I'll keep it short, but have the people supporting this view heard of dams? Humans (and beavers) have been intentionally changing the course of rivers for millennia.

Star Wars takes place "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." Star Trek takes place in the relatively near future, right here in our galaxy.

Well done.

Most of the younger developers want to work with the newer languages, and they want to create rather than maintain. Many companies struggle to find competent COBOL programers, largely for maintenance work. If you are as adept at self-learning as you imply, it should be an easy language to pick up. Check out this article currently posted on /.: http://developers.slashdot.org/story/13/06/25/1659247/join-cobols-next-generation Good luck!

Your answer is why I still occasionally read comments on slash. Thanks for being thoughtful when you could have been flippant. Maybe there's hope left for reasonable disagreement on this site.

You're probably correct about most defenders. I could, perhaps should, have just said that most people who comment on Atlas Shrugged haven't read it. Couldn't disagree with you more on your assessment of the book, though.

Good for you, Shark!

I don't say this to be a smart ass, so please don't take it that way, but perhaps it was that simple to you because you read it when you were 16? Mind you, my youngest child is older than that and I spent half of my life overseas in the Army, so I am neither young nor naive. Give it another shot. You may be surprised.

Most of the people who criticize Atlas Shrugged haven't read it, even if they say they have. It's a great book. I second the recommendation!

I read most of the comments to this post. Some are good, some leave something to be desired, as usual. As a current CITO for a decent sized public company, I employ two PhD's. One has a degree in Biology. The other, a degree in process (not exactly right; but, it's from an Indian institution and doesn't exactly map to US/European degree fields). Although neither of them has a PhD in CS or a related field, they both have extensive experience in CS-related work. So, I hired them because of both their proven ability to deliver in the real world and their proven ability to apply the scientific method over extended periods of time and effectively present their results. I really didn't care what their academic field of interest was years ago. Based on my experience, and I have hired hundreds of people into CS-related positions, you'd be much better off completing your current degree and beginning to amass experience in a particular discipline. People like me respect the dedication required to complete an advanced degree (I have one, myself); but, we want to see real world results. So, for what it's worth, I'd be much more inclined to hire you in 2014 with a degree earned this year and two years of demonstrated experience than I would with a degree earned in 2014 from a "better" institution, regardless of the field. BTW, both of the individuals in question are doing amazingly well. One has worked for me in multiple companies for more than a decade. The combination of education and experience they bring to the table makes them enormously valuable, and I compensate them accordingly. Finish your degree and get out there. There's fun and reward to be had!

You are correct, and I hope that kdawson reads your post. Like you, I had an undergrad degree in CS. I then went on to get a MS in CS (about a decade ago). Without getting into the specifics, the changes in my income have been significant. In my personal experience, in the right hands a Master's degree will add many hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime income for its bearer. In my current position, I employ a number of computer engineers. Those with Master's degrees earn tens of thousands of dollars more per year over their peers without that qualification, and are the first to be considered for the most challenging, and rewarding, assignments. They are also the first to be considered for managerial roles. It seems that many of the responses are from those fairly early on in their career. At that level, it may not make much difference. When you are negotiating with senior execs over your compensation package, it is a meaningful factor. Good Luck, kdawson!