How absolutely necessary is a degree in securing a job?

[Jonmarleesco]

Well, there are Thai degrees, and then there are degrees. And Thais love a degree holder, regardless of the job level - possibly excluding labourers and cleaners, but I wouldn't be sure of that - and irrespective of other abilities. I've had girls working for me, with paper qualifications coming out of their ears - and damn-all common sense.

My eldest son has no degree, but he is a chartered accountant and FTSE250 CEO, who would leave most intellects, Thai and otherwise, in his wake. But would he qualify for a job here, if not for his CEO credentials? Possibly in an accounting firm, but probably not outside of his job experience.

Do you have qualifications that would be equal to a degree?

[jkinbkk]

Well, there are Thai degrees, and then there are degrees. And Thais love a degree holder, regardless of the job level - possibly excluding labourers and cleaners, but I wouldn't be sure of that - and irrespective of other abilities. I've had girls working for me, with paper qualifications coming out of their ears - and damn-all common sense.

My eldest son has no degree, but he is a chartered accountant and FTSE250 CEO, who would leave most intellects, Thai and otherwise, in his wake. But would he qualify for a job here, if not for his CEO credentials? Possibly in an accounting firm, but probably not outside of his job experience.

Do you have qualifications that would be equal to a degree?

No I don't.

In both the industries I have worked they needed my practical expertise first and for most. The fact that I have worked for MNC's opened the doors quickly then to managerial opportunities.

[baxida]

And as for the Middle East... Now days you can't even get in without a degree. Qatar for example expats need degrees to qualify for the visa no matter what the job is and it's becoming almost impossible for employers to get around this. In Dubai they have to pay more income tax on expats without degrees.

WRONG.

I have worked in Saudi, currently Qatar and the UAE and I have no degree.

I also doubt very much that the tens of thousands of Nepalese and Indian construction crash test dummies are arriving with 'degrees' in Qatar.

Edited May 5, 2014 by baxida

[Grindting]

Id love to go back to Uni one day and finish my degree or jump straight to the masters, especially before any bambino's start coming out of the mrs! and I will be advising my kids to get to Uni, work hard and get a piece of paper.. As no one can take that away from you. Or if that doesn't float their boat then get a trade a get all their bits of paper in that too. As they are becoming ever more important

Since you started a degree one might assume that you have the necessary A levels and GCSEs in the bag. Also, given that you have extended work experience, the odds are that you can go straight to a Masters with just a pre-course for those without a prior undergraduate degree. Many Unis provide this. Some unis do not require F/T attendance but you need to take care which Uni to sign up with.

Thanks SW. Regarding the masters, which would be a better option for me as it is only a 2 year course PT (rather than 5 year PT doing the BSc.. Although having completed a year FT of the BSc and with work experience, they might let me skip a few years.. Hadn't asked yet). The uni's doing part time and or distance learning in my field at MSc are few and far between. Early last year I did do a bit of scouting around and most wouldn't admit me to jump straight into an MSc apart from 1 in Portsmouth and a couple of the distance learning places. I was just testing the waters; I wrote to Portsmouth and applied for a masters which was accredited by the RICS, and based on my work experience a panel at the university accepted me with the nod from the RICS. I was quite chuffed, but unfortunately I was still working abroad as circumstances changed by the time it was time to process the formalities, and certainly not enough time to think about how I was going to work down that end for a year or 2. I'm 29 now but it's nice to know that it is a potential option one day, if they were to still admit me. But a bit of a pain in the arse having to move down that end when my flat is in london as is all the work! Edited May 5, 2014 by Grindting

[SheungWan]

Id love to go back to Uni one day and finish my degree or jump straight to the masters, especially before any bambino's start coming out of the mrs! and I will be advising my kids to get to Uni, work hard and get a piece of paper.. As no one can take that away from you. Or if that doesn't float their boat then get a trade a get all their bits of paper in that too. As they are becoming ever more important

Since you started a degree one might assume that you have the necessary A levels and GCSEs in the bag. Also, given that you have extended work experience, the odds are that you can go straight to a Masters with just a pre-course for those without a prior undergraduate degree. Many Unis provide this. Some unis do not require F/T attendance but you need to take care which Uni to sign up with.

Thanks SW. Regarding the masters, which would be a better option for me as it is only a 2 year course PT (rather than 5 year PT doing the BSc.. Although having completed a year FT of the BSc and with work experience, they might let me skip a few years.. Hadn't asked yet). The uni's doing part time and or distance learning in my field at MSc are few and far between. Early last year I did do a bit of scouting around and most wouldn't admit me to jump straight into an MSc apart from 1 in Portsmouth and a couple of the distance learning places. I was just testing the waters; I wrote to Portsmouth and applied for a masters which was accredited by the RICS, and based on my work experience a panel at the university accepted me with the nod from the RICS. I was quite chuffed, but unfortunately I was still working abroad as circumstances changed by the time it was time to process the formalities, and certainly not enough time to think about how I was going to work down that end for a year or 2. I'm 29 now but it's nice to know that it is a potential option one day, if they were to still admit me. But a bit of a pain in the arse having to move down that end when my flat is in london as is all the work!

With the BSc you are looking for something called APL (Accreditation of Prior Learning). The credits are normally applied against individual units (modules) and for this you need to be able to map your experience against each individual module's objectives. Each university operates slightly differently but it is easier to get credit against year 1 (sometimes called preliminary module) units than the the advanced year 2 and 3 modules. Also whatever you claim will be expected to be properly documented for a Faculty APL committee. Portsmouth as a new Uni may or not be softer in its application of accreditation procedures. Personally, I would recommend the Masters route plus any preliminary year required. Anything in London? If you chose an MBA mostly all of the Unis offer something assuming that your work experience adds up to get you entry. Edited May 5, 2014 by SheungWan

[Grindting]

Hi SW. I was accepted on the Portsmouth MSc course direct without any prelim studies, but issue was having to move to Portsmouth. Which I'm not going to do. I did try 2 london Uni's but they were a bit tighter and said no. I could get onto an accredited BSc quite easily and could skip year 1 as I've already done it. Skipping year 2 would be more difficult to prove but none the less it would result in at least 3 years part time to complete even if I did skip year 1. The masters I would be able to complete in 2 years part time and it would be, well.. A masters. So it is a no brainer. Maybe I'll try to re apply to some london Uni's again in jan 2015. Given I'll have an extra 2 years on my experience. See how it goes

[SheungWan]

Hi SW. I was accepted on the Portsmouth MSc course direct without any prelim studies, but issue was having to move to Portsmouth. Which I'm not going to do. I did try 2 london Uni's but they were a bit tighter and said no. I could get onto an accredited BSc quite easily and could skip year 1 as I've already done it. Skipping year 2 would be more difficult to prove but none the less it would result in at least 3 years part time to complete even if I did skip year 1. The masters I would be able to complete in 2 years part time and it would be, well.. A masters. So it is a no brainer. Maybe I'll try to re apply to some london Uni's again in jan 2015. Given I'll have an extra 2 years on my experience. See how it goes

Re the BSc, having 'done' year 1 may not be enough. You need to have been designated by the Uni as having completed year 1 and progressed to year 2. Having said that, if you have a progression letter plus an official letter of acceptance to the Portsmouth MSc then if you take both to an 'Open Day' evening session together with employment record certification you might be offered a place on the spot at one of the London new unis (eg Middx., Londonmet, Westminster, London Southbank etc). Also, you don't have to wait till next January. Since some unis commence their courses in February, you might want to think about it now. Also, re certification you should also be able to provide A Level and GCSE certificates. A couple of last points. You are not looking for a degree to embark upon a career, you are looking to certificate your successful career so the subject does not have to be directly related. What you can do with an MBA or another general business degree is to use your workplace understanding as a focus for the project/thesis you are required to complete. Lastly, do not be in a hurry. You have been out of full-time education for a long time and you will be quite rusty at the study game. Whether or not a uni requires you to do so, you should look for something to sharpen your study skills. If one of the unis offers a 1 semester prelim course, take it. You want to enjoy the process of studying and not regard it as an obstacle course to be endured.

[Grindting]

SW, thank you for taking the time to give me your pointers, I really appreciate it.

[SheungWan]

SW, thank you for taking the time to give me your pointers, I really appreciate it.

Thanks. No probs. Since you are only 29 one question now is what steps you have taken, if any, to secure professional accreditation in the field you are working. If you don't have anything then the remaining story is an incomplete degree (dropped out) and nothing since qualification-wise. If you are working in London then there is an opportunity to get some professional accreditation. Overall there is the query whether you want to do something about repairing your qualification status now or it is a general want pushed out to the future. The longer you leave it the more difficult it will get and the easier to continually postpone. Unfortunately it will sit there on your shoulder as a constant irritation.... Unless you are running an internet start-up company likely to make billions of dollars and then you won't care. I knew one very smart student who was convinced around 2000 that he was going to make it big during the dot-com boom. He dropped out from his degree, his business partner then ripped him off and it all ended in tears. He made a subsequent half-hearted attempt to re-engage with his studies but the momentum was lost and so was he. Edited May 7, 2014 by SheungWan

[paddyjenkins]

If you have enough experience just lie on your resume.

Choose a city, a university and a course - put it on your CV and forget about it.

For somebody in their 20's, they are likely to check - but for somebody mid 30's plus it is experience that matters.

You seem like a decent bloke so it might not sit well with you to be dishonest but hey, if that's what it takes to get on in life and you are confident enough in your abilities then go for it, you have nothing to lose.

K

Depends on the company. A few years ago many wouldn't have checked and all kinds of conmen and frauds managed to get jobs based on lies. But these days many companies do check. Not because the actual degree content matters but because they don't want liars and conmen in their company. Also, some companies may be reassured by thinking attending university would have provided the applicant with basic skills, literacy, numeracy etc and would be pretty annoyed if it turned out they hadn't gotten what they thought they were paying for.

As for having experience, it's not really relevant to someone who is changing industry. In the absence of relevant experience then who will they hire...the middle aged bloke with little education....or the fresh faced twenty something with a degree and lots of energy?

So in my view the OP is confined to low skill work...teaching English, selling real estate etc....

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