too many degrees?

I would like to conduct a serve on here to find out how many have degrees that they do not include on their resume, and why.

I personally know a guy with an MA and a PhD in Economics, but sometimes when applying for some jobs he dose not include his PhD. Recently I also met a girl that has an MBA and a MA in Art History. However she told me that after she earned here MBA she took here MA off here resume, because she is worried that she might look over qualified.

 

A PhD is normally a good thing for academic and research positions but it might affect you if you are looking for a regular job in business. The impression is that PhDs are too academic and expensive for regular type of jobs. I have an MBA and a M.Eng, when the position does not require management skills, I don't list my MBA since it can hurt my chances to get a job when employers are looking for a more technical person. The problem comes when you have a PhD and did it full time since you cannot fill the gap in your resume and just hide it. Too much education can be a pro or a con depending on the circumstances.

 

I never list my associate's degrees (2).

I almost never list my second bachelor's (BA in Sociology)

I wonder about listing my Ph.D. sometimes for the reasons others have already said. But I haven't omitted it yet.

 

I think it's best to show a balanced resume e.g. lots of experience, lots of education/training. Being able to demonstrate life long learning and accomplishment is a good thing. However, if it's about getting a job, and there are perception issues, each opportunity requires a different strategy in how you market yourself.

There is a perception that PhDs may be too philosophical and analytical for some action-dynamic positions, while possibly being too expensive in relation to productivity/corporate revenue. While this is not pervasive, the perception does exist.

With the increase of doctorate holders today, I believe we will be getting away from the formalities of yesterday. Similar to the way we Americans don't tend to tack our masters degrees after our names today, I believe that trend will continue to include doctorates (in everyday communications).

 

In the academic/science/medical setting the individual with the PhD is usually the lowest paid. Traditionally, this has been the case, stemming probably from situations in which the individual with the PhD had many years of formal schooling, a passion to work in a particular field, and a burning desire to work with a particular researcher. The high level researchers, for the most part, didn't earn a great income either. In many ways, the individual researchers represented small independent businesses and the money coming in (usually from grants or other research funds) barely supported the work. In clinical trials, my own specialty, outsiders think the doctors bringing the research into the institution are "making all that money". In fact, they don't see a penny as it is needed to pay staff salary. As in every business, however, there are the exceptions...

 

Degrees

I have two skills/profession. One as a teacher the other as a machinist. Generally speaking I can earn more money at the latter, though the holidays are not as good. When applying for teaching jobs I list all my degrees. However, when applying for a machinist position I list only my City and Guilds and Ontario Machinist Certificate of Qualification. Anything more than this and I simply don't get an interview.

Roy Maybery

 

Re: Degrees

I would have to agree with Roy. Sometimes listing all of your degrees could be detrimental to your cause. When I apply to community colleges for teaching positions, I list my degrees and teaching experience. However, If I were to re-negotiate my contract as a consultant with the Federal Government, my resume and work contract would only list my expertise and not my academic qualifications. Degrees should be used only if the situation warrants their use, such as teaching or facilitating.
regards,

 

Interesting point. I have never heard of people that have more then one undergrad degree not listing it, because of fear of being over qualified. What's your other undergrad degree is? Why do you chose to not put your BA in Sociology on your resume?

 

I earned a B.S. in Business from what was The University of the State of New York. (USNY still exists--it is the New York Board of ?Regents. But the degree-granting college was privatized and is now Excelsior College.) The B.A. with a concentration in Sociology was a toss-off; I did it by passing a couple of exams.

I choose to use the business degree, not the sociology degree, because I fell it has greater gravitas. But I guess it doesn't matter at this point, with both an MBA and a PhD. on top of it.

 

Everyone should realize that when applying for a job, one is usually required to attest to the completeness and accuracy of information submitted. This is usually on the bottom of an employment application form and it includes everything submitted in the resume. So, if you choose to omit anything, realize what you are choosing to do. In most places it is grounds for immediate dismissal, or worse. If you are applying to the federal government or have political aspirations, don't even think about it.

 

Omitting a college degree is like omitting an award. I doubt (seriously doubt) it matters. We omit all kinds of things on job applications. Do you list every job you've ever had? It would look stupid if you've had typically teen jobs, parti-time work, etc. Leaving something off an application isn't the same as lying about something you put on the application.

Listing my associate's degrees (two) on a job application would look like I was puffing it up. They would look dumb next to my graduate degrees.

 

How an individual's work/education history is "read" depends a great deal on who is doing the reading. In certain situations including a full and complete list of all education seems out of place but it tells a story that is important to any human resource professional and omission is certainly an untruth. Ethically, there is a difference between "hiding" something in your background and not including it because it seems irrelevant to the position. There is an easy way to avoid the appearance of deception by including a category on the resume that takes a back seat to other information such as "Other Education" and listing the names of the schools (without going into detail about degrees) would be perfectly acceptable. Mentioning other education during an interview is another way but that is harder to document.

For most people, this is unlikely to come up as a relevant point but is it a very REAL point and speaks to character in a man or woman.

 

Everywhere I've ever worked you're eventually told that you have to fill out an employment application. Large segments of this application can be dealt with by simply writing, "Please see attached resume." At the end of the application is a place for your signature and, typically, right above the signature line is a statement that says something to the effect of, "I'm swear I'm telling the truth about all that stuff and that if it turns out that I've lied then I known that you can fire my ass and I can't do anything about it. Nothing at all."
So, you can leave (some of) your degrees off your resume or otherwise doctor your application but if you do so then don't be too surprised when that "special meeting" is scheduled. If you see this scenario as being unlikley then, why be less than honest? Surely there are better tactics.
Jack

 

A resume is a summary- you can be selective and list what is most important.

However, when an application form asks you to list ALL jobs held, or ALL post-secondary courses taken, I agree with Deborah that "all" means everything. For my state job application, I had to affirm that I was listing every job ever held, not just the most relevant jobs. I did list the teenage fast food job- at the very bottom of the application. I've applied for federal jobs where I had to even send the transcripts for the college courses I took while I was in high school. I'm sure they looked more carefully at my PhD transcript- but if I hadn't sent everything, I would not be able to sign the statement assuring that I had included everything requested on the application.

From what I've seen, government jobs often make you list everything, while private-sector jobs often don't require the comprehensive lists.

Alex

 

Of course, I agree with Alex, that if one was signing a form stating he/she revealed all, then all should be revealed. But most employment forms don't ask that, especially regarding training and/or education. In those cases, I say you can list what you want to list.

 

Interesting ethical dilemma... I agree with the view that you could safely omit degrees, awards and volunteer positions unless explicitly asked. For example, I served as the Deacon of Missions and Adult Education for a church for 14 years, which is a time-consuming and very trusted position when viewed in context. However, some might think of me as an insufferable Bible thumper because of that experience. However, is it relevant and am I deceiving employers by not mentioning that I have extensive teaching experience with the Bible? No. By extension, I would also say that choosing to omit the fact that I have a BS in Accounting or that the BS is in Accounting is very different that checking a box that says I DON'T have a BS in Accounting. In sum, if you explicitly deny having a qualification then you have deceived, but if you omit qualifications that are not asked about or probably not relevant, then you have not deceived. My opinion.

Best wishes,

Dave

 

I snuck a look at my dental record a few months ago when my (long term) dentist was out of the room. Recently, I saw my medical record, also with a long term doctor.

The FIRST entry in each record was "lawyer".

My J.D. shall henceforth remain, umm, "discrete" except when I am applying for a legal job!

 

nosborne48:

Whenever I'm asked my occupation by a doctor, dentist, chiropractor, etc., I always have a hitch in my voice, because I know they either: a). Hate my guts because in their minds my profession is what drives their malpractice insurance costs up; or b). Automatically think I'm wealthy--I'm not!--and then proceed as if that gives them carte blanche to stick it to me on the fees. I'm blessed with extraordinary teeth, only one filling in my life. But I still believe that that filling was needless because the unethical dentist knew I was a law student and decided that because of "all that money" I was soon to make, my mouth could become his personal cash cow. After getting stuck with two exhorbitant bills and having a filling that I still believe was unnecessary, I never went back to him, and have had no procedures perfomed upon my mouth in the last 11 years. Lawyers beware--never, ever tell a plumber or mechanic about your profession, you might as well give them your ATM card and password!

 

Quote from Rich Douglas: "Still exists--it is the New York Board of ?Regents. But the degree-granting college was privatized and is now Excelsior College.)"



Oh, for goodness sakes, Rich, stand up and behave like a man. It was:
"University of the State of New York". Any of us who received a degree from Regents College know that...Please stop blithering.

Now, on to other matters...Oh, please...stop whining...it doesn't sound like you really know ...oh, nevermind...


Don't you all know that we do not actually make up ALL the rules as we move through the universe?

Rich, Of course you can list what you want to list., but that does not make it honorable.

 

This is weird. What, exactly, was I "blithering about"? Or "whining"? And what aspect of it is outside the behavioral norms for a man?

It is also inaccurate. When I graduated, it was not yet "Regents College." Or is that more "blithering"?

I would suggest to the moderators that the post quoted is a violation of the TOS. I would suggest to DebTormey that it is unprofessional and unbecoming. And whiney.