Degree required for US employment?
#16
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Re: Degree required for US employment?
Based on my experience, it depends on the area in which you are applying for the job...
If you're applying for jobs in NYC or areas where loads of people will be looking for jobs, you can expect that the employer can (and will) be more selective with regards to who they interview.
As has been said previously, many places have an initial review done by HR monkeys who are looking for basics including minimum education level to thin out the number of people interviewed.
When I was looking for a job over here, I applied for the exact same job that I had left in England... I didn't even get an interview, because it had a batchelors degree requirement, while I only have an associates degree equivalancy.
Where I work, for one job they had a minimum level of a bachelors degree and a year later, when the job market slumped, the same position was advertised as associates degree minimum (that's when I got in ).
If you're applying for jobs in NYC or areas where loads of people will be looking for jobs, you can expect that the employer can (and will) be more selective with regards to who they interview.
As has been said previously, many places have an initial review done by HR monkeys who are looking for basics including minimum education level to thin out the number of people interviewed.
When I was looking for a job over here, I applied for the exact same job that I had left in England... I didn't even get an interview, because it had a batchelors degree requirement, while I only have an associates degree equivalancy.
Where I work, for one job they had a minimum level of a bachelors degree and a year later, when the job market slumped, the same position was advertised as associates degree minimum (that's when I got in ).
p.s. I'm working in NY at the moment for a couple of weeks to make sure I definitely want to move over,and I love it!
#17
Re: Degree required for US employment?
mmm, thats worrying...by the time I'm married,green card,and then thinking about leaving I'll have 10+ years experience with the worlds top financial institutions before I'm 30....but i wouldnt even get an interview! oh well, I guess I'll just have to worry about that when it comes....hopefully something will come up! thanks for all the advice guys!!
p.s. I'm working in NY at the moment for a couple of weeks to make sure I definitely want to move over,and I love it!
p.s. I'm working in NY at the moment for a couple of weeks to make sure I definitely want to move over,and I love it!
Otherwise you can come out to Kansas City and work for DST Systems. I'm sure you are familiar with them as well.
#18
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Re: Degree required for US employment?
Have you ever thought of applying to Bloomberg, Tomson Financial, or Reuters? I used to talk with Bloomberg and Tomson Financial all the time when I worked tech support for a brokerage firm in St. Louis. They were our primary suppliers of market/ticker data. I used to support Bloomberg workstations and a hybrid product BETA/ILX from Tomson. Cool stuff when it's working. I know that the folks that produce BETA/ILX are out in Jersey. That might be the thing for you if you aren't already working for them.
Otherwise you can come out to Kansas City and work for DST Systems. I'm sure you are familiar with them as well.
Otherwise you can come out to Kansas City and work for DST Systems. I'm sure you are familiar with them as well.
#19
Re: Degree required for US employment?
Yeah, i work with bloomie and reuters on a daily basis...I've done a couple of things with tomson but not much, only a couple of guys here use it. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I could do for a company like that...I'm not a developer, and doing support first line would not be something I'd be interested in....maybe i should just swallow it and do a degree...veeeeeeery sloooooooowly...
#20
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Re: Degree required for US employment?
Yeah, i work with bloomie and reuters on a daily basis...I've done a couple of things with tomson but not much, only a couple of guys here use it. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I could do for a company like that...I'm not a developer, and doing support first line would not be something I'd be interested in....maybe i should just swallow it and do a degree...veeeeeeery sloooooooowly...
#21
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Re: Degree required for US employment?
i looked into it....apparently there are legal implications..i did the first module of an ou degree a while back but had to give it up just because I couldnt find the time...anyway, I enquired about moving country in the middle of it basically I'd have to pretend that I was still in the UK...and if I had to sit any actual exams I'd have to fly back.
#22
Re: Degree required for US employment?
Yeah. Take your time and do it on a part time basis. Perhaps through a tech school like ITT Tech where the have evening classes. Yeah, I know evening classes suck and add 4 hours to your work schedule but it's worth it at the end. Enter a self designed 5 year program or sumthin.
#23
Re: Degree required for US employment?
Depends on where you live...around here, beantown, it wouldn't be impossible, but for a highend job it would be tough, because you'd be up against people with experience who also have a degree...probably easier in a lower sector like in schools district where they might be desperate. Though where the competition is a lot lower, like up in Maine, experience probably would win out over just degree alone.
Have a look at getting a degree online through a decent uni like Kings College, the programs aren't to bad, and you'll be able to use a lot of your experience for school credit so you might be able to get a degree a lot quicker than you expect.
Have a look at getting a degree online through a decent uni like Kings College, the programs aren't to bad, and you'll be able to use a lot of your experience for school credit so you might be able to get a degree a lot quicker than you expect.
#24
Re: Degree required for US employment?
My husband works in IT and doesn't have a degree. I'm in Finance and I don't have one either. He works in SAP development, so his specialised skill set is what got him in. We came over on the L visa as an intracompany transfer.
Not having a degree does make life difficult though. Many people just don't comprehend the thought of achieving something in life without one. Now we're trying to apply for green cards and it's becoming a problem for that. You also have to list your highest level of education on a lot of credit applications etc. I don't know what the real impact is there though. If you have the time, money and desire to study for a bachelors, then it's certainly not going to harm you. You can get by without it, it just takes longer sometimes. There are plenty of employers who will hire on experience over education, they are just harder to find.
Not having a degree does make life difficult though. Many people just don't comprehend the thought of achieving something in life without one. Now we're trying to apply for green cards and it's becoming a problem for that. You also have to list your highest level of education on a lot of credit applications etc. I don't know what the real impact is there though. If you have the time, money and desire to study for a bachelors, then it's certainly not going to harm you. You can get by without it, it just takes longer sometimes. There are plenty of employers who will hire on experience over education, they are just harder to find.
#25
Re: Degree required for US employment?
Gee! I wish I was a SAP developer. I always see job descriptions for SAP dev's and the salaries are delicious. I agree. With a skill set like that you don't need one if you have experience.