I'm graduating with with a master's degree today! (well, sorta kinda...)

I feel like I've failed in many aspects of my life, but now I've actually achieved something that I'm proud of. I can't believe I did it (well, almost) in spite of entering the program after only taking 1 class in the field (not recommended, but in some cases can be done), and having a minor learning disability (relating to auditory perception and indirectly to language processing). It's amazing how much I've learned, yet how little I know about the field in which I'm getting a master's degree in.

I technically haven't achieved it yet. I'm glad I chose not to attend the commencement ceremony (I generally don't care for attending ceremonies), since I still have a lot of studying to do for a final exam I have tomorrow, and because I'm going to have a case of “last minute-itis” for a paper due later that day.

 

I think that's it's even more common for my type of degree in “computer science and engineering”, since it's broad field, and because a lot of the skills are developed over time with practice (which is partly why there are some excellent programmers out there without any college education).

I think a lot of the value of the master's is having the documented ability to be a good learner, which I think is crucial in some types of jobs in the ever-changing tech industry. Although I learned a lot, my programming skills still leave something to be desired, I only know a few programming languages, and have only a basic understanding of databases, file systems, and OS's. I do have a decent understanding of networking technologies though. I'm sure I'll gradually fill the gaps over time with practice, like like my older brother had after getting masters in the field in a similar manner (although he did it in 1.5 years at the University of Chicago without any college education in the field, which is insane).

 

I too felt stupider when studying more complex stuff. Taking graduate level linear algebra without formally studying math since high school was a humbling experience, especially since that shit gets really hard really fast.

Are you familiar with the dunning kruger effect (excellent video on it here)? It basically says that the less cognitively skilled someone is, the more likely he/she is to overrate their cognitive ability often because they lack the ability to assess their ability (and conversely that highly skilled individuals tend to underestimate their skills).