How many of you wouldn't have your current job without a degree?

it_consultant

paul78 wrote: »

I'm often surprised that a lot of folks on TE perceive that HR departments have this type of authority. While HR recruiters do screen candidates, they do so based on the requirements that they are provided by the hiring manager and the job description which is normally created by the department doing the hiring. In my experience, HR is a servicing organization and their constituents call the shots - not the HR team.

I've only worked in about a dozen different companies and mostly in financial services tech orgs and I don't have a lot of experience as a job candidate with HR departments so my view may be a bit limited. Do HR departments really carry that much authority? Or is that just perception?

In many organizations they hold a lot of power. I used HR as an example, it could be any part of management. I have been in on the hiring decisions for IT and non-IT and the degree was never the deciding factor. It is very often things like person-ability, hygiene (yes, hygiene), attractiveness, etc.

itangel

My situation is a little bit different without major certs or work experience I been dealing with IT stuff for many years on my as a freelancer. However; in order to proof my skills and even get a chance to land an IT job I would say that Devry University helped having it on my resume. Then I build some xp for 2 years, moved to a corporate level IT job for a year and a half, now an engineer at a new company. So, I would have to say that from viewing the hiring process on these company they look for "x" amount of college years or a 4 year degree or a 2 year college degree plus certs just to get you in an entry level position. In the end College Plus Cert Plus Experience will give you much higher paying position. Keep in mind that a 4 year degree will allow you to do management position much easier but for engineering work certs and experience speak louder. Also for programmers being able to code in your sleep without certs and college degree will still get you in a high paying job position. You just have to be what we call talented or gifted.

So to answer your question, I feel I would have gotten a job in the IT field due to my skills and customer service without a degree but would have been hard and major luck on my side.

kriscamaro68

The last 3 positions I worked at required a BS. I got the positions without any college at all and beat out people with degrees. I did not know anyone at any of the places either so I think its all about experience and interviewing skills.

tpatt100

My last few jobs my job profile was chosen by somebody in HR and submitted to management. So HR did choose who to submit based on job requirements.

BigMevy

paul78 wrote: »

Excellent comment - and very true - thats why I have never gotten a job through a HR department. Career networking is something that really needs to be cultivated and nurtured over the years.

Knowing people will get you through the door every time. That was how I got into my current company almost 8 years ago. Of course at that time it was a desktop support position, and didn't require a degree of any sort that I can remember. My current position has a desired degree status or equivalent work experience, which you used to see a lot 10 years ago. It seems like recently that trend has changed to requiring a BS minimum, which is why I went back to school to finish it up.

Knowing the right people will get you past the HR requirements, and proving knowledge and experience can get you the position. But as some have mentioned, you might suffer a decrease in pay, or face a requirement to finish up your degree within a certain timeframe. That's what I've seen lately anyway.

N2IT

@M3

They actually required a degree. If you didn't have a degree HR would toss the resume. These were fortune 500 companies some exceeding 100,000 employees, so their processes were mature and set in stone.

There were some positions you could get without a degree, but those were few a far between. For an example two of the companies would higher SAP ABAP developers without degree or Basis Adminstrators.

MrBishop

I do believe that HR does hold that much power when it comes to screening applicants, especially when its contract work. Most contracting companies will want a candidate that is very close to what the client's requirement is asking. Must of the time that includes a degree and I had to actually fax or send them an actual picture of the degree through email to be considered.

I don't even know what to say to this statement "facebook'd applicants on a projector to consider for interview" Exactly, why you should set your privacy setting to only allow friends to view your profile.

I have to also disagree with government agencies now accepting applicants with experience over degrees. I know you won't be considered for the DoD without one. I feel they might accept military personnel without a degree for other reasons, such as, already carrying a security clearance and the years of experience in the service. A civilian applying for a government position will not get passed the first stage if they don't have a degree.

docrice

Some of you might have already seen the recent Slashdot post "Getting a Tech Job With Skills But No Formal Degree?":

http://ask.slashdot.org/story/12/06/08/2125241/ask-slashdot-getting-a-tech-job-with-skills-but-no-formal-degree

doobies

I dont' know... i got my first job as an internship while i was in college. The rest work experience and after i got my degree i never really thought about it.

I can say... i've worked around people without degrees... in security. But they had other keys to get in the doors... certs, access rights, networking...

so i think i could have got it without my degree....


AND GOT CARRIED ON SALARY... don't be that person if you can avoid it. I work around some smart underpaid people simply b/c they didn't get degrees.... firms will exploit that weakness....