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when you lie on an application you are skating on an ice pond ready to collapse. unless your work is flawless, they can fire any time during probation for falsifying an application.
How do you omit your education if all of your employment is related to your school?
For instance, I'm graduating in the spring and I have worked on campus jobs in offices (previously an office assistant for a department and now the student prospect researcher for the development office), plus 2 internships which were off campus, but clearly student internships. I will probably be applying for retail and waitress jobs after college if I can't find a salaried job- there's really no covering up my education.
Having a College degree in anything is better than a high school diploma or a GED. FYI GED is another way to say "I was a loser in school". I don't hire them.
You can still go into the Coast Guard as an Officer with a college degree
This is an absurd, unfounded generalization. I have an aunt who has her GED. After completing her GED she attended a community college and thereafter transferred to a four year university. And she did it all after the age of 30. Circumstances beyond her control forced her to drop out of high school though she was a stellar student andwas even offered a scholarship to Georgia Tech, but was unable to attend.
My father, who was a Vietnam Veteran who served two tours and worked his A$$ off for over 20 years as a truck driver, also took his GED because, as he phrased it, he lacked the discipline for class. He was not a loser.
To my mind, a GED shouldn't equate with instant dismissal or an inability to succeed. If anything, it might point to an individual with the resolve or desire to complete their education at any cost. Besides, FORMAL education can be grossly overrated. I know many people with degrees who are dumb as bricks and managed to coast through programs. Plus, I don't see Bill Gates, Michael Dell, or Steve Jobs brandishing vaunted diplomas and they appear to be doing fine. Exceptions to the general rule, true, but examples nonetheless.
I have to agree that having a degree can be detrimental in certain markets (like here in Austin). Pretty much everyone and their dog has graduated from the diploma mill university here and employers know they don't have to pay you what you're worth because there are probably 50-100 applicants behind you who are more than willing to take their peanuts for the "privilege" of living in Texas's hipster mecca. Supply and demand at its harshest I'm afraid. It blows.
If anything, it might point to an individual with the resolve or desire to complete their education at any cost. Besides, FORMAL education can be grossly overrated. I know many people with degrees who are dumb as bricks and managed to coast through programs. Plus, I don't see Bill Gates, Michael Dell, or Steve Jobs brandishing vaunted diplomas and they appear to be doing fine.
Although they didn't finish college, all 3 got into top colleges (stanford, harvard, UT), but dropped out.
Although they didn't finish college, all 3 got into top colleges (stanford, harvard, UT), but dropped out.
If you believe what you read on Wikipedia (I'm always wary), then Steve Jobs did not attend Stanford, rather he attended Reed College in Oregon. Nevertheless, a respectable, academically competitive institution. And I'm a graduate of UT Austin. I wouldn't exactly call it a "top" school and certainly wouldn't put it in the same league as Stanford or Harvard. UT's certainly a bargain for the money, has been deified in state circles, and has quite a few highly ranked graduate programs, but the undergraduate program with a 51% admission rate wouldn't exactly qualify it as a superbly competitive institution in my opinion. Also, while coming from HYPS (or any Ivy) might open doors for you or encourage people to think you are somehow "smarter" than the rest of the world, I've met some dolts who took their degrees from the aforementioned institutions. Again, formal education . . . not always the boon people would have you believe it to be. IMHO.
I have a 3.1 major gpa. But I went to a no-name state school.
That post about the Bay area only hiring college grads (which is mostly IT related careers), it really means nothing to most people. Most didn't go to Stanford, and most people don't live in that area. Besides, name me one company that seeks out finance grads over experienced individuals. There isn't any, unless you graduated from an Ivy league.
I'm sorry but telling me that "if you're over 35 and experienced, you're screwed, and companies only hire college grads" is the biggest line of BS I've ever heard. I've applied over 500 jobs since the spring and haven't had one interview. And there is nothing glaringly wrong with my resume or cover letter. I actually think my 'credentials' are respectable. Like I said in my OP, I can't even get a job in a field where I have 4 years experience because I have a college degree.
Armed forces are out of the question, I've gone that route and couldn't go in because of extreme pain from continuous running. (never get through boot camp).
I've applied to a bunch of gov't jobs, maybe I'll spend tons more of my time trying again in vain.
I agree with you 100%. I am a 2004 college graduate in elementary education. I worked full-time and went to school full-time. I took out student loans to go to school. I didn't have time to party. I worked my butt off all because I was told that I would have a great job upon leaving the university. Every kid is told that a college degree is their ticket to success. We all know that colleges try to sell you degrees and our culture pushes kids toward college.
When I graduated in 2004, I had a tough time finding a teaching job. There was never a teacher shortage. I eventually found one in Arizona. I moved to Arizona from Indiana in 2004. I taught for five years. Now, it is 2010. I lost my job in 2009. I am willing to move anywhere, have networked, sent many resumes, applied in person, had my resume critiqued more than once, practiced interviewing, and am willing to take any job that will get me off unemployment. The only restriction I have placed on my job search is that taking a job in agriculture isn't possible because I am an asthmatic. I can't even find a $9 or $10 an hour job because my degree and experience makes me overqualified. Therefore, I am forced to live off $265 a week in unemployment which doesn't come close to paying the bills. I can't even find a place to live because my pay is so low.
I have a 3.1 major gpa. But I went to a no-name state school.
That post about the Bay area only hiring college grads (which is mostly IT related careers), it really means nothing to most people. Most didn't go to Stanford, and most people don't live in that area. Besides, name me one company that seeks out finance grads over experienced individuals. There isn't any, unless you graduated from an Ivy league.
I'm sorry but telling me that "if you're over 35 and experienced, you're screwed, and companies only hire college grads" is the biggest line of BS I've ever heard. I've applied over 500 jobs since the spring and haven't had one interview. And there is nothing glaringly wrong with my resume or cover letter. I actually think my 'credentials' are respectable. Like I said in my OP, I can't even get a job in a field where I have 4 years experience because I have a college degree.
Armed forces are out of the question, I've gone that route and couldn't go in because of extreme pain from continuous running. (never get through boot camp).
I've applied to a bunch of gov't jobs, maybe I'll spend tons more of my time trying again in vain.
The problem with government jobs is that all government agencies except the VA will really scrutinize your credit. That's no problem if you managed to graduate without one single dime of student loan money. And no credit cards. And of course haven't been out of work for so long that you're behind on anything or delinquent on anything...
As long as your credit's perfect then go for the federal jobs. If not, try it anyway. Worst case scenario, they don't do the in-depth credit check until after they hire you (most agencies except DOJ, FBI, CIA, etc) and at that point you would have 6-9 months of work experience and pay before they sacked you for credit problems.
I agree with you 100%. I am a 2004 college graduate in elementary education. I worked full-time and went to school full-time. I took out student loans to go to school. I didn't have time to party. I worked my butt off all because I was told that I would have a great job upon leaving the university. Every kid is told that a college degree is their ticket to success. We all know that colleges try to sell you degrees and our culture pushes kids toward college.
When I graduated in 2004, I had a tough time finding a teaching job. There was never a teacher shortage. I eventually found one in Arizona. I moved to Arizona from Indiana in 2004. I taught for five years. Now, it is 2010. I lost my job in 2009. I am willing to move anywhere, have networked, sent many resumes, applied in person, had my resume critiqued more than once, practiced interviewing, and am willing to take any job that will get me off unemployment. The only restriction I have placed on my job search is that taking a job in agriculture isn't possible because I am an asthmatic. I can't even find a $9 or $10 an hour job because my degree and experience makes me overqualified. Therefore, I am forced to live off $265 a week in unemployment which doesn't come close to paying the bills. I can't even find a place to live because my pay is so low.
So Arizona is also about to have unemployed homeless teachers? Philadelphia already does, and so does San Francisco.
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