Is it possible for me to get corporate office jobs if I don’t have a degree?
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Why would the degree part come up as a problem and what difference does it make to them if I have a degree or not if I had experience?
You definitely misinterpreted.
If you have no work experience in the role you are trying to get into, you will be rejected for not having experience. EXPERIENCE is the gating factor here.
You can have twelve college degrees and won't get the job without the experience. You can invent the cure for cancer and have 4 Nobel peace prizes and won't get the job without experience.
Employers care about work experience first and foremost.
Now, let's say you got the work experience. OK, now work experience is not the gating factor anymore.
Then they will look at what degrees you got.
Some require them and will demand them. Why?
Perhaps a certain degree is needed for the profession (i.e. Accounting Degree for accounting roles) or required by the position (i.e. Chemistry degree for a chemist role)
Some just require a degree because they can demand it. For these: Rational basis? Who knows.
I live in Houston and my job history only contains minimum wage jobs that teenagers can and do work at
The problem is that contemporary employers don't count Mcjob experience for experience requirements for most office jobs.
I think that's ridiculous. Mcjobs show a proven record of showing up, getting the job done, and bringing value.
MAYBE you can work in a bank as a bank teller by using your cashier experience. Talk about your cash handling experience, customer service, and ability to handle rude customers in a professional manner.
That's one possibility. Then work your way up to some office job from there.
What are the qualifications of being a administrative assistant?
You probably should do your own research. Perhaps look up some ads in your local area and see what they are looking for. As with anything else, an AA for a small company may be more lax than one for a big corporation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by intelligent_split
Can you explain to me why not having a degree is an issue to so many employers? Why would the degree part come up as a problem and what difference does it make to them if I have a degree or not if I had experience?
Do you have "relevant" experience? For the most part, having a degree CAN show that you've have some critical thinking skills and have SOME basic experience. Does it guarantee that? Of course not, but many organizations use it as a baseline requirement. Whether or not it really makes a "difference" or if you agree with it doesn't matter. It's the organization's prerogative to set those requirements. Just as it's yours to apply or not.
And degrees/education are often more important for less skilled roles. As you likely don't have proven experience. A degree may not be as strict of a requirement for a senior PM role where they may be looking for 7-10 years of proven experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by intelligent_split
I am 32 years old and there are a lot of scales online that will tell you that you can get a certificate and a career for 6months+ and I have fell for them and wasted thousands of dollars already on these scams.
Also, my GPA is a 2.00 and I doubt I can get in a university. I don’t have any money and so don’t qualify for FAFSA.
Yea - they're in the business of SELLING certifications. Not getting you jobs... but you now know that. This isn't to say certificates aren't valuable/useful. But they are certainly not a substitute for experience.
As for your GPA - you can start with a local community college. Maybe even just start with some courses that may help you get a job.
To answer your original question - is it possible to get a corporate job without a degree? Yes, it's possible. Hell, you can run one of the biggest companies in the world without one. It's possible because it has been done. However, just because it has been done doesn't mean it's anywhere near the norm.
A few people have asked the question that I don't think you have answered. What do YOU want to do?
And I don't think anyone here is asking for them. The question is for you to ask yourself. You need to figure that out in order to figure out how to get there....
Why an office job? Status with a suit and tie maybe?
We all have to find our own way and nobody can pick the right path for you because nobody knows what it is.
I know a good number of fire sprinkler inspectors and not a single one completed college and work clothes consist of Khaki pants and work type shirt.
They had to get a minimum of three years experience before taking a test to become certified to do the work. The test is not easy it's written by people from the Society of Professional Engineers and takes two days to pass all three levels.
Everyone I know of earns a base salary of between $50 and $70k but everyone gets commissions to sign up day work repairs and things like that. I don't know of a single inspector that earns less than $100k but it is work. Most of the time will be spent walking through stores, hotels, apartment buildings, nursing homes, factories and hospitals.
Job comes with company vehicle, gas card, health insurance and the usual.
Most of the time your job would have you traveling from one job to another sometimes putting on 200 or more miles a day but not that often would you have to spend overnight in a motel. It happens but not a lot.
The problem is that contemporary employers don't count Mcjob experience for experience requirements for most office jobs.
I think that's ridiculous. Mcjobs show a proven record of showing up, getting the job done, and bringing value.
MAYBE you can work in a bank as a bank teller by using your cashier experience. Talk about your cash handling experience, customer service, and ability to handle rude customers in a professional manner.
That's one possibility. Then work your way up to some office job from there.
Why can’t I apply for office/corporate positions with only cashier customer service work experience ?
Why can’t I apply for office/corporate positions with only cashier customer service work experience ?
You need to take a step back first. What do you mean by "office/corporate" positions? There are a myriad of "office/corporate" positions that each requires a different set of knowledges, skills, and abilities. They range from accounting, admin assistant, through engineer, to finance and budgeting, to management. Even within these there are subspecialties. A CPA has a different skill set than a budget clerk. A sales manager has a different skillset than a purchasing clerk.
Like mentioned several times, the most important question is "what do YOU want to do?" None of us can answer that for you. If you can answer that question, then we can give advice tailored to how you can get the education, training, and experience for that type of job.
Why can’t I apply for office/corporate positions with only cashier customer service work experience ?
Again, depends on what kind of "office/corporate" position you're talking about. That phrase is so vague, I have no idea what you're looking for.
I used the example of a bank teller job you can get with customer service/cashier experience, which you can then move on to some other office job within the bank.
That is one example you can use.
Perhaps you can be more specific on what you mean by "office/corporate" job.
Why can’t I apply for office/corporate positions with only cashier customer service work experience ?
You can but why would an office hire you?
How much experience do you have using Auto CAD or Traverse? Not my industry but there's always suvey companies looking for experienced drafters to work under a licensed suveryor who has a college degree. I got burned by a new hire last year who didn't know what he was doing. For me I just lost a couple grand in revenue as he was my client's employee and nothing to do with me. He screwed up, their client left, I lost a bit of work. There's a reason secretaries make 70-100k/year in the legal sector. Can you demonstrate to someone like my client that you can make court filings properly and in the instant case not mislabel an emailed notice as a subpoena? Super basic but new hire with no clue made it anyway.
Why can’t I apply for office/corporate positions with only cashier customer service work experience ?
I know this may be beating a dead horse.... but asking this questions make you sound a bit immature or naive.
No one said you can't. The question is how is your experience (be it a cashier or working in a microbiology lab) relevant to the job you are applying to? THAT'S the real question.
Just because a job ad says you need 2 years of experience. It doesn't mean you can just throw in any experience. More specifically, it's up to the company to determine if said experience is applicable...
The OP's vague statements are screaming very loud that the OP doesn't know what he wants to do in an "office/corporate" job.
I recommend figuring that out first and foremost. One idea is to take a Myers Briggs test - it is free and online. The result is a 4 letter acronym. Then google "jobs for ISTJ's" or whatever 4 letter acronym you got.
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