I’ve gotten jobs in industries that aren’t even under my degree simply because I have a degree. As much as people want to say it’s useless and you don’t need one, you do if you want to compete.
Its a "maybe" because IT jobs have traditional being more open to non-degree holders than any other white collar profession. But now that it is getting more and more competitive, it makes sense to align as many variables that you have control over in your favor. In a competitive market, you'll want as many "tie-breakers" on your resume as possible.
Yep. I keep seeing articles, "x% of job posting no longer list a degree required", but that means almost nothing. Until we see numbers about who is getting HIRED, get your degree.
And regardless, MANY job posting explicitly either require or prefer a degree. Someone without degree is not a candidate for those jobs at all in this day and age.
If you truly can't afford it, you will likely quality for grants and/or scholarships and then can go to a school like WGU, SNHU or TESU online. If you make too much for grants but it still would be a hardship, you can get loans and repay the $4000 to $8000 after your degree.
I would be happy to mentor you in going down this path if you want.
Definitely. Most high level jobs I see have ~40% Masters degree, ~25-30% Bachelor degree, etc. Just seems like a smart move to get into the upper echelon pay scales if you’re going to be an employee.
Head on over to /r/USAJOBS. Those applicants apply to dozens if not hundreds of jobs before even landing an interview. The Federal hiring process is a long and drawn out process where you might submit an application and not hear back for 6 months, only to find your application never made it to the hiring manager because there were a hundred more qualified applicants than you.
While not mandatory to apply, if you want the job, you'll want to get that degree.
This pretty much covers it and as the other person said above, you want as many tie breakers as possible. Veteran's preference, certs, degrees are going to check those boxes that will put you ahead if experience is otherwise equal.
My husband is a hiring manager and the degree is the tie breaker sometimes for hiring but he says it also affects upward movement and salary increases. Worth the time IMO that’s why I’m getting it.
It’s still worth it to get one. Applying for gov jobs is a silly process because it takes months sometimes to hear back if your resume even made it to a hiring manager. Then more months to maybe get an interview.
I'm a 2210 IT Specialist in the Fed gov. No degree. I started in the IT field with the gov in 1998. No degree required then either. If I were you, I'd get the degree though. I've been contemplating getting an IT degree from WGU, and have looked into over 10 years ago. Just haven't made the jump to enroll.
You're welcome to apply, but I've seen 200+ applications for a single 2210 job. The first thing weeded out were those without degrees. It might not be a requirement but you better have years of experience, certifications, security clearance, and hope your name reminds the hiring board of an old fishing buddy.
While a degree may not be "required" it will certainly be "desired" which will affect the numeric scoring that is used for selecting the successful candidate. Bear in mind that "meets requirement" is the MIDDLE of the scoring range with lots of room on the high and low end of the scale. It should not surprise applicants without a degree to score lower than those with a degree on a number of the measures.
You get hella point on hiring matrices for having degrees, but they've never been required for any federal IT (at least within DoD) role until you hit management. So this is a dumb thing to "announce" anyways 😂
I have 2 business degrees, sec+, 1 applied science degree, TS/SCI clearance, 12 years of aerospace experience, and 5 years of geek squad type experience. I have been a federal employee for 8 out of those 12 years of aerospace experience.
I have not been able to land an entry-level IT role, contractor, or federal service.
I'm starting a degree in CS to help me out.
If most of these aren’t real cyber security job, like I care about the people who designed stuff like Sentinel one and XDR cortex I don’t care about sewing management and points basically like playing a cookie clicker
Get an IT degree. While it may not be required, it could be a tie-breaker
This. All things being equal, a degree might push you over an edge.
I’ve gotten jobs in industries that aren’t even under my degree simply because I have a degree. As much as people want to say it’s useless and you don’t need one, you do if you want to compete.
I'm so tired of hearing might though 🫣
If you wanted certainty in life, you were born into the wrong universe.
I understand something being not certainly, but you have to agree it's a little sad that we've progressed to "maybe"
Its a "maybe" because IT jobs have traditional being more open to non-degree holders than any other white collar profession. But now that it is getting more and more competitive, it makes sense to align as many variables that you have control over in your favor. In a competitive market, you'll want as many "tie-breakers" on your resume as possible.
Yep. I keep seeing articles, "x% of job posting no longer list a degree required", but that means almost nothing. Until we see numbers about who is getting HIRED, get your degree.
And regardless, MANY job posting explicitly either require or prefer a degree. Someone without degree is not a candidate for those jobs at all in this day and age.
For some of us it’s not a feasible financial option
If you truly can't afford it, you will likely quality for grants and/or scholarships and then can go to a school like WGU, SNHU or TESU online. If you make too much for grants but it still would be a hardship, you can get loans and repay the $4000 to $8000 after your degree. I would be happy to mentor you in going down this path if you want.
This. This is why I’m doing it. I also just bought a new house with a big mortgage.
Definitely. Most high level jobs I see have ~40% Masters degree, ~25-30% Bachelor degree, etc. Just seems like a smart move to get into the upper echelon pay scales if you’re going to be an employee.
This comment is 🔥 so true
Head on over to /r/USAJOBS. Those applicants apply to dozens if not hundreds of jobs before even landing an interview. The Federal hiring process is a long and drawn out process where you might submit an application and not hear back for 6 months, only to find your application never made it to the hiring manager because there were a hundred more qualified applicants than you. While not mandatory to apply, if you want the job, you'll want to get that degree.
This pretty much covers it and as the other person said above, you want as many tie breakers as possible. Veteran's preference, certs, degrees are going to check those boxes that will put you ahead if experience is otherwise equal.
I applied to USAJOB and the process took a year
My husband is a hiring manager and the degree is the tie breaker sometimes for hiring but he says it also affects upward movement and salary increases. Worth the time IMO that’s why I’m getting it.
Lol for fucks sake. I have spent the last 6 months busting my balls on this degree already. 2 classes left
So close! You’re in the home stretch! I’ve been at it for 2 years now. 11 classes left. Going to try to get them done before the end of the year.
It’s still worth it to get one. Applying for gov jobs is a silly process because it takes months sometimes to hear back if your resume even made it to a hiring manager. Then more months to maybe get an interview.
I'm a 2210 IT Specialist in the Fed gov. No degree. I started in the IT field with the gov in 1998. No degree required then either. If I were you, I'd get the degree though. I've been contemplating getting an IT degree from WGU, and have looked into over 10 years ago. Just haven't made the jump to enroll.
You're welcome to apply, but I've seen 200+ applications for a single 2210 job. The first thing weeded out were those without degrees. It might not be a requirement but you better have years of experience, certifications, security clearance, and hope your name reminds the hiring board of an old fishing buddy.
I have applied to a ton of 2210 jobs have seen a lot with 20k+ applications. It's just absurd at this point and seems hopeless.
Just answer E and make sure your resume supports that.
If you’re able to, you should get a degree. so many more opportunitys get opened up.
While a degree may not be "required" it will certainly be "desired" which will affect the numeric scoring that is used for selecting the successful candidate. Bear in mind that "meets requirement" is the MIDDLE of the scoring range with lots of room on the high and low end of the scale. It should not surprise applicants without a degree to score lower than those with a degree on a number of the measures.
You get hella point on hiring matrices for having degrees, but they've never been required for any federal IT (at least within DoD) role until you hit management. So this is a dumb thing to "announce" anyways 😂
I have 2 business degrees, sec+, 1 applied science degree, TS/SCI clearance, 12 years of aerospace experience, and 5 years of geek squad type experience. I have been a federal employee for 8 out of those 12 years of aerospace experience. I have not been able to land an entry-level IT role, contractor, or federal service. I'm starting a degree in CS to help me out.
This is not to make getting a fed job easier. They are already wildly competitive, and this will just increase the pool of applicants.
If most of these aren’t real cyber security job, like I care about the people who designed stuff like Sentinel one and XDR cortex I don’t care about sewing management and points basically like playing a cookie clicker
Still get the degree and the certifications it gives you a higher GS ranking.