How are you Monetizing using your Degree or Certificates

[Lindagerr]

I'm sorry I missed this the first time around. Interesting discussion. My degree was started this time 34 years after it was first started and 19 years after my last college course. I have attended many schools for short times but never gotten even half way to an AA. When I started at TESC I had ~30 CC credits and I just wanted to have a degree any degree. I wanted it for myself and I wanted so I didn't have to be embarrassed when someone asked where I went to school. I went for the Liberal Studies AA because I could get it done fast. Once I was close to the AA I knew I wanted to go further so I sent my oldest credits to TESC I had kept them out earlier because I thought they would be repeats and the grades were not good. Tesc took them and put them in other areas. so I now had a total of about 70 credits. I went for a BA in Natural Sciences/Mathematics because that was the closest to what I was doing.

While I was working on my BA I started substitute teaching, it turned out I loved teaching and decided to change my focus toward a teaching career. I took the free and general alectives in areas that would help in that area , but I kept the science focus because that is what I wanted to teach. In NJ where I was born and had lived all my life I was at the point where I could get a job teaching while completing the remaining requirements. I was happy with the choices I had made and I could not have even considered Teaching without a BA. I still worked in the lab part time to help pay the bills, but teaching was my focus. I subbed as much as I wanted and I even considered going to WGU for my masters in teaching to shorten the road to certification.

But then as life often does a wrench was thrown into the mix when my husband got a good job (he had been laid off) the offer included relocating us to the Buffalo area. When I first came to NY I started worrying about being able to get certified here. I was willing to just be a substitute here. I didn't know that although NJ was desperate for Subs even With minimal qualifications NY has more subs then it needs and will hire only certified teachers as subs. I was eventually able to find a school which would hire me, but most if not all the work would be as an aide to severely disabled children. Because I was not certified I would make in one day what I used to make in under 2 hours. At that point my degree had not helped me one bit but I was still glad I had it because it was something I did for myself in the first place and I was proud that I had seen it through. Of course if I had wanted to put the time, money, and effort into meeting the NY requirements I could have done that quicker only because I had the degree.

Then I decided why not see what else is out there? So I started applying to jobs back in the laboratory (Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology) You know the areas you can't earn a "Fast paced" degree in. I have only had one interview, but they would not have even looked twice at my resume if I didn't have those two little letters on there. I have over 30 years experience in a lab so they knew I could do the work but it seems the degree was interesting to them, The woman who would be my boss told me she had seen that and was impressed, she had thought about returning to school to get her Masters but didn't think she would have the self discipline to do it on-line. In the end I didn't get the job (part of me suspects age discrimination) but it was obvious I was in the top few that got to the interview.

The summary of this long post is that even when you start older the direction your college or career path takes can make many twist and turns in life, but having a degree (Yes ANY degree) will help open doors and make things possible.

[mrs.b]

If you don't have that checkoff box then you may not get through the first step in the hiring process. So my degree isn't just personal satisfaction, but insurance in case something happens to my job as well.

This! Some people may still be under the impression that most employers still dig through every resume or application by hand, sorting and prioritizing based upon personal interpretations. Many larger employers - of which the government is only one - actually use recruiting software to do that front-end short-listing. Prior to a job posting, the recruiter sets minimum qualification cut-off points, and those questions you are asked determine whether your application or resume is flagged as qualified or unqualified. If a job lists a minimum qualification of a specific degree, not being able to check that box automatically disqualifies the applicant...regardless of how much experience, personality, and personal sellability the applicant might have if they were given the chance to interview...because they never will get to sit down at that table. Only after the computer does that initial checkbox checking does a real person (usually the HR rep) put eyes on the applications/resumes of those that are flagged as qualified based upon the answers to that handful of questions to further match to the "preferred" qualifications, and that even smaller group is then handed to the hiring manager to interview.

Someone with the greatest personality and strongest work ethic that will bring tons of benefit to an employer may not even get a first glance due to automated sorting. A fast-track degree may not be as preferable as an Ivy League counterpart, but it allows someone with experience to get past that initial qualification screening so they can have the opportunity to prove to an interviewer that they bring more to the table than the competition. That is why many here do not necessarily recommend a fast-track option to younger students - a fast-track degree does typically require experience or something else to back it up to stand above competition - but for those that do have something else to back it up, a fast-track degree gets you through the front door to get that chance.

[taylor]

Ten years into employment, you're earning about 70K and excellent benefits working in IT. Congratulations!

The National Association of Colleges and Employers collects data from U.S. employers on starting salaries for new college graduates. For Computer Science majors hired, within their survey population, they report a national average starting salary of 64 800.

This average starting salary, for Class of 2013 CS graduates, is only about 8% away from your salary today. You've been with your employer for about 10 years at least. Of course you may have been working with the university or in IT even longer. "10 or so years" is only how long you've hired people there.



An honest question about HS non-completers, or HS graduates with no college, who you hire based on skill tests: How many of this group starts at or near 64 800 (in constant 2013 dollars)? How many reach 64 800, say, four years later?

NACE Salary Surveys (National Association of Colleges and Employers)

Jonathan, I think these numbers are inflated survey or not. I'm not an IT or programmer guy, far from it. But I have friends who have been in IT for over 10 years and the Dude's numbers seem more in line with what they are making. 1 of them has been an IT manager for several Fortune 500 companies and he keeps getting laid off because of his pay so now he's resorted to accepting lower paying jobs. Another one of my friends also a former IT manager for a Fortune 500 experienced the same thing so now he's an owner of a karaoke...go figure. Another one of my friends a UC Berkeley grad quit his computer programming job to sell insurance. The great thing about having all these nerdy friends is I can bully them to fix my computer for free =)

[instant000]

If you're looking for a strategy on monetizing the degree or certificate, I can tell you what has worked for me, personally.

1. Look at job descriptions for the type of jobs you want to do in the future, that are available in the areas you want to work.
2. Gain the skills and credentials those jobs are looking for.

Note: Nothing is guaranteed, but this has worked for me in the past.