Fake Degrees: another reason to avoid them...

[Hadron]

OK, the fake degree spam we get a couple of times a day here is clearly intended for a Chinese audience, so I doubt this warning (in English) will do any good to the sort of mug who might buy such things. But I thought it was interesting anyway:

I was listening to the radio a few minutes ago, and there was a programme on that was discussing an interesting, though very logical, twist in this scam market: if you buy a fake degree it is presumably to get yourself a job. But that means that the seller has a list of people whose careers depend on nobody knowing that their degrees are fake, and who are therefore vulnerable to blackmail. And that can be much more lucrative than just selling fake degree certificates...

Caveat emptor - especially when the business is criminal to start with.

 

[PitCarver]

Good thing I'm retired.

 

[Member243850]

Sheesh even when I deal with real qualified engineers and artisans I am absolutely flabbergasted at the pathetic amount oh how little some people know...

My father employed one of the best programmers I have ever seen (in my childhood I called "El Deleto!" because he used to always delete ALL of our games - as I kid my father's reverse software engineering business had some of the hottest tech and pcs around! My house was THE place to lan! )

Anyway - El Deleto basically has NO DEGREES... but! - he single handedly pretty much INVENTED reverse software engineering!

Even though he has no degrees and 0 official qualifications I was blown away by how awesome El Deleto was... even though he used to always delete all our games on those super hot pcs

Some people who are even qualified scare the living shit out of me!

I sat there with a mechanical engineer and I felt like reporting him because he was so bloody useless that he didnt even know the basic ASME codes and that is like straight forward....

BEE at it's finest!

He was a black economic empowerment **** up of note!

Couldn't do basic shit that is common knowledge (in the energy industry)....

Can you believe it? Billions of dollars worth of technology put in the trust of a ****ing moron!

It's a very funny world we live in!

 

[Brian706]

Interesting theory, Hadron. Not sure why anyone would let someone blackmail them over something like that though. The way I see it, worst case, they attempt to blackmail you, you don't pay them and they tell your employer.

Now best case here, you proved to be a valuable employee regardless of degree and your employer keeps you. Worst case, you get fired for a job you'd have never gotten anyway without the fake degree.

 

[Deleted User]

No employer has ever asked to see my degree certificate.

 

[mikedt]

No employer has ever asked to see my degree certificate.

Are you in employment that requires a university level qualification, like a Bachelors, etc? My job does, and degrees have be notarized and verified as well, especially now with all the fake degrees in China and elsewhere.

 

[psionandy]

@Hadron was the radio program File on Four?

 

[Hadron]

@Hadron was the radio program File on Four?

Yes (I actually only caught the last 20 mins)

 

[Deleted User]

Are you in employment that requires a university level qualification, like a Bachelors, etc? My job does, and degrees have be notarized and verified as well, especially now with all the fake degrees in China and elsewhere.

Most job specs I get sent have an educational requirement of BSc, and some even stipulate a specific grade. But I can't say that anyone asked to see my degree certificate.
That said, I believe experience is very important, and I've worked with some very smart people who don't have a higher qualification.

 

[psionandy]

If anyone would like to hear the program in question... you can find it at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09ly731


which is free wherever you are in the world*




*as long as there is no great big governmental national firewall between you and the internet.

 

[Jfalls63]

Using a fake degree is how I got my lucrative gig here at AF. That and the fact that I was willing to work for nothing.

 

[Hadron]

Being willing to work for nothing is the most important qualification for us all

 

[Jfalls63]

If I get my ranking down to a single digits, do you think they would double my pay?

 

[joe71]

A fake degree will only lead you to trouble and the unemployment line. Yes maybe a fake degree can get your foot in the door of some company and yes maybe you can sneak pass human resources and such. But the problems comes with promotions and or changes in management. What happens when the person with the fake degree goes for a promotion and people start asking questions, start sniffing around. Red flags will start going up. No matter how you play the hand the whole fake degree thing is a losing hand eventually you will be found out

 

[mikedt]

Fake degrees: They must love Canada for some reason....

 

[Unforgiven]

If I get my ranking down to a single digits, do you think they would double my pay?

Quadruple. Trust me, I know.

 

[Deleted User]

Quadruple. Trust me, I know.

You're worth every penny mate

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Alerts @Jfalls63, alerts! That's what you need. Oh and uhm, don't resign either...

Fake anything kinda P'es me off. Except for body parts.

I've actually been involved in a real-world incident where just the innuendo of a fake degree caused someone I respected to resign their job. I resigned from my job here for political reasons but in the real-world that guy got screwed and lost big money.