Is a degree worth it?

[robert1986]

Why do so many employers want a degree for fields that don't require them?

I wanted to do Conflict Resolution and one employer said a Bachelor's degree is mandatory another said 5 yrs work experience and 2 years of college. 

I have 15 years of life experience in this area . Why isn't that enough? I would be more than willing to show them what I know with completing a test. 

Why isn't Life Experience valued over a piece of paper? 

Even though the occupation I want to be in don't require a degree employers still want one. 

Why?

Do I just save up for that degree and endure the process? 

[aviet]

I think this situation is largely based on two things: procedure and circle jerking.

Procedure as in it's one of the first hurdles companies tend to require before they will take you seriously. If analysed, it would likely be shown as ill advised and inefficient, but companies don't tend to be particularly innovative, particularly those stocked with those who have been conveyor-belted through higher education.

Circle jerking as in the people who are employing you tend to have degrees and I have heard a lot of arrogance first and second hand regarding people who have degrees with their dealings with people who don't, e.g.

- a relatively equally paid degree holder letting a non-degree holder that their degree puts them above the other

- recent graduates talking down to their friends who did not get degrees, even though these degrees have all turned out to be negative forces

- people being hired into jobs on virtue of having any irrelevant degree

I've found that these attitudes of arrogance regarding degrees largely doesn't pervade in the world of programming. I don't have a degree and when I was much younger I got several good job offers based on reputation. I think this is for a number of reasons. But when I was looking at jobs in a related field I specialised in some time I came up against the degree wall.

The route round this is typically going to be entrepreneurship. But if you have 15 years experience can't you use that to get a job through industry connections?

[robert1986]

I've tried. They want a degree even though by law CRS( conflict resolution) doesn't require any licensing . 

I've asked if life experience is a stand in for a degree . They said NO. 

These are employers who want degrees but the position doesn't require one. 

15 years of life experience I have . Since I was 15 I leaned to negotiate. Doesn't seem like employers care about that because it's not a degree

Computers and programming not for me. 

There are some jobs and environment I just despise. 

Programming, government / public anything. Not for me . I had an adoptive parent who was a programmer ( had a degree and a secret clearance). And programming was very boring to me. Just wasn't that interesting for me. 

I generally like social interactions rather than just raw information. 

When I tried programming I felt like my life was wasted. So boring. 

But that's me. I have a little bit of creativity within me 

 

[S1988]

Most jobs require paid experience, which is a Catch-22 because it's tough to obtain experience in a certain niche when an employer won't hire you unless you have experience.

When it comes to degrees, requiring a degree for a job that isn't covered in a university is the trend these days, and a ridiculous one at that. Even some customer service jobs require degrees, a fact that makes it hard to take colleges seriously. Sometimes, I wonder if fast food and retail would require a degree in the near future, which would make it difficult for teens to get their first job.

I hope you succeed in finding your desired occupation.

[robert1986]

May have to bite the bullet and go for a degree.Stack my "value" do high I can't be refused. Of course I'll pay cash with a budget plan. Not many places in cities value life experience over paper. It's a joke. 

I think these places don't like me to show them my value through talking. I think a degree is a way to tell them he knows something without asking me. So I go spend a bunch of money just so they speak to me . It's like I'm paying a prostitute to love me.

[S1988]

Are you open to working from home? Even though I mentioned earlier that some customer service employers require degrees, not all do. Plus, since you're disabled, working from the comfort of your home makes it easier on your body. You also said that you're a social person. Perhaps, you can help customers with product or service issues. How do you feel about that? Another idea is going to a trade school for a vocation certificate, either a brick-and-mortar school or online.

[Spladam]

If there is no alternative, then I guess getting a degree would be worth it. It's quite simple and boils down to 2 options here: get a degree and get the job, or look for a different job whether that be in the same field or a different field which requires the same skills. I think those are your two best options here, but whatever you do, keep on trying new things to see what you are truly interested in.

[robert1986]

The occupation I looked at does not require any training or licensing under law. Companies want degrees and expensive training . That's my problem. 

When training isn't required but a company requires it. 

They won't accept life experience either instead. Which I have 15 years of. 

Hell, I'd show them that experience in about one hour. I'd even pay them. 

Nope. Degree mandatory per company desires . 

[Revolutionary Thinking]

@robert1986 I know all too well what you're talking about. When I was in school I hated the idea of voluntarily going back again for a "degree." I hoped that I'd get a job asap out of high school start small and then work my way up in the company. I said to myself the four year colleges are too expensive so I'll go to a community college and while I'm going I'll look for a job. My first year of community college I hardly had any luck finding a job. Then the 2008 recession hit and that's when things got really really bad. All these crappy jobs were asking for four year degrees and I just thought the world was so messed up. After I got my AA degree from community college it just landed me a job in fast food that I could get even if I dropped out of high school. So while I was working fast food I went to get a BA and I didn't take out any loans. In my opinion the entire education system is screwed from the start because the stupid high schools don't teach anything remotely valuable and that's why degrees are required for even the easiest of jobs that a monkey can do. It's basically like a cartel on the employers end because the employer is too stupid to look at things like creativity and originality. At least you had the chance to get 15 years of life experience but, when I was growing up these dumb employers wanted me to have experience while no one was willing to give any. 

[robert1986]

Employers seem to not value life experience but a piece of paper. It seems my experience is useless to get a job. A simple test an employer could do to see if I'm fit. I'd even pay them to do that. 

[Somewhere]

Employers want to know that you can do the job. If a job requires no formal qualifications or licensing, it doesn't necessarily follow that just anybody can do it; not everybody can succeed at being a standup comedian, for example. So, if you have no work experience in the field, employers are going to fall back on degrees as some evidence of competence and conscientiousness, particularly if local minimum wage laws are high enough to make it uneconomic to take on, in effect, a trainee who, at least for a while may cost the organisation more than they deliver. Can you show them an impressive list of conflicts that you've resolved, maybe through volunteer work or freelancing? It's not my field at all but I'd guess that for some positions that might be enough.

It might be good for you to find a mentor with a bit of imagination who knows the field well enough to suggest how you personally could enter it. In my own field I've acted as mentor for somebody who was assured by recruitment agencies that there was absolutely no way she could get a job without qualifications or experience, but by taking a particular approach, she did find a job, and with a good company too. Good luck!

[shirgall]

Look at it from an employer's perspective... what is a degree evidence of? It indicates the ability and knowledge to pass certain coursework, including some larger projects, assessed independently. There are other ways to obtain and provide this evidence. Employers especially appreciate accomplishment more than effort.

It is true that certain professions use degrees or certifications as a gatekeeper, especially medicine, law, and professional engineering. There's not much choice there.

[striped toothpaste]

In the end the degree stuff is just pretext to be able to say "No" to you.

It's a matter of supply and demand.

If demand is higher than supply, nobody cares whether you have a degree or not. If demand is low, they will invent all sorts of excuses to not to hire you.

You have to find something where demand is high and increasing.

 

 

[shirgall]

On 10/22/2017 at 3:17 PM, striped toothpaste said:

In the end the degree stuff is just pretext to be able to say "No" to you.

It's a matter of supply and demand.

If demand is higher than supply, nobody cares whether you have a degree or not. If demand is low, they will invent all sorts of excuses to not to hire you.

You have to find something where demand is high and increasing.

The entire interview process, just like dating, is looking for a reason to say "no, this is not the one".

[meetjoeblack]

On 9/26/2017 at 1:49 AM, robert1986 said:

Why do so many employers want a degree for fields that don't require them?

I wanted to do Conflict Resolution and one employer said a Bachelor's degree is mandatory another said 5 yrs work experience and 2 years of college. 

I have 15 years of life experience in this area . Why isn't that enough? I would be more than willing to show them what I know with completing a test. 

Why isn't Life Experience valued over a piece of paper? 

Even though the occupation I want to be in don't require a degree employers still want one. 

Why?

Do I just save up for that degree and endure the process? 

 

I am in the struggle as well. After 17yrs of government education, I am finding it troublesome to progress past the career position i already have which did not require any piece of credentials. It is a huge piss off because 99% of these people pushing all these requirements are uneducated but, retire, and HR creates a new job qualifications list which prices out most candidates. 

 

I am in the process of making some moves. All the info is out there free at the library or online. I am looking to accumulate as much self knowledge as I can and if I require more school then, I will pursue it. Life experience isn't valued because if you are placed on the hamster wheel due to government debt, you cannot argue from a place of power. You cannot negotiate salary. Instead, you are forced to work for whatever salary is offered to you. Beggars cannot be choosers.

You can declare bankruptcy on everything from a mortgage, car, visa, line of credit etc. YOU CANNOT DECLARE BANKRUPTCY on A STUDENT LOAN. Its blood money.

 

You're better off applying for any entry level position, interning, and learning on the job. Push a broom or be a personal assistant. Drive your employer everywhere. Acquire the knowledge. Earn your keep. Do whatever it takes to get in. Unless you want to be a doctor, surgeon, dentist, etc. you can learn yourself.