How are you Monetizing using your Degree or Certificates

[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.