Re: [tlug] [OT] A Question About Degrees

[Ulrike Schmidt <ulrike@example.com>]

Am 03.07.10 10:18, schrieb Stephen J. Turnbull:
>   >  As for the degree, i'd plan from the beginning on a masters degree.
>   >  A bachelor is a nice start, but, at least here in Europe, nobody
>   >  will hire someone with just a US bachelor degree.
>
> Nonsense, at least in Germany.
In Germany there used to be nothing like a bachelor degree until a few 
years ago. The pre-diploma was accepted as equivalent to a bachelor 
degree in US universities, but the diploma, for which you had to study 
another 3 years, was not accepted as being equivalent to a masters 
degree in the US.
In Germany you were considered a drop out if you did not finish with a 
diploma (5 years, 1 subject) or Magister (4 years, 2 or more subjects). 
Recently they changed the system to bachelor and master, and I think 
companies now have an idea what a US bachelor degree is approximately. 
They are also reducing the 13 years of school needed for Abitur (need 
for entering university) to 12 years, this process is not finished yet.
There also used to be almost no difference which university you got your 
degree from, almost all were run by the government and almost all used 
to be free. Now they are trying to establish elite universities and 
university fees, although they are still low compared to Japan or the US.
But in Germany you don't have to have studied at a university to get a 
job as a programmer, there is also a formal educational way as an 
apprentice.
Uli