“Wow, this looks great but…”

I’ll take, “Phrases most heard when I look for a job” for $1000, Alex.

So I have about 10 years in construction, 5 in data/communications infrastructure, and another 5 in software/technology. I have experience doing business in Taiwan and China, and negotiating large contracts with Fortune 500 companies. I can boast titles like Foreman, Sales1, Director of Sales, Sales and Marketing, Business Technology Consultant, but… as impressive as that is, I don’t have a degree.

Yeah, I will out perform your MBA’s and I probably have more skills and experience than they do, but… I didn’t get a piece of paper that says I paid a whole bunch of money for a pretty piece of paper.  Ok, so I don’t know everything, and I certainly missed some useful things by not finishing College, but I evidently know enough to do my job, otherwise I would still be doing construction, right?(Not that there is any shame in construction, I just can’t do it full time anymore.)

Well, I am biting the bullet. At the coaxing of my ever supportive wife and boss of the house, I applied to continue my education at the local college here.  I am headed to Cascadia, a local 2 year school that is on the same campus as the University of Washington. They have a program that will allow me to do a direct transfer into the University of Washington. Check it out, it is supposed to be the #2 Community College in the US, and I happen to be a Husky fan, so the transfer degree is a sweet bonus.

In my endless quest to climb the corporate ladder, I admit… I was tempted by the $900 on-line Masters Degree based on my vast experience but I thought better of it because, if by chance I ever got a fancy job, I didn’t want to run the risk of being labeled a “charlatan” and a “fraud”. I decided against the online preaching certificate too, for the sale reason.

There was one other option I was looking at that was somewhat appealing. http://bain4weeks.com/

No, I don’t get paid from these guys or anything… Though the website layout could use some work, it is an interesting concept. You can get your degree in less time by studying on your own and testing out of classes. I think it very well could be a good alternative for some folks. Myself, I learn most effectively by being in an environment where I am able to heckle and argue.  Live bodies for me.

Bottom line is, if you are running into the same problem when you apply for jobs, well, you might as well just buck up and go for it. Go back to school. Money, Mortgage, Marriage, and parenthood all took their toll and were pretty decent excuses, but it is time just to get it done… get beat up for the next few years, and start the climb back up the corporate ladder again. Now those HR guys will have to find another reason as to why they think I am not qualified. Does Male Pattern Baldness count?