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Would You Date Someone Without A College Degree?

In the industry I work in, there are certain certifications that serve as a very good proxy to tell me the person's ability. I do look for those things when evaluating a resume but that said, I make sure to ask curve ball interview questions to be sure they really deserve that cert.

In IT land there are thousands of certifications a person could get. I know a lot of people whose companies have paid for them to take these certifications, and then told me that the tests they had for the certs were things they have never had to do in their job using whatever product the certification was for. Which is why I have a hard time relying on them in any measure. I can't speak for other industries.
 
In IT land there are thousands of certifications a person could get. I know a lot of people whose companies have paid for them to take these certifications, and then told me that the tests they had for the certs were things they have never had to do in their job using whatever product the certification was for. Which is why I have a hard time relying on them in any measure. I can't speak for other industries.
I am speaking of IT and of a cert that is "generalist" but requires in depth knowledge on lots of product neutral technologies and the legal conditions in multiple countries. Not the sort of thing one can take a few practice tests and pass.
 
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I am speaking of IT and of a cert that is "generalist" but requires in depth knowledge on lots of product neutral technologies and the legal conditions in multiple countries. Not the sort of thing one can take a few practice tests and pass.

Which cert?
 
In many cases going to a university helps a person become more interesting. In the case of liberal arts degrees, that is often about all that you get from obtaining one, you certainly don't get the training required for a career.

I strongly feel that my education has made me more interesting to talk to, but it is a poor litmus test for me being a suitable boyfriend.


Wow ! Could you please try and be more condescending?!?

So you would like a partner that could talk to you about the Boxer rebellion. Perhaps you could talk to us about your view on the Islamic architecture in Esfahan, or perhaps explain the world view of the average Russian citizen and the reasons for their beliefs.

My point is that we all have our area of interest and without doubt I could talk to you about dozens of subjects you'd likely have close to zero knowledge on and vice versa. Does that make me more interesting than you?

Clearly you wonderful education did not teach you that what makes somebody more interesting is a confluence of many things, education is only one of those. Surely life experience is far more important.
 
Wow ! Could you please try and be more condescending?!?

-Snip-

Clearly you wonderful education did not teach you that what makes somebody more interesting is a confluence of many things, education is only one of those. Surely life experience is far more important.

@John Howard - is this a particularly sore topic for you? I ask because you specifically dug through @Jbagz's post and decided to jump on him but ignored that he also, in the same post, said this:

A person doesn't have to go to a university to get that kind of knowledge, but I will respect them more if they can hold up their end of an intellectual conversation.

So he says he wants a person that is intellectual and intellectually curious to be a companion he spends time with.. That's his choice, no? It's his perspective around mate selection?

As for whether you actually have dozens of subjects he'd likely have close to zero knowledge on.. You don't actually know that. Neither do I..
.. But you're upset and making a statement based on your mental image of him being a pompous "ivory tower intellectual" .. right?
 
As I mentioned in my previous post I'd had two experiences last week that related to the subject at hand, that prompted my original post. Is at a sore point? Not really, more of a fleeting irritation that was recalled in the interests of adding to a debate.

As for him wanting someone intellectually curious, did I mention anything about the subject? Perhaps you can go back and read what I wrote and before commenting.

And finally, we all have knowledge of various subjects that others would likely have no knowledge at all. Everybody does.
 
As for him wanting someone intellectually curious, did I mention anything about the subject?

Pardon me, but you heavily implied that his specific stated interests and their analogue to potentially being correlated with education was (outright statement) condescending.

So while you did not specifically address that subject (Intellect & Intellectually curious) you SPECIFICALLY avoided addressing that portion of his post and then picked out other stuff to "poke" him on a bit. That's why I'm trying to figure out, what about and whether you were actually, irritated about his original post.

And actually, while I would "mostly" agree with your final statement, your "absoluteness" in stating it as a fact means I have to disagree. There is a very good possibility that someone exists that knows everything I have, has had similar enough experiences to have most of my knowledge.. AND MORE. A "better" me most definitely exists out there - the law of large numbers dictates he probably does!
 
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I do value enthusiasm and curiosity a lot (more specifically in p4p long time appointments). Without them, and even if I do think I have some basic skills to entertain a conversation, I would feel bored quickly. It happens that most girls I have met with both of these qualities, had a college education (or are on their way to have one.. ).
Agreed with @Jbagz regarding religion beliefs. The is my weak point and I'm actually not very open minded to this one. I cannot stop thinking that believing blindly in some stuff written at the bronze or iron age is ridiculous.
 
Ok this is becoming tiresome sh*t fight so these will be my final words on the subject.

1. Your comprehension of what is written appears to be frequently flawed and absolute. Clearly I felt he was rather condescending in his views however I was certainly not offended by him, more amused actually. Please try to understand that I have no problem with him personally, I'm sure he's a great guy, however I am allowed to disagree with his views. Perhaps I articulated them poorly.

2. I shouldn't need to point this out but... In any lengthy post there may be portions of the ideas presented we have strong points of view on, others again which we don't have strong views, indeed we actually agree. I like many others (I hope that's not to strong a term) choose to discuss those which we have stronger views.

3. On Your final point about "absoluteness", you may like to review some of your replies for more on that subject
 
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Ok this is becoming tiresome sh*t fight so these will be my final words on the subject.

Okay.. I appear to have read tone incorrectly then, my thought was that calling out condescension is typically one of a strong emotional response and comes from being bothered and disapproving of such behaviour. I will also say that my intention is not to fight you, but have managed to irritate you regardless, so apologies for that.

Anyways, one quite valid point that was tangentially brought up is an interesting adjacent topic. Ivory tower intellectualism and disassociation from parts of society really are real problems (as can be seen from the rise of populism globally)

The infamous "Let them eat cake" quote comes from a similar place as intellectual elitism, that similarly, leads people to be totally out of touch. On that note, I do make it a point to watch the RNC, ride busy trains and otherwise work to stay in touch with the feelings, issues and sentiments of those I frequently disagree with - if simply just to make sure one understands and stays aware!

I will say having dated someone that was college educated but completely lacking in awareness and perspective was pretty awful too. It was fun though. Formal dining rooms, proper place settings and dinner candles are so fancy~ :p
 
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@John Howard
To your original experience, I'm not sure about Singapore specifically, but in many Asian countries status seems to play a much bigger role than what I'm used from Europe. It's something that cannot be explained by reason.
On the other hand it's just a different metric. Being judged by your salary is no better or worse than being judged by education. It would just be more beneficial in your case.
At least in Japan education and specifically your university is much more important when companies hire than your actual skills (more so for Japanese than foreigners). So from a girls point of view the education may add more security than the money you make now.

@impish
The problem with degrees and certifications is that usually applications have to be filtered in some way. I'm not sure if you get to see all the applications your HR department receives, but there are usually a ton completely not fitting. If you come up with a better way that is time, resource and cost-effective, it will surely be appreciated.
Many companies flank such approach by referral systems or additional entry points like job fairs.
In an ideal world you would interview each candidate, but in almost all cases thats simply not possible.
 
@impish
The problem with degrees and certifications is that usually applications have to be filtered in some way. I'm not sure if you get to see all the applications your HR department receives, but there are usually a ton completely not fitting. If you come up with a better way that is time, resource and cost-effective, it will surely be appreciated.
Many companies flank such approach by referral systems or additional entry points like job fairs.
In an ideal world you would interview each candidate, but in almost all cases thats simply not possible.

My current company is so small that it's a non existent thing. We don't collect resumes, and we basically aren't hiring that way.

In the past I would often job hunt through recruiters because sending in resumes to 100+ places to find a job was far easier if I had someone else who had a pile of jobs to be filled in front of him. Often he/she'd say "too bad you don't have a degree, this one looks right up your alley".
 
That is a really interesting question. I think it only matters if you are looking at finances down the road. But as far as dating goes, it really does not matter. Some of the brightest people in the world never once set a foot on a college campus and did just fine.

My two cents!
 
Anyways, one quite valid point that was tangentially brought up is an interesting adjacent topic. Ivory tower intellectualism and disassociation from parts of society really are real problems (as can be seen from the rise of populism globally)

The infamous "Let them eat cake" quote comes from a similar place as intellectual elitism, that similarly, leads people to be totally out of touch. On that note, I do make it a point to watch the RNC, ride busy trains and otherwise work to stay in touch with the feelings, issues and sentiments of those I frequently disagree with - if simply just to make sure one understands and stays aware!

I will say having dated someone that was college educated but completely lacking in awareness and perspective was pretty awful too. It was fun though. Formal dining rooms, proper place settings and dinner candles are so fancy~ :p

I guess I can see how my earlier comment could leave the impression of me being an intellectual snob.

Maybe I am?

I honestly don't care how a person obtains the amount of knowledge that allows them discuss a wide range of topics intelligently.

However if they can't, then I'm not interested in being in a long term relationship with them.

Maybe it is because of the region of America that I grew up in contained too many religious uneducated people?

I see a direct correlation between education and having worldview that includes different cultures, arts, sciences and balanced political opinions.

In the American South if you meet a person that hasn't been to college, chances are they have a very narrow worldview.

A formal education after high school tends to expand a person's horizons.

I'm attracted to that.
 
Would be hypocritical of me if I did considering I'm still going to school for my degree now as well as working full time. I understand how hard it is to come from a background where it was hard to got straight to a 4 year university, I financially couldn't do it. So i started working and moved up really quickly in my company to the point where I have a better job than most college graduates my age and I have zero debt.

So long story short, no way would I ever judge a significant other based on a degree.
 
I'd definitely date someone without a college degree but I am not sure how long that relationship will last. I myself did not have a great educational background but I think for a relationship to last and grow, there must be a mutual connection in terms of how a couple think and view life. This is not always the case but in most instances I believe it to be true.

Speaking of educational background, I can notice a clear difference between girls who attended college vs university in Japan. Even a difference between levels of university!
 
The question is about college educated v non college educated and dating. It did not mention for marriage. If thinking marriage, then it might be trouble in the long run!
 
Would be hypocritical of me if I did considering I'm still going to school for my degree now as well as working full time. I understand how hard it is to come from a background where it was hard to got straight to a 4 year university, I financially couldn't do it. So i started working and moved up really quickly in my company to the point where I have a better job than most college graduates my age and I have zero debt.

So long story short, no way would I ever judge a significant other based on a degree.

I too came from a background that didn't allow me to go directly to college after high school.

It is not judging them based on the degree, but on what the education did for them.

There were people earlier in the thread claiming education doesn't matter or have an impact on a person's knowledge.

I say that is preposterous.
 
It doesn't have an impact. There are non college educated men that were self made whatever. They were caught and fired from jobs such as engineering. There are history buffs with only technical degrees and on occasion they are used on history shows. Times used to be different. And I am not sure that a university degree is the same today as it was 30 years ago.
 
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It doesn't have an impact. There are non college educated men that were self made whatever. They were caught and fired from jobs such as engineering. There are history buffs with only technical degrees and on occasion they are used on history shows. Times used to be different. And I am not sure that a university degree is the same today as it was 30 years ago.

You are doing what an earlier poster did, looking at the degree as a mere piece of paper. That poster admitted they had never been to college and was openly hostile toward idea that degrees and even technical certifications have any value.

An education is clearly more than just a piece of paper. The degree is only proof that you went to school, in that since, sure, it is just a piece of paper.

A higher education does impact the vast majority of people in a positive way, not only by giving them a specific knowledge set, but it often gives them a broader worldview and even provides them social experiences that help shape their personalities.

Pointing to anecdotal evidence of "self-made men" and rogue engineers with no formal training isn't proof that an education is a waste of time, or is meaningless.

If college degrees are meaningless to you, what about high school? Just how far are you willing to go with the premise that education means nothing in terms of instilling desirable qualities in a potential mate?

Would you date someone who dropped out of school after the seventh grade? What about a person who never went to school and never learned to read?

How far are you willing to go with that train of thought?
 
We are talking about dating! The person affected the most is the non college educated person. But in general if the person applies themselves in life, it doesn't matter! But it could matter on the financial side! In Japan it doesn't matter. In the States it would maybe. There are many ways for non-college educated people to make money.

But that would be the only thing I could see as being a problem. I have dated women who only had hs diplomas. Never affected our conversations. I still talk to them on SNS.

As far as worldview goes, they can't imagine living in a foreign country! But they have been stationed in foreign countries! But then we can talk about stuff the average college kid can't! So I don't know what all this is about. Workdview!

It's a strange way to qualify your arguments. If you like/love a person, then it doesn't matter really. I could think of a lot of reasons why there is nothing wrong with it because the two will part anyway.