How much of the college education premium is payoff to useful human capital?

[Japher]

I think degrees, for the most part, are worth the paper they are printed on and the type of degree not only serves as signaling mechanism but as a sign of ability to follow instructions and think independently, as well as foresight and responsibility.

As for company's hiring practices; managers are mostly idiot. The hire people based on what they themselves want and would like and/or what worked well in position being hired for before. Both of these methods, as well as the combination of the two methods, destroys and opportunity for real innovation and ignores the real reason one should hire for a position; because they would work. There is no real way to tell if someone will fit a culture, work in the position, or be good in the role until they actually try it for a time. I personally like companies that give you a trial period before telling you yay or any, of course this doesn't work if you have to relocate for the position. So, what do you do in those cases? You hire what you know, sadly.

[Ben Kenobi]

As for company's hiring practices; managers are mostly idiot. The hire people based on what they themselves want and would like and/or what worked well in position being hired for before. Both of these methods, as well as the combination of the two methods, destroys and opportunity for real innovation and ignores the real reason one should hire for a position; because they would work. There is no real way to tell if someone will fit a culture, work in the position, or be good in the role until they actually try it for a time.

I think they just profile. Tick off boxes on a checklist. You fit them all, your ass is covered wrt to the hiring decision.

[rah]

As for the opportunities, I'm surprised that rah's company would work that way on the phones. Most don't. I've tried entry-level positions, and for the most part they are dead ends and your manager wants to invest in you about as much as he wants to get audited.

The company didn't work that way. I worked that way. I got a lot of talented people that way (some did have degrees) and I got a worker that we were already familiar with for less money, since they didn't come with expensive credentials. One guy (he did have a degree) that I pulled off the phones, eventually became the president of our division.

[Ben Kenobi]

The company didn't work that way. I worked that way. I got a lot of talented people that way (some did have degrees) and I got a worker that we were already familiar with for less money, since they didn't come with expensive credentials. One guy (he did have a degree) that I pulled off the phones, eventually became the president of our division.

Wish there were more managers like you. It's nice to be given a chance to prove yourself.

[Elok]

Agreed 100%. There is a fine line between projecting confidence and coming off as arrogant. And the best can't hide it 100% but as you say, I wouldn't expect them too.

Actually, being arrogant can help your communication skills to a certain extent. I was the star of my public-speaking class, despite being autistic. The reason? Tremendous natural vanity. When you have a gut feeling that you're smarter and more important than every other person in the room (regardless of whether that feeling has any relation to reality), you don't feel the slightest bit scared of speaking in front of them. I think that's why sociopaths often come across as charming.

So I can picture Asher glad-handing with considerable skill, just because he'd have a constant internal monologue going: "Yeah, that joke was lame, but I'll laugh at it anyway because it'll make you laugh and I can get a promotion, you stupid, stupid tool. Damn, your tie is hideous."

[Asher]

Scary accurate.

In all honesty the only thing that brings me close to adopting my persona here is when the woman across the way from me talks on the phone.

She's a 300lbs (NOT JOKING) woman who is "jovial". She'll talk loudly on the phone and laugh at anything and everything for long periods of time, and her laugh is a definite YUCK YUCK variety. Then, as she's a fatass asthmatic, she starts coughing up a lung.