DanielOH

Moving to the US in a couple of weeks! Very exciting! I haven’t started the job search yet as I will be taking a month to spend time with family in an area I will not be looking to settle down in.

I have heard a lot about the value of qualifications (degrees) in the US and wanted to get some opinions from those who live in the US and are part of that job market!

My situation:

I am a Data Analyst. Previous job titles have been Reporting Analyst and Pricing Analyst.

I have no degree. I do have 5 years experience in this field though, and a few more years of experience in other, unrelated positions.

I am looking at WA or NC for work. Seattle or Raleigh to be more accurate.

I am really wondering whether or not having a degree is always mandatory for these kinds of positions or similar ones. Is experience enough? I am very familiar with the UK job market and I know I am guaranteed work in my field based off of my experience. I am in the dark when it comes to the US and looking for some light to be shed on this topic!

What’s it really like?

andrewlohnes

Well I don't know about your field, but when I move to the US I will have 9 years experience in my trade (HGV mechanic) and have been in touch with a big college in Phoenix who say that having that amount of experience should be able to get me a job no problem. I'm still going to go to the college and introduce myself and hope they may be able to point me in the right direction, but from what I can make out experience (and being able to prove it) seems more important than qualifications.

But that of course is in my trade, but guessing most jobs will be the same. Or not. I hope that helped

DanielOH

Thanks! Any input helps. So you are moving to the US and going back to school there? May I ask what you'll be studying and what the process was like to enroll? Were the fees reasonable?

andrewlohnes

I thought I was going to have to but I've already been in contact with a Uni and they said they don't think I will need to, having 9 years experience and my UK qualifications should be good enough to get a job straight away.

I'm going to the Uni to see if they can help me get a job or point me in the right direction at least. From what I can make out it seems they might actually want me to work at the Uni, they couldn't get over how much detail and effort I went into when getting in contact with them and they were very impressed. So I'd recommend contacting a few colleges/uni's and seeing what they think

BunnyGirl

Sorry, no experience yet (moving over September/October time) but I'll be in a similar position. I've got 10 years project management experience but no degree. I've haven't contacted any colleges yet but my fiance thinks that, if I maybe go back to school and get an associates degree (which I may even be able to get some credit towards) then, with my experience, he thinks I'll get a job no problem. This is Texas though which I've heard maybe isn't as qualification-focused as some of the other states. My fiance only has an associates degree (plus some professional qualifications) and earns 3 figures.

I'm seriously looking at re-training though so it depends what happens when I get there. I won't HAVE to work so I think I'm going to take some time out to work out what I want to do. Plus I need to look into the residency requirements for going back to school. I thought I'd read somewhere that I need to be resident in Texas for 12 months or I'd have to pay out of state tuituon fees. You might want to look into that as well if you're looking at going back to college.

Tegwyn

It really depends on the company. Some will not consider a candidate without a degree regardless of experience, others will but you can hit a salary and promotion limitation unless you are exceptionally good. That degree does open more doors.

md95065

There are plenty of jobs where experience may be a perfectly acceptable substitute for a degree or other qualifications but, unfortunately, many job applications are pre-screened by HR people who are looking for certain checklist items and both non-US qualifications and non-US work experience tend to be difficult for them to evaluate (which usually means that your application will be ignored).

hungryhorace

Even with a degree from a a top British university? For example, if I was reviewing CVs from an American in the UK and I saw they had been to Brown, or Cornell or <insert other prestigious institution here>, that would immediately pass the university test. I know the US is inward looking, but I would hope they wouldn't be moronic enough to not know of certain British universities?

rpjs

Oxbridge probably but I wouldn't bet on anywhere else, not even the likes of Durham or Imperial.

Oh and St Andrews maybe, until memories of Prince William's time there fade.

hungryhorace

Depressing isn't it?

mikelincs

It may also work the same in reverse, perhaps more so as there are so many US 'Universities' that will sell you a degree just by filling in a form on-line.

Nutmegger

Contacting the uni's what? Don't make me bring out my favorite cartoon so early in the week . . . .:

civilservant

What, $7.75 an hour?

This is true of many states, including here in GA.

BunnyGirl

<groans>

Uncle_Bob

Those who attended just a polytechnic in the UK got a bit of a free ride, now they can say they went to university