A Degree Means Opportunity?

As an adult who wants to change the direction of your career and earn more for your efforts, this may seem like a logical first step. It may even be true. There are American corporations with policies against having non-degreed personnel in many positions. In some cases, any old degree will do. However, there are many other corporations which do not have those policies. It might be easier to change companies than to get a degree. Remember, most positions in business are filled by people with a variety of educational backgrounds.

Too many of us earn a degree which doesn't lead to a career, and then take a job which never needed the degree. Currently, there are hundreds of thousands of women studying to be teachers who will never work in that field. This is not because they lack the desire, but because there are so few opportunities. People who probably consider themselves risk-adverse are investing enormous amounts to prepare for something they have a very slim chance of attaining. An elementary principal told me recently she had 1,000 applications for two positions. Most of these women will do something else for a living. They will accept lower pay than they should because they believe they do not have the necessary training for a "professional" business position.

As we read the statistics, we know that the more education men complete, the more money they are likely to make. On the average, their income goes up with education. Men with degrees in liberal arts or education fill male-dominated jobs in corporate America. Women with these same degrees fill female jobs. We are labeled as unqualified, we figure it must be our degree. We need to prove how qualified we are. This is usually easier than earning another degree.

Two years of training in computer programming could mean much more to your paycheck than a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. If you ask people what training meant the most to their career, it is often not college, but the training provided by their current or previous employers, or a smattering of courses taken at various places.

If you are going to college, make sure you earn a degree which will, in fact, enhance your career. Don't study things you think are fun and then expect a degree to help you make a living.

The following positions were recently cited as the most frequently advertised positions with salaries in the upper-middle- to high-income range: programmers, systems analysts, data processing specialists, computer graphics designers, microprocessing technicians, telecommunications specialists, software specialists, electronic engineers, civil engineers, computer hardware engineers, product design engineers, systems engineers, marketing managers, district regional managers, marketing analysts, marketing research specialists, internal auditors, controllers, corporate tax accountants, financial analysts, investment professionals, loan officers, new business development analysts, bank managers, economic analysts, international banking officers, technical writers, health care specialists, technical support managers, fiber optics scientists, petroleum geologists, and ceramic technicians.

The requirements for these positions vary. Some require a specific college degree, while others require certain work experience or technical training. Many of these jobs have no specific educational requirements. None of these positions specifically requires a degree in liberal arts or education.

Especially if you do not have a degree now, don't earn one unless it is in a specific field which in fact holds opportunities. If you are going to take the time, effort, and money to go back to college, make sure it will pay off! Higher education is a top priority for so many women, and yet the great majority of us remain in low-paying careers. What's going on?

The world of business is filled with individuals with every level of education, working side by side. People with high school diplomas often fill the same positions as people with MBAs. They may have similar work experience, or they may have made similar impressions on the people who hire and promote. People with a high school education are promoted over people with more education all the time, for lots of reasons. In a Gallup poll, chief executives from various-sized companies were asked, "What does it take to get ahead?" Education was ranked eighth out of eight on their list of answers. The top two reasons in every case were integrity and the ability to get along with others. If you are over 25, your work experience and abilities will weigh much more heavily on your resume than your education. Perhaps you believe you have no experience. You probably need to learn to present your background in a more favorable way.

The fields of education and health care are filled with women, and many of us move into business from these two fields. Educational requirements for education and health care positions are usually clear-cut. In most cases, each job requires a very specific educational background. You can't become a principal, teacher, occupational therapist, registered nurse, or surgeon without the right degree. I believe one reason that women are so likely to go back to school is that we assume specific educational requirements exist in the business world as well. The fact is, when we leave health care or education to pursue a career in business, the educational requirements often become much more vague.