Lion in Winter

They can. I went in as a "mature student" - ie not just out of high school, and they gave me a year off for good behaviour... I mean my A levels... so I got the BA in three years instead of four.

Bluegrass Lass

My OH is in the IT arena. He has roughly the equivalent of an Assoc. in engineering, which he earned in 1998. Fast forward, he moved to the UK (from SA) where there weren't any jobs in his field, so he moved into an entry-level IT job, and has built upon that through experience and studying and gaining certifications.

I don't know whether this is limited to the IT field, or if he's just been lucky. But he hasn't had any problems gaining employment with a lack of a degree in the 10years he's lived in the US. Saying that, though, he's considering going to work on finishing up the one he started several years ago, so that he doesn't have a problem with that in the future. We know there have been some doors slammed in his face due to no degree, but there seem to be plenty of others that don't care. But this might change down the line, as companies tighten belts and look at ways to eliminate prospective employees.

It's definitely not a fair setup at all, when smart people are turned down cuz of a lack of a 4yr piece of paper.

RoadWarriorFromLP

I should correct a typo above -- the JC course fees for a half-bachelors load of courses will cost you about $3k, not $1k.

You might want to start getting that degree this summer, but in the meantime, you probably have no choice but to network your way into a job, regardless. Bypassing or finessing the HR department is often key to landing a good position (unless you want to work in HR, of course.)

Uncle_Bob

Did the killer application include a Resume?
Given that you have not been invited for interview that may imply that the application/resume was not "killer" in the eyes of the person doing an initial scan of all the applications.
A professional resume writing service may be able to help at the fraction of the cost of getting a degree.

We advertise positions and list a degree as a requirement, its standard practice. But the sharpest engineer we have is our lead engineer, no degree, totally self taught.

I wish you better luck on your next application

Hotscot

Not that it's ideal but I was wondering if it would be easier to get onto an airport TSA crew, and then you'd have an in to make airport contacts.

May be one route to consider?

sir_eccles

One presumes the OP is way over qualified for such a position :-)

Hotscot

I know but sometimes getting a foot in the door is the hard part and there may be management positions that require a higher qualification.

Pulaski

Agreed, there are actually two problems, though the OP may only be aware of one: that you are shut out of many jobs if you don't have a bachelors degree. The second problem is that even if you do get hired without a degree, you will likely, sooner or later, discover that you are trapped under a "glass ceiling" because all team leaders, supervisors, foremen, shift managers, etc are required to have a degree.

All things considered, I strongly recommend starting on the path towards a degree, even if it is a six or eight year plan, because it will almost certainly open up lucrative opportunities later in your career. ...... One alternative might be to explore working to get into a skilled trade, such as plumbing or electrical work, because once licensed you can make more than many jobs requiring a degree.

Sally Redux

Don't people get those online degrees nowadays?

Pulaski

Yes, it's possible, and fairly common. University of Phoenix is the brand leader.

Hotscot

Yes, you can buy them at lots of websites based on "life experience".

Next day delivery.

kimilseung

For those between jobs, classes might be free if you are claiming unemployment. I was between jobs last year and did some classes, I'd have just carried on if a job didn't come along, but I am glad to have gotten some inside knowledge of what tertiary education is like over here.

Pulaski

And not only Bachelors degrees, but Masters and PhD's too.

Of course one "well known" British university sells MA's to its graduates based on their post-graduate "life experience".

kimilseung

nearly all colleges offer something online now, if not full degrees then at least some classes and credits.

Michael

Not necessarily true. In my case, I didn't have a degree but was Director of Engineering with a Silicon Valley company but after that job, I was offered a management position with another company but the company wanted me to devote too much time to management and I turned it down since I preferred working as a software engineer.

In fact I often wondered what most of the managers in engineering did to keep busy 100% of the time since most were hands off managers and the project leaders generally ran the projects.