Back in the 60s and 70s there were 'Trade Schools' for people of all ages to learn entry level skills in a number of occupations.
Out of high school I went to one that offered pay as you go and even had people to help you get a part time job and lodging while In training. Once you finished their course they would line up Interviews to get you on your way.
After getting a good job as a technician I continued my advancement by taking programming the same way at a different school/institute. In those days a lot of the students were on the GI Bill and some others were subsidized by the state as a means of getting people off the welfare rolls.
Both my children were working on advanced degrees before I finally finished college and got the final bump up in my career.
At several times not having a college degree made me less susceptible to being laid off in economic cutbacks. Finally getting a degree gave me access to low level management.
As with all things where there is money to be made some 'less than honorable' people will always get involved.
Tim
"Only truly good men can love freedom, the rest love not freedom but license." - George Washington -
Hmm..sounds like they are going after those "schools" that promise dreams without substance...and then ride off into the sunset with the government money that they took from the students.
FWIW...if you have watching the news you will know that there has been a flood of degree mill companies promising quick certification in exchange for your government funded tutition....we are talking billions and billions of tax payer dollars.
I can see a need for certification....in the past I have had teachers who could not program past the "Hello World" program.
I also have taught programming course for local 4 year ACCREDITED colleges...where most ot the class were made of those whose day jobs were programming...and the coursework/tests were tough..take no prisoners tough.
And beyond the technical competency is whether the teacher is one who can teach...actually convey the info to the student so they learn..which is totally different than just writing stuff on the board for memorization.
My experience is that many programmers would not be able to teach their way out of a paper sack...the ability of hacking code does not make a teacher.
So there is a difference in quality of a person who teaches programming and the material they would teach....and some means to regulate that is needed.
In North Carolina we need this kind of regulation and more. We have too many people who haven't graduated high school and/or are illiterate working as maintenance electricians (just one example) because of connections and the good ole boy system. Staff at our summer camps are just as bad. It perpetuates ignorance and degrades consumer confidence when people are allowed to earn income by offering services or goods that are clearly unqualified to offer. The "home handyman" gimmick around here is the worst by far, but they are usually cheap so get tons of business. Then the customer has to pay twice as much for a licensed carpenter to tear out the Smile Mr. Bob'll Fixit did in order to fix it correctly.
I recall reading an article that mentioned that "home repair" is the field that gets the most BBB customer complaints....and why communities do require regulation...bad work kills people.
As a California resident, I can tell you a lot of this regulation is due to problems in the past. As a business owner I can also vouch it's tough to swallow. Most websites dedicated to helping business start ups don't even mention half the nonsense you need. For years the state has been trying to make me use a business license in every city I work in throughout the county. That's 1% of my income per city, total of 6 cities. Instead of just having one for the city I am based in. I don't have a problem filing the paperwork, however I refuse to pay more than 1% total.
BEAR is a consumer protection agency to protect people from all the scam artists and nonsense "businesses" around San Diego. They are very busy and unlike the BBB they have authority. I know many people who had to use BEAR because their repair person robbed them and or provided Smile service.
Then you got the pool cleaning guys storing massive amounts of hazardous chemicals in their houses. It took a lot of self proclaimed repair people who were just trying to make a quick buck to start all this. Botched home repair jobs that ended up costing the client a lot of money to be re-done.
I still encounter places that had an IT outsourcing "company" that screwed them over for years on end, ripping them off every chance they got. There is always a horror story, it makes me feel bad for people who have to rely on other people to do something when they don't have the means to pre-qualify them.
I generally like living in California. I don't care for San Francisco for many, many reasons including that Oddities thing on SCI.
It's really hard to beat the weather except during drought times. I don't care for the property taxes mainly because property values are very high, but at about %1 here beats %3 in parts of Texas or Florida.
I don't really want to retire here in California, but may have no choice because my family thinks this is the greatest place on earth.
BTW, No Child Left Behind was signed by our buddy dubya
As a California resident, I can tell you a lot of this regulation is due to problems in the past. As a business owner I can also vouch it's tough to swallow. Most websites dedicated to helping business start ups don't even mention half the nonsense you need. For years the state has been trying to make me use a business license in every city I work in throughout the county. That's 1% of my income per city, total of 6 cities. Instead of just having one for the city I am based in. I don't have a problem filing the paperwork, however I refuse to pay more than 1% total.
BEAR is a consumer protection agency to protect people from all the scam artists and nonsense "businesses" around San Diego. They are very busy and unlike the BBB they have authority. I know many people who had to use BEAR because their repair person robbed them and or provided Smile service.
Then you got the pool cleaning guys storing massive amounts of hazardous chemicals in their houses. It took a lot of self proclaimed repair people who were just trying to make a quick buck to start all this. Botched home repair jobs that ended up costing the client a lot of money to be re-done.
I still encounter places that had an IT outsourcing "company" that screwed them over for years on end, ripping them off every chance they got. There is always a horror story, it makes me feel bad for people who have to rely on other people to do something when they don't have the means to pre-qualify them.
LOL...outsourcing software is still full of landmines...one just needs to look at the bloody nightmare of the Obamacare website and the dismal track record of the company that did it.
I once read an academic article that had found that 3 out of 4 software projects are NEVER completed..and the larger the project, the more likely it will fail.
I have never been lucky enough to be on one of them...but I have been on plenty that have gone overbudget and overschedule. After a few, I started keeping track of initial schedules...those of management versus the programmers of when a project would be complete...the schedules submitted by management were NEVER right...versus those schedules from the programmers that were usually on the mark...but were forced to be kept in desk drawers because of political pressure.
Did you know that the IRS is about 75% temporary seasonal employees, and the largest employer of CPAs (most of which are paid below the industry's median income)?
And so, on the one hand it is "Buyer beware", and on the other hand, it is "Citizen beware".
Comments
Out of high school I went to one that offered pay as you go and even had people to help you get a part time job and lodging while In training. Once you finished their course they would line up Interviews to get you on your way.
After getting a good job as a technician I continued my advancement by taking programming the same way at a different school/institute. In those days a lot of the students were on the GI Bill and some others were subsidized by the state as a means of getting people off the welfare rolls.
Both my children were working on advanced degrees before I finally finished college and got the final bump up in my career.
At several times not having a college degree made me less susceptible to being laid off in economic cutbacks. Finally getting a degree gave me access to low level management.
As with all things where there is money to be made some 'less than honorable' people will always get involved.
Tim
"Only truly good men can love freedom, the rest love not freedom but license." - George Washington -
FWIW...if you have watching the news you will know that there has been a flood of degree mill companies promising quick certification in exchange for your government funded tutition....we are talking billions and billions of tax payer dollars.
I can see a need for certification....in the past I have had teachers who could not program past the "Hello World" program.
I also have taught programming course for local 4 year ACCREDITED colleges...where most ot the class were made of those whose day jobs were programming...and the coursework/tests were tough..take no prisoners tough.
And beyond the technical competency is whether the teacher is one who can teach...actually convey the info to the student so they learn..which is totally different than just writing stuff on the board for memorization.
My experience is that many programmers would not be able to teach their way out of a paper sack...the ability of hacking code does not make a teacher.
So there is a difference in quality of a person who teaches programming and the material they would teach....and some means to regulate that is needed.
I recall reading an article that mentioned that "home repair" is the field that gets the most BBB customer complaints....and why communities do require regulation...bad work kills people.
That is the reason for my signature line.
BEAR is a consumer protection agency to protect people from all the scam artists and nonsense "businesses" around San Diego. They are very busy and unlike the BBB they have authority. I know many people who had to use BEAR because their repair person robbed them and or provided Smile service.
Then you got the pool cleaning guys storing massive amounts of hazardous chemicals in their houses. It took a lot of self proclaimed repair people who were just trying to make a quick buck to start all this. Botched home repair jobs that ended up costing the client a lot of money to be re-done.
I still encounter places that had an IT outsourcing "company" that screwed them over for years on end, ripping them off every chance they got. There is always a horror story, it makes me feel bad for people who have to rely on other people to do something when they don't have the means to pre-qualify them.
LOL..and not funded by his friends in Congress.
Sadly American children are the losers.
LOL...outsourcing software is still full of landmines...one just needs to look at the bloody nightmare of the Obamacare website and the dismal track record of the company that did it.
I once read an academic article that had found that 3 out of 4 software projects are NEVER completed..and the larger the project, the more likely it will fail.
I have never been lucky enough to be on one of them...but I have been on plenty that have gone overbudget and overschedule. After a few, I started keeping track of initial schedules...those of management versus the programmers of when a project would be complete...the schedules submitted by management were NEVER right...versus those schedules from the programmers that were usually on the mark...but were forced to be kept in desk drawers because of political pressure.
And so, on the one hand it is "Buyer beware", and on the other hand, it is "Citizen beware".