Freshman year in college and I knew exactly what I wanted to do; I wanted to make interactive websites for both entertainment and marketing purposes. Much to my dismay, no such classes existed. In fact, the one class that came close was a ‘CMPSCI 397D/591U(553): Interactive Web Animation’, which was taught by a friend of mine. After an easy semester I was offered a job teaching the class in place of my graduating friend. I spent the next 3 years teaching the class to grad students and continuing education students. In that 3 year span, people slowly began to assume I had graduated with a Comp Sci degree only because of the knowledge i had acquired and the way i presented myself.

Now this brings me to my point. We need a new way to prove our worth, other than a standardized test. I mean i guess its a good start however what about people that didn’t have the time or money to complete college but have more to offer than a college grad. I personally think my resume speaks for itself and if your smart you’ll hire me based on my abilities and not a piece of paper.

The alternative is to have an array of certifications one can take to prove themselves within a certain field. The Internet can teach me more than any teacher at this point. Between video lectures, tutorials, wikis, etc there is a wealth of untapped information out there waiting to be consumed. All i did was start eating and I’ve landed my dream job.

People still assume I have a degree from UMass Amherst and most clients are shocked when I tell them I’ve only completed my freshman year. Our new marketing guy is straight out of college with a marketing degree and he is still years behind me when it comes to knowledge about the field.

It’s funny tho. I was a straight A student in high school talking about getting a PHD and now 4 years later I’m relieved I didn’t waste my time.