Am I overqualifed with a masters degree?

tjb122982

I have a dual masters in Library Science (to be a librarian) and information science from a Big 10 school. Suffice to say with the economy, it has been a rough go as terms of finding work in a library for the last 18 months. Now I am working as a call center customer service rep for a outsourcing company whose client is probably least favorite wireless carrier basically doing first tier tech support (cannot make or receive calls, cannot send or receive texts or data, correcting voice mail settings, changing SIM and IMEI numbers) along with rate plan and feature changes and of course billing questions. Right now I am studying for the A+ and plan to pass that and the Network+ by next spring. However, my question with a masters degree am I overqualified for a help desk gig? Also, does the current position help me at all? I hope it does because some nights I want to quit on the spot.

Essendon

Way over qualified, IMO. Any IT experience will help you in getting your next role. It's ok for you to complete the A+, but after that you should consider doing something like the CCNA/MCTS/MCP, you know something that'll give you more ROI. Once you have your entry level role, there is no need to get any of these crazy compTIA certs anymore. Get a cert that's worth your while. And keep that Master's off your resume. HR are like, O this guy has a Master's and wants a helpdesk gig, nah too overqualified, he's not going to stick around for long, delete resume, next. This is exactly what happened to me 4-5 years ago. I have a Master's too.

spicy ahi

Exactly as Essendon said. Your Master's makes you overqualified for any entry level jobs and will almost automatically disqualify you from consideration. So whena applying for these positions, I would also leav them off. Nice thing though, is that once you get higher in the IT hierarchy, you've already completed on check box for many senior level and management positions so you're ahead of the game in that regard. Now, about your current job... It doesn't sound like it'll directly apply to any helpdesk level jobs, unless you complete your A+/Net+ and can somehow bridge some of the skills in your current job to the skills in the certs. However, the fact that you are in a support call role will help in that you already know how to deal with customers. I'd say stay the course, work on the certs, and apply for helpdesk positions. You may not get much consideration without certs on your resume, but it'll be great practice (especially with tech interviews; those can be tricky depending on the interviewer) should you get a call back. And hey, you might get hired!

nel

Yes, in reality you are overqualified in a helpdesk role as such.

I would usually agree to keep the masters off but in this case, there will be quite abit competition and todays economy usually means a hard time find those opportunities. So what im saying is i wouldnt necessarily take your masters off your cv...it may set you apart from the rest. to get a feel, speak to some recruiters, they will also guide you slightly as it may be in their best interest too. Send some cv's out with and without the degree stated and see what kind of response you will get. Besides, who said you have to apply for entry level helpdesk?!?

it_consultant

I think it is realistic that with a Masters Degree in a decidedly unrelated field you will still have to start your career with helpdesk type of work. This isn't a bad thing, a lot of careers here on the forums started with desktop support. The idea of getting you through the censors is a valid concern but I think a little overblown. Getting a job is a sales job. Simply minimize the impact your Master's degree has on your overall resume and job hunt. Let people know you don't expect $80K out of the gate on the strength of your academic qualifications and you will find a lot of people happy to hire you.

RobertKaucher

You need to learn SharePoint and get into consulting.

If I could hire you to assist with our SharePoint deployment, I would do it in a heart beat.

Enterprise level SharePoint deployments NEEED people with an understanding of how to catagorize "libraries" and how to develop metadata.

simtech

I have the same dilemma. I have an MBA and trying to get into IT. I had the Master on the resume before and I didn't get a single call for interview. So I took it out, and receive more calls than before.

chrisone

Your are overqualified and not qualified at the same time.

Yes your masters is great and helps, but with no real world experience it can be tough "not qualified." Plus lets face it employers want to see the certifications, there is no way around this. That is why many here say getting a masters or PH.D for I.T. is sometimes not a good choice, unless you are going for a management position, because you end up double studying.

In all honesty if you are going for a tech hands on position, I am sorry to say but you are going to have to study again for certification IMO.

SamLea27

chrisone wrote: »

Your are overqualified and not qualified at the same time.

Yes your masters is great and helps, but with no real world experience it can be tough "not qualified." Plus lets face it employers want to see the certifications, there is no way around this. That is why many here say getting a masters or PH.D for I.T. is sometimes not a good choice, unless you are going for a management position, because you end up double studying.

In all honesty if you are going for a tech hands on position, I am sorry to say but you are going to have to study again for certification IMO.

This. Agree completely.

Kasor

Remember, you can always omit the "Master degree" from the resume if you think that you might be over qualify for the position. However, education is always good and as long as you get to be interview. Then you need to sell yourself.

veritas_libertas

You may have to omit it for now, but give yourself 5 or 10 years of experience and that master degree is going be useful.

tjb122982

chrisone wrote: »

Your are overqualified and not qualified at the same time.

Yes your masters is great and helps, but with no real world experience it can be tough "not qualified." Plus lets face it employers want to see the certifications, there is no way around this. That is why many here say getting a masters or PH.D for I.T. is sometimes not a good choice, unless you are going for a management position, because you end up double studying.

In all honesty if you are going for a tech hands on position, I am sorry to say but you are going to have to study again for certification IMO.

Thanks but now I have another question. Would it be wise to omit my Bachelors degree? If no, would it be okay to omit the date on it?

rapyoke

No you definitely want the Bachelor's on there (not the Master's though, unless the job seems to call for it). Out of curiosity, why would you want to omit the date?

andy4tech

I think is best to omit the date if the date is been over 7 years.

andy4tech

sorry,i think over 7 or 8 years.

tjb122982

tjb122982 wrote: »

Thanks but now I have another question. Would it be wise to omit my Bachelors degree? If no, would it be okay to omit the date on it?

Well because I graduated college in 2007 and I have only been at my current job for the last six months. If I omit my masters then I might get a lot of follow up questions that I may not have a way out of.