If an employer questions your degree during an interview?

[Ace_King]

Just wanted to bring up a topic and see what everybody has to say on this. The big "3"..Let's say an employer asks you how did you earn your degree? Do you answer , "I earned it by distance learning". Or would one say, "I earned it 100% online". Last, one can say.."It was an assessment college, I transfered majority of my credits in and took cleps etc."

Also let's say an employer never heard of the big 3. Wouldn't an employer think that someone who graduated at COSC or TESC graduated at more of a traditional route because of the "state colleges" in the names?

[rebel100]

I will just tell them I graduated from a regionally accredited college just like "state U". Go on to explain a particular course or two that are relavent to the job your applying for. Make them see why your understanding of relavent subject matter makes you the best candidate for the job. Might even go over how liberal arts is a great foundation for so many of lifes endeavors.

If the fact that it's distance learning comes up I would defend it by saying most schools are encouraging at least some(if not all) online classes. Even Harvard has extensive offerings completely online.

Really a question like this is a great opportunity for you to demonstrate your intelligence and reasoning.

The industry I am in (Health Care) requires certifications in everything. I go out of my way to gather those certs, I have even become an instructor in some. this is more important to some employers than even having an advanced degree. For example I hold a Paramedic Certificate which is required of my job. I also hold an advanced cert in Critical Care, this advanced cert has done a lot to seperate me from other applicants and it only took two weeks to get. Industry standard certs and recognition can be very important.

Mike

[Ace_King]

Well said my friend..well said.

[ryoder]

We usually don't look at the degree where I work. The degree is the last thing on the resume so it takes a while to get to it with a 10 year track record of jobs to go through.

[cookderosa]

Just wanted to bring up a topic and see what everybody has to say on this. The big "3"..Let's say an employer asks you how did you earn your degree? Do you answer , "I earned it by distance learning". Or would one say, "I earned it 100% online". Last, one can say.."It was an assessment college, I transfered majority of my credits in and took cleps etc."

Also let's say an employer never heard of the big 3. Wouldn't an employer think that someone who graduated at COSC or TESC graduated at more of a traditional route because of the "state colleges" in the names?

Let's take a show of hands of anyone in an interview who has ever been asked how their credit was earned. That'd be zero.

So, for the sake of argument, let's say someone is asked such an irrelevant question. My question would be "How? What do you mean?" (because the person asking me is clearly an idiot, so I just want to be sure I understand the question)

So, for the sake of argument, let's say the person explains "I'd like to know exactly how you earned each and every credit for your undergrad degree" to which I'd go ahead and start:
My Contemporary Sociology course met on Saturdays
My Abnormal Psychology course met on Thursdays
My Research in the Social Sciences was an online course
My Introduction to Sociology was a joke so I tested out of it...oh, and I also managed to test out of the rest of my general education courses saving approximately $13,000.

Since my interviewer is an idiot, he likely isn't going to understand what an assessment college is (which, btw, is a made up thing- it isn't a "real type" of college) so, that's a "no" I'm not going there.

Q: what he thinks of the name? Seriously? Is that a question?

Also, "state college" shouldn't be in quotes because <gasp> they actually ARE state colleges.


P.S. your nervousness and insecurity about your degree will come through, I'd bet my last dollar on it.

[Ace_King]

Very good point =O

[cauble_txsg]

Just wanted to bring up a topic and see what everybody has to say on this. The big "3"..Let's say an employer asks you how did you earn your degree? Do you answer , "I earned it by distance learning". Or would one say, "I earned it 100% online". Last, one can say.."It was an assessment college, I transfered majority of my credits in and took cleps etc."

Also let's say an employer never heard of the big 3. Wouldn't an employer think that someone who graduated at COSC or TESC graduated at more of a traditional route because of the "state colleges" in the names?

Interviewer: "Tell me about your college." Yes, I attended Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey where I graduated with a BS in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Interviewer: "I am not familiar with Thomas Edison." It is part of the state college system in New Jersey along with Rutgers.

[cookderosa]

There are 4,352 colleges, universities, and junior colleges in the country. It's unlikely that you, or I, or any interviewer is familiar with even 1% beyond the generic University of (state) or an Ivy.







Neuharth, Al (1 May 2009). "College Decision Day". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 11A.

[ryoder]

Yeah I think your best bet is to have an unknown school like TESC or a state school that has a good football team.
There is a lot of negativity about University of Phoenix for some reason. Maybe if TESC became massive and had campuses all over the place it would be seen that way too but I don't think thats going to happen.

We really don't talk a whole lot about degrees when interviewing people. I think its important for your entry into the industry and becomes secondary to demonstrated experience and increasing responsibility you show on your resume.

[bawhitsett]

No offense to those who are alumni of EC but this is one of the BIG reasons why I switched to TESC in the end. Who knows if I'll ever be questioned about my undergrad education but if I am it will be a whole lot easier to explain TESC as a state school versus EC as a private school when it comes to no residency requirements and theoretically being able to test out of everything. I personally am glad the process is there, but to be honest, it's also easy to see why an outsider would view it to be millish.