No college degree? First, get in the door

Eve Tahmincioglu • Profile • E-mail

Only about 28 percent of working-age Americans have four-year college degrees, but still many workers find it hard to get a job or advance in their careers without one.

Even if an employee has years of experience and a proven track record, they may hit the no-higher-education glass ceiling. Workers over 18 with a bachelor’s degree earn nearly double what their counterparts with only a high school education earn, Census Bureau data shows.

Some of it can be risk aversion. Employers want to know you can do a job. While resumes and recommendations are nice, a degree from a credible university gives managers a degree of comfort when they make you that job offer.

Of course there are jobs that require boatloads of education, like a doctor or lawyer, but that’s not what I’m addressing here. I’m talking about jobs an individual can do without a fancy piece of paper from a university, and there are plenty of them out there in a host of industries. You can succeed and make your mark with out finishing college. Look at Evel Knievel, Steve Jobs and even Bill Gates, just to name a few.

While employers often prefer college graduates, high school and college dropouts have to find creative ways to make themselves more marketable. No, you don’t have to jump over a row of school buses on a motorcycle, just play up your strengths.

Here are some of your questions:

I am a 52-year-old technical specialist-engineer-manager who is considering looking for a new job.  I have a solid 30-year work history with no gaps in my resume, and a ton of expertise in computer programming, engineering and many levels of IT management.  My problem is that I do not have a four-year degree.  I have two years of community college and graduated top in my class from a private IT technical trade school (similar to DeVry).

I have frequently found that the lack of a four-year degree prohibits me from interviews, job advancement, etc.  Although everyone I have worked for recognizes my strong work ethic, managerial skills, and strong technical and marketing backgrounds, I am always paid less than other employees with lesser skills and experience because they have a “real” degree.

What is the best way to overcome this obstacle in both interviews and resume processes?  Is there a way to spin this on a resume, such as “a bachelor equivalent”?  Should I apply for jobs that advertise a requirement of a four-year degree?
--J. D., Las Vegas

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve applied to a bunch of jobs for which I didn’t have all the requirements. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever applied for a job where I had all the advertised requirements. Hiring managers sometimes fill job ads with everything but the kitchen sink when it comes to what they’re looking for. Their ideal candidates sometimes sound like bionic men or women, and in most cases there are few Steve Austins or Jaime Sommers out there.

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That said, you need to focus on the experience you do have. Include a section on your resume called “skill sets” instead of “education,” advises Joanne James, founder of BestHeadhunters.com. In that section include all your technical abilities and training you’ve picked up during your many years in IT, as well as your community college and trade school education. But don’t include that it was a two-year degree, just call it an associates degree.

When you get in the door and you are asked about your lack of a four-year degree, stress that you have equivalent work experience and you have been upwardly mobile in your career.

But James suspects it may be more than your lack of a college degree keeping you from landing an interview.

“This person may be experiencing a bit of age discrimination,” she says. On a resume, or in a cover letter, you should not include more than 10 years of work experience if you include any dates at all because it may send up a red flag for some employers. Keep jobs as current as possible. Include older relevant experience, but just don’t include dates.

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