I recently got a link to a slideshow of life at the University of Virginia for 2007. It was a very interesting and enjoyable show that showcases a place where I spent a few years of my life and really enjoyed it. So much so that I tried to get my wife to move back there instead of Denver about 10 years after I'd graduated. As you might have guessed that was one (of many) debates I lost :(
As my children grow older my wife and I are encouraging them to go to college. I spent 4 years on campus and thought it was a very enriching and worthwhile experience and we hope that all 3 of them get the chance to live at school and experience life in a semi-sheltered environment. They still have to work and earn part of their keep, but I think living on campus is an experience that can't be duplicated in any other way.
In the IT world, I've often met many people that didn't go to college, were self-taught, learned in the military, on the job, or some other environment. That's not any better or worse than attending college and neither experience makes you any more skilled or talented at this job than the other. College only adds to your resume (when I'm hiring you) in two cases. One is if you have less than 4 years of experience at work. Then I look at college as the equivalent of another job.
In case you're wondering, the other case is if you went to the University of Virginia. You get points for that :).
So with this being a Friday, and people still likely ramping up at work in this first new year of 2008, here's a poll question:
Would you want to go back to work at your college, university, or the first place you spent significant time after leaving your parents?
I know it's kind of a touchy-feely-warm-fuzzy poll, but I was in a melancholy mood when I wrote this :)
I'll answer that I would love to go back and live in Charlottesville and work there again, either for UVa or a local business. And with horses in the area, maybe my wife would consider it someday.
Let me qualify that I spent 3 semesters at Syracuse University and a semester+ in London before I ended up at UVa for my final two years. But I really liked the town and small college atmosphere, even though it's a fairly large school. I've lived in my native Va Beach and San Diego as well as Denver and while I'm not sure I want to leave the Denver area, I'd consider Charlottesville.
So let us know where you'd like your dream job to be if you could get it and move back to a place you once called home.
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
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