I'm sorry to hear this Ruby, but good luck with your new path.

I've been studying part time (IT) for a few years now @ BCIT on top of working full time etc. I have a job I like, but I can see the way things are going with technology and want to be prepared. I pay as a I go as I don't want any debt. I like the intellectual challenge of the courses I'm doing but I'm taking a wee break cos I was starting to feel burnt out. I have a lot of respect for anyone doing night school while working.

[QUOTE=RubyRose;10007385]After reading all the posts in this thread, I have decided to register on an online psychology course. I have started to think about a career change, especially after the last teachers strike and the poor showing on the part of the BCTF executive. As much as I love teaching it is time to consider another path that can be equally rewarding.

Hi RubyRose,

Do you mind me asking who you are doing the online course with?

Good luck with it.

I am hoping to come to Canada next year and want to get out of teaching and this is an area I am interested in, but I'm not sure where to start. I will be in Nova Scotia, but I'm sure that won't affect an online course

There seems to be this anal obsession with qualifications over here..they will take qualifications over experience all day here which i find bizarre.

You have to have certain qualifications to get to the next level, again i find this bizarre?...having qualifications shows no proof that you can actually do the job you are "qualified" to do or that you will be any good at it.

What ever happen to the school of life and the university of hard knocks?

maybe...the only problem i have with experience over quals is that it's a barrier to entry for people who don't have that in into an industry or job...at least having to get a qualification is an even playing field

Can't measure their output.

But I think what cheeky moneky is getting at is that having the qualification on paper is not a barrier to getting the jobs.

If you have the piece of paper but no experience, you'll still likely get the job.

If you have the experience but not the piece of paper, probably not.

And if you have both experience and the qualification, then yes, you're good to go.

I'm fairly philosophical about it now - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. It is what it is - just get the bloody piece of paper, pick up some new nuggets of information along the way and then compete with the young and newly qualified.

I have a friend who has been here 4 1/2 years - she is still chuntering on that her UK quals are not recognized here. She could have upgraded three times over by now.

I get what kiwilass is saying. If you only employ on the basis of experience then how does a young person ever get that experience? A qualification attests to a basic level of knowledge/competence that at least gives the young person a starting point.

I have one acquaintance in California, an aerospace technician, who cannot get a promotion because he does not have a degree. Only a city and Guilds and 30 years of experience. The people who are promoted over him have to come and ask him how to build an aeroplane. It is not just Canada. However, you can imagine the public reaction if one of their planes fell out of the sky and the press reported that the guy in charge of building the plane was not qualified.

For me it was six years at night school (BCIT) doing foundation courses and a year and a bit doing the the CGA professional/capstone courses on line (though the exams were real). Night school was fairly easy as it was mostly just learning the Canadian way to do stuff I already knew. I made some good friends as well. The CGA courses were quite demanding; a twelve week semester, requiring about 20 hours a week, then three hour exam. A week off then another twelve week semester and so on.

Thank you. That's what I was getting at, sort of.

NZ is and was big on kiwi experience and 'who you know'. What this meant in reality was that kids of the right background (i.e. parent is already working in the industry they're interested in, or they have contacts) could get the experience the employers demanded without needing quals/or having the same quals as others. It was unfair and you knew the odds were stacked against you if you didn't have that 'in'. That's what I meant.

How many degrees, for example, teach you how to do the job, rather than demonstrating intellect/higher ability?

What relevance has a first degree to an LL.B.? What relevance, let's say, does a degree in economics have to the practice of medicine?

I accept the "relevance of the piece of paper" arguments when the piece of paper demonstrates an ability linked to the profession but how does a masters degree, for example, make one a better engineer? If my understanding of such things is correct, at such a level it is more about demonstrating the ability to turn lots of other people's work into a theory or thinking about something in a deep way than it is about honing skills that will be useful when, for example, designing a bridge that will beat a certain Spanish architect's design (Calgarians will, likely, be the only ones to get this)

i was getting at the fact yes quals are great for the young who have no experience as a a way of getting your foot in the door..then the rest should be up to the individuals attitude and aptitude for their chosen career path..you shouldn't be fast tracked up the ladder by getting more and more qualifications because they actually prove nothing at all..unless it is a vocational qualification where you have to demonstrate and ability to do the work electricians or mechanics for example.

How many qualifications do Alan Sugar and Richard Branson have?..and would they have been as successful in Canada?

About the same as Ron Joyce, Joseph Bombardier, Wallace McCain, Sam Bronfman or Mike Lazardis perhaps?

Many of my classmates on the MBA I completed last year were in their mid 20's and often either fresh from their undergrad degree (& with advance standing in the MBA programme for courses already completed), or had one or two years of largely irrelevant work experience under their belts. I see some of them gain jobs where their MBA might be a genuine or perceived benefit - entering the consultancy mill with Deloitte etc. Many, however seem to have landed jobs that 10, 20 years ago an undergraduate degree would have secured them alone. Now, an MBA is required, or, more likely, more underexperienced, overqualified lads and lasses are leaving Uni's and struggling to find "good" jobs.

There are exceptions. One classmate is a journeyman pipefitter who is working in the oil sands. I suspect he'll go a long way on the back of both qualifications & his experience.

I've hired recently for my team. In my field and for the type of person I want to recruit, a degree is preferred but not essential. Post grad professional qualifications - SCMLP in this case - are valued though. If for nothing else, the programme of study exposed the individuals to issues in the wider business world they are unlikely to have faced in Newfoundland or, smallish town, Louisiana.

As a former recruiter, I'd have to dispute the notion that people can walk into the jobs they want armed solely with a degree and no experience. I've seen tons of people with all kinds of degrees and precious little experience of any relevance. Most Canadian employers aren't interested in them for anything but the most junior level positions.

To me, the best combination is lots of real world experience, supplemented with relevant and half-decent academic qualifications. I am somewhat biased, but I believe people with that commitment to lifelong learning, who have toiled away at night school while working full-time have an advantage over the people with education and little experience, as well as those with tons of experience but few academic qualifications.

On the other hand, there's way too much prejudice against people without Canadian education or experience.

I didn’t know that they have this problem here in Canada, you can imagine my dismay when I discovered that my 10 years of work experience didn’t count simply because I didn’t have a Canadian qualification. Now, I’d to go back to school & get those golden Canadian qualifications.

Only problem is, that I’m not sure what Canadian certificates needed to get a job in office administration !!!

I am a Nurse, so old that when I did my RGN in Bath in 1990 it was just that and no degree. I have don lots of post reg courses in the UK, but no degree.
When we moved here, I studied and did my CRNE exam to register as an RN and have been working since.
I would like to apply for a Public Health Nursing position and so I need to have a degree.
UVIC have great online courses, and I have been 'back at school' as a distance learner (even though I live down the road from UVIC) for a year. I will finish Dec 2013 and then I can apply for positions.
I have 3 kids, and work full time, husband in the Navy sometimes away....it is hard, and at times very frustrating. But I'm managing it and getting there.