Changing Careers Without DegreeI' m very confused about what to do here. I love my job but the specific portion of the industry in which I work is going through a tremendous amount of change. I feel like I need to explore other opportunities but I don' t know where to start, especially because I have several strikes against me right out of the box. First, I' m a woman knocking on the door of 50 years old. Second, I don' t have a college degree. My favorite jobs always entailed quite a bit of writing, including 8 years working as executive producer for radio and television. During that time, I also entered the field I' m in now because I learned early on you can' t earn money in the media unless your name is on the product. I' ve also been an intellectual property paralegal, office manager, benefits administrator, HR manager and, for the past several years, working my way up to my present position as a regional manager for a national corporation. How do I make all this work for me without having to work my way up from the bottom again? I manage millions of dollars in revenue every year. I manage over 100 employees. And I don' t have time to work my way up again. The industry you are in has other areas that you can pursue. You have management experience on a mid senior level and you have human resource and administration experience. This may all add up to Executive Assistant or Executive positions within your field of expertise or within the Human Resource field. It happens all the time where employers substitute actual experience with degree. Depending on the industry, I have seen advertisements and heard people state that for a two year degree 4 years experience can be substituted. Don't pass up the opportunity to apply or interview with a company because the advertisement states that a degree is recommmended. Or even required. You seem like a really sensible person, I' ve seen some of your replies. Do you have any advice for my post? I' m saleslegend with the abusive boss. What would you do?
Remind yourself and possibly the company if asked to discuss the issue that eliminating you as a candidate due to a lack of a college degree would also eliminate the likes of Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Harry Truman just to mention a few!
That' s true re: four years of experience can equal a two year degree. Generally, the rule seems to be two years of experience per year of college. I' ve seen many jobs that list "bachelor' s degree or equivalent relevant work experience" or "bachelor' s degree or equivalent combination of education, training and work experience". I did not complete my degree (made it through my junior year, but had to drop out due to lack of funds; I' m still in debt, sans degree!), and these are the types of listings I generally seek. | |
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Career Tips
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