Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

Does this have to be a nursing related degree, or just any degree?

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

A nursing degree. I actually did a history degree a few years ago in the UK when I had a mid life crisis and they gave me all of 1.5unit credits towards my Nursing degree! ;)

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

I would love to go back to school, its just funding it that is the hurdle.

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

Did you get any decent engineers stick resumes in - I am getting desperate for a any engineer even one with just a pulse :thumbsup:

Just so as I dont get accused of hijacking I will put in my tuppence worth on further education :thumbsup:
I was really pretty shit at school and scraped through my City and Guilds so have never even remotely considered any more further education . I was lucky enough to leave my trade (Mechie Fitter) and get into a very specialised job that has taken me up to Operations Manager level without any extra education :thumbup:

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

No engineers I'm afraid. Any engineers with a pulse are already working in Oil and Gas. Which is why you can't find any.;)

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

im doing an OU degree in Psychology ( 3years in to a 5year) BSc (hons) i will have to take all sorts of extra stuff ( about a year) once i graduate in the UK, to practace in Canada, but am unlikely to go on to a doctorate in either country cos i simply dont have funds or the time ( i have a 12yo with aspergers, a 10, and an 18m old - with autistic traits.) I have checked with teh relevant BC authorities that i can use my degree in BC once i do equivalency, but for what i want to do you dont need a doctorate in canada, but you do need a BSc in UK. Bonkers!
( i plan on working under a psychiatrist supporting and prelim diagnosis of aspergers and autism spectrum conditions) i have spoken to a very helpful shrink in BC who set out exactly what i would need.

ps, not a 50s thing. im 36 was 33 when i started and hope to graduate in two years so 38. ( three years younger than my sister got her degree:p )

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

I'm hoping I can get some thoughts and advice from others on the forum in terms of education from the UK. In short, I'm having some real "career angst" right now and am looking for some advice/thoughts/suggestions from others.

I already have bachelor's and master's degrees from the UK (LLB and LLM). I also have four certificates (and am working on a fifth one) and a professional designation from Canada. Believe it or not, it often seems like my UK education is a bit of a hindrence in my career (even though I have tons of Canadian experience and education as well, and I even grew up here).

The association that evaluates people's foreign legal credentials here in Canada granted me absolutely zero advanced standing, meaning if I wanted to become a lawyer in Canada I would have to complete an entire three year LLB/JD program. At 41, I'm only just starting to come to terms with the fact I will probably never be a lawyer.

However, I believe the problem is what I studied, not necessarily where I studied. I've heard of other people with UK education doing very well here (and truth be told, my current job is pretty good; it's just time to start thinking about moving on, but I'm having trouble doing that for various reasons).

Anyway, I am thinking about doing another master's program - either an MBA (or equivalent) or a degree in human resources management. One of the reasons I want to enhance my qualifications is I've spent so long in a non-traditional career many wouldn't consider to even be in the HR field (although I feel differently). I can't get an interview to save my life at this point, and I am starting to wonder if I should even continue with HR either. What would happen if I lost my job tomorrow?

People have been quite hostile towards me for only having degrees from the UK (in spite of the fact I have plenty of qualifications from Canada as well). While I'd love to do another postgraduate program here, most are way too expensive or not very flexible. I'm therefore thinking of doing a related master's program through distance learning at either the University of London or Heriot-Watt University (I'm leaning towards UoL's MSc in International Business, since the fees are very reasonable, and the degree would be useful even if I don't continue in the HR field).

With Canadians being so parochial with respect to education (they really think Canadian education is the best in the world), does anyone think I would be making a huge mistake by obtaining three degrees from the UK when I'm living in Canada? I tend to think business is a more international field than law, and I already have my professional qualifications in HR, but who knows. My wife (who is Canadian born and raised) thinks it would be a real mistake for me to complete yet another British degree.

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

Without a doubt, if you want to get another degree & remain in Canada you should find a way of getting one from a Canadian institution. The parochialism that you have encountered will not be changed by having another degree from the UK, no matter what subject you take.

My own experience is that it's precisely your work experience, the field you are in, demand for that experience etc, that counts towards employment. Having a degree is an entry requirement but not the be all and end all. I would caution about getting another qualification merely for the sake of it. I have encountered people here with lots of quals but little real world or relevant experience which makes them of less interest to a prospective employer. Some are downright unemployable. On the other hand as you may know, Canada loves it's degrees and post grad quals to the extent that everyone has to have one, which devalues them and means that a Masters degree is now considered necessary for some entry level positions where an undergraduate degree once sufficed and should suffice.

I hasten to add that I am not a lawyer & all of the forgoing is from my point of view, working in "industry" in my own field - Supply Chain. Your Mileage, as ever, may vary!

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

TRU in Kamloops offers open learning / distance programs, might be worth checking their programs out:-

http://www.tru.ca/distance/programs.html

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

Thanks for both of your suggestions.

I have actually thought this through. My goal is to become a Vice President of HR some day. While I have two certificates in business from a Canadian university (and one in HR) I don't have an actual business degree. For some reason, the certificates don't seem to hold as much water as a full business degree (especially an MBA or equivalent).

I've toyed with the idea of completing an undergrad degree in business just to get that type of pedigree (often a real issue in the HR profession, with many HR practitioners being accused of having an insufficient understanding of business) then possibly a related master's degree afterwards. I began to think, however, that another bachelor's degree would seem to be a step backwards since I already have a master's.

I am also seriously starting to question if I will ever work in HR again. I've spent the last six years working in a role developing HR products and services and writing HR content, but no one seems to think it's relevant. That was why I started leaning towards something like an MBA - because it would be useful even if I left the HR field entirely.

Anyway, I have checked out TRU a while ago. They seemed interesting, and I did talk to someone from there who explained to me how flexible they are with transfer credit. I also like the idea of the Nipissing University BComm, where I would only have to do 10 courses to get the degree.

Nevertheless, I think an MBA might suit my needs better. The cheapest program I could find in my area is at Ryerson University - not the top MBA school, but I don't have 50-100K to complete a program elsewhere. Even Athabasca is hugely expensive.

Atlantic Xpat, you are probably right about it not being a great idea to complete even more British education. Canadian employers have a weird attitude when it comes to that sort of thing!

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

After 20 years of healthcare in total (UK and Canada) and having moved from clinical to managerial, I've hit the ceiling as far as being able to keep a finger on the pulse of what's happening at ground level - to move up further in management means losing touch. In addition, the politics of healthcare here is highly irritating and backward in thinking at times.

So, I've been pursuing part-time education over the past couple of years (one course per semester) with the aim of becoming a Sommelier. I would love to go back to uni full time at Brock U to take the Oenology course, but unfortunately too far from home, too expensive to fund and am currently preggers.

Personally, I don't have any issue continuing the course until sproggy pops out, despite the emphasis on winetasting, as the amount consumed would be minute (as most of it ends up in a spittoon). However, I know that the Canadian "Though shalt not let any alcohol past your lips while pregnant" brigade would be up in arms, spewing their (often inaccurate and not-backed-up-by-research) opinions and giving me death stares over the bottle opener! :eek:

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

I find that for academic qualifications it doesn't matter where you took your degree. A degree is a degree. MBAs are a little different as some employers seem to think that the more you paid for the MBA the more valuable it is. Other employers are more enlightened.

Vocational qualifications have to be Canadian.

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

Every cloud ...

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

I've worked as a Accounts Supervisor, Credit Manager and an Executive Assistant to a Managing Director over the last twelve years. I left school with Junior Cert in four subjects and 2 Computing certs, but in NZ, it was more about what you could do rather than what you claimed you could do. By the time I arrived in the UK in my mid twenties, I already had a good amount of experience and usually took temping work between permanent roles, meaning potential employers often got to see what I could do before committing to offering me a job.
Here in Ireland there are jobs that I'm certain I would be great at, but thanks to HR filtering software, I don't even get an acknowledgement as I don't have a degree, so I am going back to school. We have three years potentially before we move to Canada, so while I know Canadians won't value Irish qualifications as much, at least I feel like I'll be achieving something rather than just wasting time. So hello Bachelor of Business.

Re: Who has "gone back to school" ?
 

I'm surprised you have met with hostility re your UK degrees. Not saying it hasn't happened, just surprised - especially when you back it up with lots of "local" work experience.

Is your resume really up to scratch and sells you in the best possible light? Are you hitting all those flipping buzz words when computers do half the filtering for you?

We have several people at my work pursuing Masters through Heriot Watt - and the other popular one around here is Royal Roads Uni.

Another option might to aim low. :p If HR is your route, look for recruiting or generalist roles - this might be the best launch pad to moving up quickly. Don't underestimate the CHRP designation - they all love that here. It is now a pre-req in our department (so I'm buggered anyway :( ).

Good luck. :)