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Any route for people lacking an undergraduate degree to turn their decade+ experience into a cert and make up for their earnings shortfall? I keep seeing these

by R0b0t1 5y ago

Any route for people lacking an undergraduate degree to turn their decade+ experience into a cert and make up for their earnings shortfall? I keep seeing these things, but no way to increase access.

qweqwweqwe-90i 5y ago
> make up for their earnings shortfall Get a job leveraging the decade+ experience? I've never heard of any senior level position caring about a cert.
- mdorazio 5y ago
  Contrary to popular HN opinion, management jobs outside of big tech do not actually pay that well. I’m assuming the parent poster wants to switch career tracks entirely rather than stay within his/her currently available roles.
- forgotmyoldacc 5y ago
  Government jobs care about certs a lot, but I don't think most big tech companies do.
  - R0b0t1 5y ago
    There's a lot of big boring companies that require certs. Their hiring practices may change but it's not a given.
    - qweqwweqwe-90i 5y ago
      If the cert doesn't exist (cert equivalent to a decade+ of experience in robotics) then how can a company care about it?
      - R0b0t1 5y ago
        They care about something that's easily testable, binary, and hard to link to discrimination. So if there's no cert you just don't get hired.
sokoloff 5y ago
Can you write code? Can you manage stakeholders? Run complex projects with a moderate level of tech understanding? Can you understand a technical system and write documentation? (Approximately) Nobody in tech cares about certificates and that goes 5x for non-technology certificates. What are skilled in doing matters way more than what paper with a stamped gold seal has your name on it.
- R0b0t1 5y ago
  Yes I can do all of those. In the Midwest, DC beltway, Northeast, paper is king. Much to the disbelief of HN tech enclaves that don't care about credentials are rare.
  - qweqwweqwe-90i 5y ago
    Snowden didn't have a degree and worked in DC beltway :P Anyway, most of the jobs that showed up when I googled "senior robotics engineer Virginia" don't mention a cert or degree (they ask for X-years of professional experience) or only mention a degree within a list of many desired qualifications ... https://www.google.com/search?q=+Senior+Robotics+Engineer+virginia&ibp=htl;jobs https://www.google.com/search?q=+Senior+Robotics+Engineer+vi...
    - R0b0t1 5y ago
      Idk what to tell you, everyone seems very reticent to hire despite actual experience. In some cases it's statute preventing the hiring of people without degrees. It's not all roses like comes up on HN frequently.
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    I’m in the Northeast and been hiring tech people here for decades. I’ve never seen a place where paper was king, but if paper is what’s holding you back, go get it.
rhc2104 5y ago
Western Governors University is a place where courses are completed by taking tests. This person got their degree in 3 months. https://miguelrochefort.com/blog/cs-degree/ https://miguelrochefort.com/blog/cs-degree/

by R0b0t1 5y ago

Any route for people lacking an undergraduate degree to turn their decade+ experience into a cert and make up for their earnings shortfall? I keep seeing these things, but no way to increase access.

qweqwweqwe-90i 5y ago

> make up for their earnings shortfall Get a job leveraging the decade+ experience? I've never heard of any senior level position caring about a cert.

mdorazio 5y ago
Contrary to popular HN opinion, management jobs outside of big tech do not actually pay that well. I’m assuming the parent poster wants to switch career tracks entirely rather than stay within his/her currently available roles.
forgotmyoldacc 5y ago
Government jobs care about certs a lot, but I don't think most big tech companies do.
- R0b0t1 5y ago
  There's a lot of big boring companies that require certs. Their hiring practices may change but it's not a given.
  - qweqwweqwe-90i 5y ago
    If the cert doesn't exist (cert equivalent to a decade+ of experience in robotics) then how can a company care about it?
    - R0b0t1 5y ago
      They care about something that's easily testable, binary, and hard to link to discrimination. So if there's no cert you just don't get hired.

sokoloff 5y ago

Can you write code? Can you manage stakeholders? Run complex projects with a moderate level of tech understanding? Can you understand a technical system and write documentation? (Approximately) Nobody in tech cares about certificates and that goes 5x for non-technology certificates. What are skilled in doing matters way more than what paper with a stamped gold seal has your name on it.

R0b0t1 5y ago
Yes I can do all of those. In the Midwest, DC beltway, Northeast, paper is king. Much to the disbelief of HN tech enclaves that don't care about credentials are rare.
- qweqwweqwe-90i 5y ago
  Snowden didn't have a degree and worked in DC beltway :P Anyway, most of the jobs that showed up when I googled "senior robotics engineer Virginia" don't mention a cert or degree (they ask for X-years of professional experience) or only mention a degree within a list of many desired qualifications ... https://www.google.com/search?q=+Senior+Robotics+Engineer+virginia&ibp=htl;jobs https://www.google.com/search?q=+Senior+Robotics+Engineer+vi...
  - R0b0t1 5y ago
    Idk what to tell you, everyone seems very reticent to hire despite actual experience. In some cases it's statute preventing the hiring of people without degrees. It's not all roses like comes up on HN frequently.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  I’m in the Northeast and been hiring tech people here for decades. I’ve never seen a place where paper was king, but if paper is what’s holding you back, go get it.

rhc2104 5y ago

Western Governors University is a place where courses are completed by taking tests. This person got their degree in 3 months. https://miguelrochefort.com/blog/cs-degree/ https://miguelrochefort.com/blog/cs-degree/