If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?
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Define your goals first... do you want to be a professor? Do you want a hedge against unemployment? Do you want to get the best career possible?
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Something huge to consider... everyone without a degree tells the story that without a degree you can't get a job. But the people will degrees all talk about how there are no jobs at all. The difference is, one has a longer time to find work, more time to learn skills, less debt. In a market where college is now widely known to not get you a job, the risks of going the "safe" college route are higher than ever. It's an emotional panic response to not finding instant work to feel like lacking a degree is holding you back. But did those positions get filled by people with the same level of experience or less, but with a degree? Not likely.
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I had actually planned to have an article out about why everyone feels that lacking degrees are holding them back and why you can't determine that from that evidence. But then we had the funeral to get to. I'll have this out soon, though. It's really important to understand why lacking a degree will almost certainly make it feel that way when it is not true.
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@Breffni-Potter said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
The need for a degree is due to the HR machine, would that HR machine look at the school in question and filter you out automatically?
This is something that people mention a lot and it definitely happens in the absolute lowest end jobs. But how often does it actually happen? I've never seen it in real life.
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@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@FiyaFly said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
Even if it were free, it's not likely worth it. The time alone normally hurts you too much. And the further you are from 17, the less good it does.
Let me ask you a base question- Do you agree with the concept of certs?
Certs as certs, yes. Certs as a double dip to buy a fake degree, no.
The entire concept is using tests and prior knowledge and experience to essentially get a degree that you already knew the material about. Not really time invested. "Fake Degree" will require a bit more explanation. Fake to you, or the employer? Fake to you, hell yeah. To me college itself is an ignorant endeavor that I don't even want to consider. My degree would be fake to me even if I went through traditional college, because the process is fundamentally flawed. Fake to the employer? A degree from a regionally accredited college? Seems to me, maybe not.
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@momurda said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
By putting limits on yourself (not wanting to move, etc) you are really hurting your job finding, and in the long run hurting your family. If there are no jobs in Shithole, Kentucky that pay well, move somewhere else that has high paying jobs.
Its like the people who live in flood deltas and have had their house destroyed multiple times, refuse to move because of sentimental reasons.But, the question is which is the bigger limit, college or not college. Statistics say that college is the limiter that you put on yourself by limiting your time to learn and build your career.
First- to @momurda . I agree. It's something I'm contending with, and honestly should be able to pull away from at the end of the year.
@scottalanmiller , to me this implies that you limit yourself because you feel like "Well, I've already learned everything I need to to get my dream job. I don't need to learn anything else." Currently, even with this thread, I see a degree as a very expensive piece of paper that does me nothing (This is the way I see anything considered public education overall.) It's not that I intend to learn with a degree. More of ensure that it is not hindering me from progressing.
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
Something huge to consider... everyone without a degree tells the story that without a degree you can't get a job. But the people will degrees all talk about how there are no jobs at all. The difference is, one has a longer time to find work, more time to learn skills, less debt. In a market where college is now widely known to not get you a job, the risks of going the "safe" college route are higher than ever. It's an emotional panic response to not finding instant work to feel like lacking a degree is holding you back. But did those positions get filled by people with the same level of experience or less, but with a degree? Not likely.
The point on this is actually obtaining a degree with very little time and money invested due to, hell, already knowing enough about the majority of what they have to teach to be able to pass a test on it.
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
I had actually planned to have an article out about why everyone feels that lacking degrees are holding them back and why you can't determine that from that evidence. But then we had the funeral to get to. I'll have this out soon, though. It's really important to understand why lacking a degree will almost certainly make it feel that way when it is not true.
I'll see what I can find tonight.
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@Breffni-Potter said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
The need for a degree is due to the HR machine, would that HR machine look at the school in question and filter you out automatically?
This is something that people mention a lot and it definitely happens in the absolute lowest end jobs. But how often does it actually happen? I've never seen it in real life.
Yes. I've been told 'No' to jobs I qualified for based on their requirements posted to a "T", and have actually gotten automatic replies from some of them. Either that, or their HR was working late and looked at my resume and scoffed anyway.
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@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@momurda said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
By putting limits on yourself (not wanting to move, etc) you are really hurting your job finding, and in the long run hurting your family. If there are no jobs in Shithole, Kentucky that pay well, move somewhere else that has high paying jobs.
Its like the people who live in flood deltas and have had their house destroyed multiple times, refuse to move because of sentimental reasons.But, the question is which is the bigger limit, college or not college. Statistics say that college is the limiter that you put on yourself by limiting your time to learn and build your career.
I completely understand this, but if you can't get past HR, who cares how many cool projects you've setup in a lab?
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@Dashrender said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@momurda said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
By putting limits on yourself (not wanting to move, etc) you are really hurting your job finding, and in the long run hurting your family. If there are no jobs in Shithole, Kentucky that pay well, move somewhere else that has high paying jobs.
Its like the people who live in flood deltas and have had their house destroyed multiple times, refuse to move because of sentimental reasons.But, the question is which is the bigger limit, college or not college. Statistics say that college is the limiter that you put on yourself by limiting your time to learn and build your career.
I completely understand this, but if you can't get past HR, who cares how many cool projects you've setup in a lab?
Right. Were I to get a college degree, never mistake that for I no longer think I need to learn. I'd figure I learned nothing from obtaining it. But, it might just be the key to get past one more gate.
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@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@Breffni-Potter said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
The need for a degree is due to the HR machine, would that HR machine look at the school in question and filter you out automatically?
This is something that people mention a lot and it definitely happens in the absolute lowest end jobs. But how often does it actually happen? I've never seen it in real life.
how can you say that? Did you work in the HR departments of all of hte companies you've worked for?
My friend who works for that company I talk about all the time - their HR department definitely filters - he had to go to HR and demand that they stop because he wasn't getting any candidates for the job. They are a fortune 1000 company - it does happen.
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Maybe what Scott's saying is that the degree doesn't matter because in reality there are no jobs to be had. So having a degree, not having a degree, really doesn't matter because there are no jobs.
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@Dashrender said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
Maybe what Scott's saying is that the degree doesn't matter because in reality there are no jobs to be had. So having a degree, not having a degree, really doesn't matter because there are no jobs.
I would have to disagree with you on that. It depends on the area, obviously. Plenty in the Boston area. Hell, I've seen articles talking about a lack of candidates for IT jobs there.
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@Dashrender said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
Maybe what Scott's saying is that the degree doesn't matter because in reality there are no jobs to be had. So having a degree, not having a degree, really doesn't matter because there are no jobs.
Now that I can understand, to an extent. Though, looking at Job Search sites there isn't much of a shortage...
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@Son-of-Jor-El said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@Dashrender said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
Maybe what Scott's saying is that the degree doesn't matter because in reality there are no jobs to be had. So having a degree, not having a degree, really doesn't matter because there are no jobs.
I would have to disagree with you on that. It depends on the area, obviously. Plenty in the Boston area. Hell, I've seen articles talking about a lack of candidates for IT jobs there.
I actually usually see general articles conveying a lack of candidates in IT jobs overall.
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@FiyaFly said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@Dashrender said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
Maybe what Scott's saying is that the degree doesn't matter because in reality there are no jobs to be had. So having a degree, not having a degree, really doesn't matter because there are no jobs.
Now that I can understand, to an extent. Though, looking at Job Search sites there isn't much of a shortage...
Also, using this as a primary evidence. Go onto dice.com, indeed.com, monster.com, and search for IT jobs. Tell me how many come up as not needing a degree.
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real IT jobs shouldn't require relocation - they don't require you to access a DC, they simply require you to access the internet.
Of course, just like the degree requirement, many companies feel the need to have their employees under foot, for whatever logic they bring to that table.
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@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
I had actually planned to have an article out about why everyone feels that lacking degrees are holding them back and why you can't determine that from that evidence. But then we had the funeral to get to. I'll have this out soon, though. It's really important to understand why lacking a degree will almost certainly make it feel that way when it is not true.
I agree it may always feel that way, regardless. However, it also seems to be true
This might be a good read on the topic- http://burning-glass.com/wp-content/uploads/Moving_the_Goalposts.pdf
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@FiyaFly said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
I had actually planned to have an article out about why everyone feels that lacking degrees are holding them back and why you can't determine that from that evidence. But then we had the funeral to get to. I'll have this out soon, though. It's really important to understand why lacking a degree will almost certainly make it feel that way when it is not true.
I agree it may always feel that way, regardless. However, it also seems to be true
This might be a good read on the topic- http://burning-glass.com/wp-content/uploads/Moving_the_Goalposts.pdf
In the key findings portion of that document:
In other occupations, such as entry level IT help desk
positions, the skill sets indicated in job
postings don’t include skills typically taught at the bachelor’s level, and there is little difference in skill
requirements for jobs requiring a college degree from those that do not. Yet the preference for a
bachelor’s degree has increased. This suggests that employers may be relying on a B.A. as a broad
recruitment filter that may or may not correspond to specific capabilities needed to do the job. -
@FiyaFly said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@FiyaFly said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
Even if it were free, it's not likely worth it. The time alone normally hurts you too much. And the further you are from 17, the less good it does.
Let me ask you a base question- Do you agree with the concept of certs?
Certs as certs, yes. Certs as a double dip to buy a fake degree, no.
The entire concept is using tests and prior knowledge and experience to essentially get a degree that you already knew the material about. Not really time invested. "Fake Degree" will require a bit more explanation. Fake to you, or the employer? Fake to you, hell yeah. To me college itself is an ignorant endeavor that I don't even want to consider. My degree would be fake to me even if I went through traditional college, because the process is fundamentally flawed. Fake to the employer? A degree from a regionally accredited college? Seems to me, maybe not.
Yes, but certs don't qualify for that. That's double dipping. The type of material covered by certs doesn't qualify for a legitimate degree. So if they accept certs as a quick "short circuit" to the degree, the degree has simply been bypassed and is, therefore, fake. It's fake as in it is not a legitimate college / university degree and any college that does this (like WGU) is famously known for being on the "black list" where if a good employer sees it on your resume, straight to the bin you go. If you just want to "buy a degree" there are easier ways. Accredited means literally nothing unless you are going for government jobs. It's VERY fake to an employer. Are you not aware of the WGU, University of Phoenix, DeVry, ITT problems?
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@FiyaFly said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
The point on this is actually obtaining a degree with very little time and money invested due to, hell, already knowing enough about the majority of what they have to teach to be able to pass a test on it.
Your attempt, if it worked, would make it a black list degree. Many people in hiring positions would consider calling yourself degrees to border on dishonest. Any degree that only requires cert knowledge is generally considered a "bought" degree. Schools that only exist to make money and not to educate. So you risk getting a degree that will literally make you unemployable. If you get a degree, you need to make sure that the degree itself is never worse than neutral.
http://www.smbitjournal.com/2016/10/choosing-a-university-for-it-education/
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@FiyaFly said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
This is something that people mention a lot and it definitely happens in the absolute lowest end jobs. But how often does it actually happen? I've never seen it in real life.
Yes. I've been told 'No' to jobs I qualified for based on their requirements posted to a "T", and have actually gotten automatic replies from some of them. Either that, or their HR was working late and looked at my resume and scoffed anyway.
That means nothing. What you are told never tells you why you were turned down. You tell people that they were turned down based on the degree requirements because they will just go away, like you did, and believe that that is why. It stops people suing for discrimination and makes it sound "kind" instead of telling them that they had better candidates or didn't like them for some other reason. That you have been told "no" based on the degree tells you absolutely nothing. That might be their reason, but if so, they think very, very little of themselves and you have to wonder, why would you want to have worked for them anyway - unless you were super desperate, which you are not.
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@Dashrender said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@scottalanmiller said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
@Breffni-Potter said in If you could get a Bachelor's Degree for under $8,000 in less than a year... would you?:
The need for a degree is due to the HR machine, would that HR machine look at the school in question and filter you out automatically?
This is something that people mention a lot and it definitely happens in the absolute lowest end jobs. But how often does it actually happen? I've never seen it in real life.
how can you say that? Did you work in the HR departments of all of hte companies you've worked for?
My friend who works for that company I talk about all the time - their HR department definitely filters - he had to go to HR and demand that they stop because he wasn't getting any candidates for the job. They are a fortune 1000 company - it does happen.
So in the one example where you knew it happened.... it was stopped as soon as they found out. If adding that stops you from getting any candidates, then we can pretty safely assume that they aren't doing that. Does someone? Sure. Does anyone we really know? I know that every HR department I've ever worked at does not filter because the nature of me working there proves it since any degree filter would rule me out. And yes, I've been a hiring manager most places I've worked and know that not only is it not filtered, it also didn't even get looked on favourably in those cases.
