Dougster75

As background, I am a 36 year old greencard holder in Houston with extensive experience in my industry (insurance) but do not have a degree. I am considering getting some higher education because if I ever needed to search for another job it seems that a degree is near-essential in the US.

I have a few questions and would appreciate the experience of anyone else who has done degree-level, part-time education in the US or moved jobs in the US without a degree.

How much difference does having a bachelors degree make once you get to your late 30's/early 40's and have twenty years of experience including management experience? (I realise this varies hugely by situation but appreciate general thoughts).

Is there any part-time MBA course that does not require a degree as part of the admissions process? I suspect the answer is no by definition but you never know. I've looked at a few and most don't mention it but the implication is that this is post-grad education and therefore the existence of a degree is implied.

Anyone recommend any part-time/distance-learning institutions for graduate degree programs?

Appreciate any thoughts.

Doug.

hobbes79

It's still often a minimum requirement, and without it you can often get filtered out by a HR drone... your resume would never get into the hands of someone who could look past a lack of degree due to lots of experience.

The Vice President of our company told me that when he accepted the job, he had to bring in a hard copy of his bachelor degree diploma. He was a little surprised! As you can imagine, to be a VP, he had plenty of management experience and yet they still insisted on proof of a degree he got 30-years ago.

So from my experience, still very relevant even into your 40s. And in the case of our VP, his 50s...

S Folinsky

The Dean of Admissions at MIT had to resign a few years back.

In response to OP -- some MBA programs will accept experience ILO degrees.

celticgrid

I have a MBA but do not have a Bachelor degree. That was all gained while back in the UK. My experience here is that people assume that I must have a first degree because....well, mostly they don't comprehend how do you get a Masters without one! That said, I believe a number of places will, as they do in the UK, accept relevant experience as meeting entry criteria.

Bob

It's pretty important just so you can get past the tick box, what with a lot of automated filters being used these days.

Can do a part time one online from a brick and mortar in England for less than over here, the missus did hers through Kings College as part of London Uni and it was much cheaper than doing it over here.

Lot of places would allow you to use experience to make up the BA too, so you'd only have to do final exams to get one if that's what you wanted as well as using the experience to get into a masters program.

Jerseygirl

My daughter has just embarked on an online MBA course with a UK university. With the time difference she has to take some real time video classes in the very early hours of the morning.

Bob

That's got to be a pain

The missus had mostly recorded presentations to watch that were recorded from actual classes, so could watch when ever and there was a blog/forum discussion thing, which seemed to work quite well, once they ironed out the quirks in the software.

Wibblypig

Not sure if this would help or if it's even possible, but my husband had to have his work experience assessed for his visa (H1B) to confirm it was equivalent to a degree. He was awarded an equivalent to a degree from Princeton University We did have to keep re-reading it to confirm they were actually talking about him as it made him sound like a genius lol

Could you not get the same done?!?

Vicki

Jerseygirl

Yes...but being in real time means they can interact with each other.

Bob

hence the blogs...but it's a bit of a slower pace...obviously does depend on what ones studying though

retzie

As an college professor, I have had a number of 'non-traditional' students in my classes over the years. From observing them, if you embark upon something that actually has material (a) you don't already know; and (b) you are actually interested in learning, you could actually find this to be a rewarding and beneficial experience. If you are in insurance, I would suggest something quantitative might bolster your workplace skills, while still being 'fresh'. Disclaimer: I am a math professor, so of course I would say that!

If you attend a brick and mortar school, be aware of (and prepared to cope with): traditional college students who are young and very much in class/assessment mode (most of them have no idea about time management, personal responsibility or application, but for the most part they can work the system for grades), not to mention getting professors who are younger than you!

If you go with online, prepare to find it very difficult to engage with the whole process. It's a difficult medium as it is, but if you have not experienced tertiary education at all before, I would expect it to be a very big challenge. Also, I forecast you would find yourself with teething difficulties of some description as you get settled in, regardless of medium. Not having in-person access to your instructor can make it particularly difficult to negotiate such things.

Having said all of the above, I have heard of one non-traditional student with no previous college education having resounding success with online learning. Mind you, he was a felon in maximum security

penguinsix

At some schools you may be able to get credit for some work life experiences that are related to basic coursework. For example, if you have been working in say computer networking for 10 years, you might be able to get credit for "Introduction to Computer Networking" simply by taking the exam or talking to the professors and sorting something out.

This could shave semesters, even years off of the time necessary for a degree.

Remember you will also need to take general education requirements for many degrees, meaning some basic English, Science, Philosophy, etc. Usually this is a year or a year and a half worth of study, but you can probably do much of this online or part time.

I agree that a degree is a good thing to have. You may not learn anything, but it "counts" in the sense a) some jobs are check the box--if you don't have it, you can't apply and b) to many people it shows you have the commitment to set a goal and finish it, which will help differentiate yourself from others without a degree in the same field.

I think back to my uncle who has a PhD in mechanical engineering. He got it later in life and one day he sat down with his wife and said "you know, it's going to take nearly 10 years. I'm going to be 40 by the time I get this". His wife retorted "well, would you rather be 40 with a PhD or just 40, because I can guarantee in 10 years you are going to be 40."

He went ahead and got his degree.

Dan725

My experience too....I have a Masters (did online through Leicester Uni) but not a Bachelors. But as you say, you can usually explain that one and if you have plenty of experience to back it up its fine.

And thats the thing....at least you do get a chance to explain it! Before.....immediate computer screened out before human eyes even look at it, no chance. I can't tell you how much of a difference its made being able to tick the "Highest Level of Education" box at Postgraduate Degree, wheras before, I pretty much had to put "High School".

I'm firmly of the opinion that at least a Bachelors degree is required if you truly want a reasonable job here.

Anian

A contractor I know has been working for my company for a while, he's got quite a bit more technical knowledge and experience than me but he doesn't have a degree (but I do). He likes it and wants to be a proper employee, but he won't get anywhere near the same salary as me simply because he doesn't have a degree. The company is pretty rigid about pay grades and he'd have to take a hefty pay cut (of course, he does get paid quite a bit extra right now just for being a contractor)

fsm

I have one of those as well other than the HIB, they are about much use as a chocolate fireguard.