Experience but no Degree
 

So my wife has got a job as a teacher and we will be arriving in Abu Dhabi in the next few weeks. I am a cisco network and security engineer (CCNP) with over 8 years experience working for large multi-national companies in both technical and project management roles, however I do not have any formal qulifications in IT. Every advert I've seen asks for a degree or masters in IT. Do any of you recruitment consultants out there know if this is absolutely a must as
1 - I do not know of any degree or masters program that can train you as a cisco engineer
2 - I know I will be competing against people from the sub-continent but does experience and quality count for anything.

I have never had any problems with finding work/contracts in the UK.

Any insights will be welcome

Also will it worth my while taking a year out to do a masters in IT as I see a couple of British universities have a presence in dubai.

Re: Experience but no Degree
 

it's more often related to immigration procedures rather than as a prerequisite for the job, since it's easier for the employer to process your residents visa and labour card if the candidate is degree qualified.

Re: Experience but no Degree
 

Have a friend here who has a fairly good job in IT, no degree just lots of experience (and is working towards his Cisco accreditation here). Just makes visa processing easier.

Re: Experience but no Degree
 

I do have a degree but it is in Financial Services so not IT related and most jobs I have seen ask for a degree or masters in IT related field. However I have always worked in IT.

Re: Experience but no Degree
 

For immigration purposes, it doesn't matter if the degree subject and job title don't match.

Re: Experience but no Degree
 

Ok so back to my original question how big a deal is it not to have a degree in IT to get a job in Networking as most of the jobs I've applied for I never got a reply.
I've read and heard that it's easier once you are in the UAE.