This is because of the field itself more than any other policies. I have an undergrad degree in Computer Information Systems. That was VERY appealing when I knew nothing about programming, the field, etc.
After having been in the field for 15 years, there are a few things that become very clear:
1. I did not need an undergraduate degree to do this. Some fields you need formal education in a controlled setting. This isn't one of them.
2. There is virtually nothing in this field that I feel I couldn't learn given books and free time
3. I am married with 2 kids and a good job. To pursue a PhD I've got to either put my job and my income on hold to go pursue it (while taking on the expense) OR pursue it in my spare time and encroach on my children's childhood. Neither are worth it.
4. Virtually nothing to gain FROM the PhD
I also have a Master's but I got that in a business field instead, which is tremendously harder to just get from books. Experience and connections in business are huge and that degree was worth every penny.
At this point, if I went back to school for anything it would probably be Law, Statistics or Finance. There's just nothing in the field of computing that I believe couldn't be better learned by experience.
After having been in the field for 15 years, there are a few things that become very clear:
1. I did not need an undergraduate degree to do this. Some fields you need formal education in a controlled setting. This isn't one of them.
2. There is virtually nothing in this field that I feel I couldn't learn given books and free time
3. I am married with 2 kids and a good job. To pursue a PhD I've got to either put my job and my income on hold to go pursue it (while taking on the expense) OR pursue it in my spare time and encroach on my children's childhood. Neither are worth it.
4. Virtually nothing to gain FROM the PhD
I also have a Master's but I got that in a business field instead, which is tremendously harder to just get from books. Experience and connections in business are huge and that degree was worth every penny.
At this point, if I went back to school for anything it would probably be Law, Statistics or Finance. There's just nothing in the field of computing that I believe couldn't be better learned by experience.