploma/A levels.

Currently getting a joint BA in English and Classical Studies (ancient rome & greece studies).
After that plan to get an MA in creative writing, maybe a H-dip which will allow me to teach if I choose. 

Kinda want to continue on until I get Dr. before my name, for no other reason than to have Dr. in front of my name.

Beyond that I have not a clue.


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## Lamperoux (Oct 18, 2011)

I'm still in high school. But my reasonable goal (taking into account my grades and such)

Temple University or Villanova University (first choice is villanova, but if i don't get into that, i'm sure i'll get into temple.)

I want to get a degree in business OR english. Depends on how adventurous I am. 

I am also considering ROTC...only if there's a scholarship.


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## Die Oldhaetunde (Oct 18, 2011)

I can spell _supercalifragilisticexpialidoshous_. B)


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## Zootalaws (Oct 18, 2011)

No you cant! 


(Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious)


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## Winston (Oct 19, 2011)

Zootalaws said:


> No you cant!
> 
> 
> (Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious)



Even with my Bachelors, I need to use a spell checker.  That one's not in there.

Anyway, Summa Cum Laude BS degree in Criminal Justice Administration.  Sonoma State University. 

My Professor wanted me to move on into academia, teach perhaps.  Maybe staff at some cushy policy center.  But no.  I wanted to get out in the real world and start applying my new book smarts.  After a few years working Corrections and Probation, I was sick of dealing with human wreckage.  Not a lot of good jobs for ex-jarheads with criminal justice degrees.

I should've listened to Dr. Jackson.  Now I work a manual labour job, busting my hump on a regular basis.  The money's good, but I'm not using my hard earned education.  But if anyone ever wants to argue the assertions of James Q. Wilson, or the realities of crime control as social policy, I's gots da time.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 19, 2011)

Winston said:


> Even with my Bachelors, I need to use a spell checker.  That one's not in there.



I have given up with spell-checkers... I use a dictionary and hope my eye picks out any glaring fluffs 

su·per·cal·i·frag·i·lis·tic·ex·pi·al·i·do·cious   [soo-per-kal-uh-fraj-uh-lis-tik-ek-spee-al-i-doh-shuhs]

Adjective

used as a nonsense word by children to express approval or to represent the longest word in English.


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## Lamperoux (Oct 19, 2011)

Zootalaws said:


> I have given up with spell-checkers... I use a dictionary and hope my eye picks out any glaring fluffs
> 
> su·per·cal·i·frag·i·lis·tic·ex·pi·al·i·do·cious   [soo-per-kal-uh-fraj-uh-lis-tik-ek-spee-al-i-doh-shuhs]
> 
> ...



i thought the longest word was the scientific term for titin...it's about 18000 characters...no lie. and here's another one --- honorificabilitudinity.


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## beanlord56 (Oct 19, 2011)

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. 'Tis the fear of long words. Quite ironic.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 19, 2011)

This really needs its' own thread, but it is as bewildering as the cruel person that defined the word dyslexia


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## Die Oldhaetunde (Oct 19, 2011)

Noooo!!!! I FAIL! No matter... I shall try again.

Anodisticalipersperiodontilism. Incorrect? Dang.

Uh...boobies.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 19, 2011)

Mmmmmmm.... boobies...


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## JosephB (Oct 19, 2011)

I just drew Tippy the turtle from the ad in the back of a magazine, and the rest is history -- a rewarding career in "art!" Or it maybe it was the pirate.


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## garza (Oct 19, 2011)

I quit school fifty years ago.


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## Lamperoux (Oct 19, 2011)

garza said:


> I quit school fifty years ago.



Best response yet.


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## Tiamat (Oct 20, 2011)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> It's just a matter of picking a degree that will earn you enough money to pay off the loans.  I went to a private college with some scholarships and STILL ended up with $70,000 in loans that I'll need to pay back.  But, software engineering is a good field, and I can manage that debt well enough.


Well, see, you can't do that when you only get enough loans to get through one year, and then everyone denies you when year two rolls around.  I guess I should've mentioned something about how everyone I knew who might have been willing to cosign for an 18 year old with no credit had IQ scores that were higher than their credit score.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 20, 2011)

Higher? Shouldn't that be lower? I have no idea about credit scores, but I am guessing that having an IQ higher than something else isn't always detrimental.


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## JosephB (Oct 20, 2011)

I was lucky -- my first two years, I went to college on state lottery funded scholarship. I lost it when I flunked some math classes, but then I took out a couple of small loans,  and for a couple of semesters, I went to community college, took some core classes and worked. I wasn't left with very much debt. My dad lost his job right when I started college, but he was back on his feet after I got out of school and helped me pay off some of the loans -- which was great. I really don't know how people deal with these mountains of debt --  it's hard enough to get established these days. 

I haven't really looked into it, but I'd like to know why the cost of an education has risen exponentially, far out-pacing inflation and other increases in cost of living. And it's especially worrisome considering I'll have one in college 10 years from now and another on her heals. God knows what it will cost then.


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## Gamer_2k4 (Oct 20, 2011)

Zootalaws said:


> Higher? Shouldn't that be lower? I have no idea about credit scores, but I am guessing that having an IQ higher than something else isn't always detrimental.



A perfect credit score is 850.


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## Tiamat (Oct 20, 2011)

Zootalaws said:
			
		

> Higher? Shouldn't that be lower? I have no idea about credit scores, but  I am guessing that having an IQ higher than something else isn't always  detrimental. :smile:


A good credit score is above 700.  A good IQ is above 140.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 21, 2011)

Tiamat10 said:


> A good credit score is above 700.  A good IQ is above 140.



As I said... your original post was: "everyone I knew who might have been willing to cosign for an 18 year old with no credit *had IQ scores that were higher than their credit score*"

So you have friends with IQ scores over 700??? Or friends with credit scores below 140? The uncreditworthy mind boggles...


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## Tiamat (Oct 21, 2011)

What I'm trying to illustrate here is that their IQ (we'll say 140) is higher than their credit score.  Or in other words, they have really really really really bad credit, such that no financial institution would let them borrow money.


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## Zootalaws (Oct 21, 2011)

Tiamat10 said:


> What I'm trying to illustrate here is that their IQ (we'll say 140) is higher than their credit score.  Or in other words, they have really really really really bad credit, such that no financial institution would let them borrow money.



I'm only pulling your leg  That was implicit in your first post... 

I'm reminded of Fat Freddy's Law:

Brains will get you through times of no credit better than credit will get you through times of no brains!


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## helium (Oct 22, 2011)

Gone through 12 years of public education, might've went to preschool but thats hazy. I feel  education should've been important


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## beanlord56 (Oct 26, 2011)

I'd like to add to my previous post that I have just received my letter of acceptance from Georgia Highlands!


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## felix (Oct 29, 2011)

Currently dragging my way through my last year of college, looking to take a Masters in Theoretical Physics next year.


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## Deyo (Oct 29, 2011)

I got through high school not really learning many useful things.  I was a pretty lazy kid though, hell I'm still pretty lazy now, IT made me miss my chance to get scholarships through college, so I'm pretty much not there due to a financial situation.  I feel like my self-education has been going much more smoothly at least.  using the Internet I have learned tons about philosophy, some of the basics of neurology, and more than I think i'll ever need to know about nutrition and exercise.  It's also helped me to increase my writing ability like 10 fold, which isn't much better. I'm way too embarrassed to put up anything on here that I wrote during high school.


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## Robdemanc (Oct 29, 2011)

I have a degree in Computing but I would love to have studied physics


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## felix (Oct 29, 2011)

Robdemanc said:


> I have a degree in Computing but I would love to have studied physics



That's funny. I'm going for a Physics degree but Computing very nearly took its place.


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## Robdemanc (Oct 29, 2011)

felix said:


> That's funny. I'm going for a Physics degree but Computing very nearly took its place.



Quantum computing sounds very interesting.


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## felix (Oct 29, 2011)

That was something that tipped the scale for me, although I'd have loved to take a degree in Computing concerning AI.


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## Robdemanc (Oct 30, 2011)

felix said:


> That was something that tipped the scale for me, although I'd have loved to take a degree in Computing concerning AI.



I did some AI it is cool.  Artificial Neural Networks are impressive in what they appear to do.  If I did a masters I might do that


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## felix (Oct 30, 2011)

I might try and get some Computing modules in on the Physics masters, that kind of thing really interests me.


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