How do you explain your degree at a job interview when asked?

[BrighterFuture88]

With being close to starting my Capstone at TESU, I’m curious as to how you professionally explain your degree to employers when asked how you obtained it in a small amount of time and proving to them that you earned a good education regardless of it being done online (when asked)?  I know I will be asked about it by future employers, but explaining it to those who may view degrees obtained online may not be *as* effective as B&M is something I wouldn’t know how to properly answer.  Any tips from those of you who may have experienced this?

[lacussucceed]

You put all your work experience to use, and decided it was time to get done once and for all.

[CarpeDiem8]

With being close to starting my Capstone at TESU, I’m curious as to how you professionally explain your degree to employers when asked how you obtained it in a small amount of time and proving to them that you earned a good education regardless of it being done online (when asked)?  I know I will be asked about it by future employers, but explaining it to those who may view degrees obtained online may not be *as* effective as B&M is something I wouldn’t know how to properly answer.  Any tips from those of you who may have experienced this?

I know you didn't mean this post to be funny in any way, but my first college credit was taken in 1992, so as far as I can tell when I finally obtain my bachelor's degree, it will FAR longer than a traditional trajectory of 4 years! LOL!

With that said, why would an employer know how long or short it took someone? I thought we simply put the year we graduated on our resumes, or am I missing something?

[lacussucceed]

They will be able to see it on the final transcript.

[BrighterFuture88]

With being close to starting my Capstone at TESU, I’m curious as to how you professionally explain your degree to employers when asked how you obtained it in a small amount of time and proving to them that you earned a good education regardless of it being done online (when asked)?  I know I will be asked about it by future employers, but explaining it to those who may view degrees obtained online may not be *as* effective as B&M is something I wouldn’t know how to properly answer.  Any tips from those of you who may have experienced this?

I know you didn't mean this post to be funny in any way, but my first college credit was taken in 1992, so as far as I can tell when I finally obtain my bachelor's degree, it will FAR longer than a traditional trajectory of 4 years! LOL!

With that said, why would an employer know how long or short it took someone? I thought we simply put the year we graduated on our resumes, or am I missing something?

It is definitely a serious post.  I always wonder if the topic ever came up (hypothetically speaking) at an interview or sometime after, how do you explain your degree to the employer?  I know that’s a weird question, but in a time where some employers are incredibly skeptical of degrees obtained online and whether or not they themselves deem online degrees to be as good as a B&M degree, how would you explain it in the event they were confused by the small amount of time it took to complete it versus a traditional 4-year?  I’m just curious.

[mudball]

I just looked at my transcript. They only put the dates for courses taken at TESU. There are no dates for transfer or assessment credits, so they would have no idea how long those took you unless you tell them. I doubt an interviewer would even think to ask how long it took you to complete your degree. I think they would be more interested in "what" ACE credits are.
Someone else could give better advice than me as to how to explain an online degree. I have never had to do that.

[dfrecore]

I just looked at my transcript. They only put the dates for courses taken at TESU. There are no dates for transfer or assessment credits, so they would have no idea how long those took you unless you tell them. I doubt an interviewer would even think to ask how long it took you to complete your degree. I think they would be more interested in "what" ACE credits are.
Someone else could give better advice than me as to how to explain an online degree. I have never had to do that.

I just looked at mine, and you're right, there are no dates unless you took a course or exam (TECEP) at TESU.  So there's nothing to explain there.

If anyone asked about ACE/NCCRS credit, I would just say that I was able to test out of a lot of courses because you had enough experience to make that possible.

[jsd]

Not many employers ask you to provide your transcript anyway. It will be unlikely you'll have to ever explain this.

[BrighterFuture88]

I appreciate the feedback. Just curious in the event where (even after hiring) were the topic ever to come up, what’s the best way to explain the degree? The way I would explain it is that I constantly did work in between calls at my job that allowed me to focus hard on my work, but according to some that I have mentioned that to, they were more concerned with whether or not I learned anything in that amount of time (I definitely did), but always wondered how to deliver an explanation to somebody as to the benefit of what we do. Regardless, I appreciate everyone for taking the time to reply.

[allvia]

I appreciate the feedback.  Just curious in the event where (even after hiring) were the topic ever to come up, what’s the best way to explain the degree?  The way I would explain it is that I constantly did work in between calls at my job that allowed me to focus hard on my work, but according to some that I have mentioned that to, they were more concerned with whether or not I learned anything in that amount of time (I definitely did), but always wondered how to deliver an explanation to somebody as to the benefit of what we do.  Regardless, I appreciate everyone for taking the time to reply.

I would not recommend telling a potential employer that you were working on your school work during working hours - even if there was downtime in work day (and even if you had permission of that previous employer to do so) - it's a red flag that you do things that are not work related during work hours.  How'd you manage earning a degree while working (full time) - that is you giving up your non-working personal time for a period in which you committed to being a dedicated student.  How long that time period was is really not important.

Also, if you're over the age of 22 why would the subject of earning a degree time-frame even come up? If you're comfortable putting the year you graduated on your resume (that is a personal choice, with pros and cons based each persons situation) the most a company should ask is for proof of graduation, not information on when you started - especially since an employer can't ask about an applicant's age (and asking for such time-frames could be construed as fishing for information that could be used to estimate that).

The only justified question asking you to "explain your degree" would be why you chose to get a degree in the area that you did (BSBA vs BACS vs BALS etc).