Utility of graduate certificates

Hey there, everybody!

Due to the direction that my career seems to be taking, I am considering cutting my Master's degree at AMU short and stopping at the 5 courses required for a graduate certificate and perhaps one of their Short Professional Programs.

Does anybody have any comments or experiences in regards to using graduate certificates for seeking employment?

I'm assuming that they open some doors, just perhaps not as wide as a full M.S.

Thanks!
-Jassen

 

certificates

I did an MS with this certificate option. Some students who received accepteable job offers while in the program (based mostly on their prior experience) looked at the cost/benifit of continuing the program and foregoing the job offer for a better opportunity after graduation vs. going right to work and taking the certificate.

However, if you are fully engaged in your program and have no such job offer, then your decision is this. Is the present value of future marginal (increased) earnings greater under the certificate option vs. finishing the degree. Based on everything I've heard, I'd finish the degree just on the financial merits. Your costs are already "sunk" to be in the program, so the marginal benifits of completing it woud far outweigh the benifits of any certifcate.

Certificates are used to sort perhaps, but you'd only get the interview after all the masters students, with all else being equal. A tough interview question might be why you didn't finish the degree? Best have a good answer if you go that rout.

Just my two cents.

 

I have considered graduate certificates (or postgrad diplomas) as a possible bridge into another academic area. I don't really know the value in terms of employment. I suppose it it is dependent on the specific discipline, certificate and surrounding circumstances. More details might yield better responses here.
Jack

 

Personally, if I saw a graduate certificate on a resume, I would probably weight it as a third or a half of a master's degree. If I saw an undergraduate certificate, I would probably think about it as being like an undergrad minor in the area.

 

certs vs. master

another point is that if the threashold employer requirement to respond to a job solicitation is a masters, the certificate holder is generally inelible to respond. thus, the certificate would be more of a plus it seems in sorting applicants for jobs not requiring a masters degree. thus, the certificate holder would likely always be an undergraduate job applicant pool. plus, I don't know that a certificate meets internal corporate policy with regard to certain promotions that require a masters.

 

Certificates

Many good points. Thank you for the comments.

Basically, my situation is that I'm getting laid off (again) probably at the end of the year, and I will thus have an "opportunity" to change careers (yet again).

I used to be a volunteer firefighter years ago, conducted more than my fair share of emergency and fire duty drills in the Navy, and have all my hazmat response training.

I'm thinking of fullfilling a lifelong dream of getting my EMT certification, then working at the local hospital for a while (unless I can get a firefighter job, which are very competitive around here). While I'm working, I should be able to get into radiography and nuclear medicine school next fall (which is an associate's degree program).

Basically, I feel that the only option I have for staying "connected" to the nuclear world is on the medical side, since their are no nuclear power or research facilities within 500 miles of where I live.

Therefore, a certificate would allow me to walk away from AMU with something in hand, but a full Master's would appear to be a moot point if I'm going to take a step back and get an A.S. degree.

The only other option I've thought about would be to change my major to a Master of Public Health. An MPH could very well be usefull in a healthcare career, I guess.

I wish there were DL radiography or nuclear medicine programs that would let me do the clinicals locally, but so far I have not found one.

Thanks!
-JassenB

 

Information interview

Ask a potential employer for an "information interview" where you can present the educational opportunites, collect their advice, and learn more about what they do. It would be difficult for me to imagine a scenario where it would make sense for someone to step back down to do an associate's degree rather than moving forward to get the MS. You are in a highly specialized field however, that I know nothing about.

Again, ask the questions to those in capacity to hire you, and who do not have a vested interest in your educational dollar. Maybe the HR people, whomever. Advice from those in schools should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

My 2 cents worth...

I am getting a masters certificate in Business currently because I had very little business training at the undergrad level and want to transition into the business arena. I figure the job opportunities are pretty broad with a business degree of some sort. Since it is a masters level cert, I figure it will equate to a BA in Bus Admin in the eyes of an employer, though that might be overstating it a bit. Not sure. Anyway, I figure it will help me get into a better quality distance MBA program. The University of Florida has a one-year distance MBA program that is available to those with undergrads in Business or a related field or those with experience. I contacted them, and they said that my cert MIGHT get me approved for the one-year option, but they would need to see all my transcripts. If it works for them, that would be great for me.

Bottom line is, look into how a cert might help you achieve your specific goals. I hope that the cert will get me a job that I really like and then I can choose the best MBA or MSc to help me progress with that company. Plus, if I decide that the business world isn't for me, I haven't sunk $30,000 into the program.

 

A good friend of my holds BA in Psychology and Graduate certificate in Human Recourses Management.

She is HR manager at Fortune 500 Company.
If asked her graduate certificate from well-recognized university was major factor for moving up.

So it all depends.

I hold graduate certificate in Information Systems from UC Irvine.
Very instrumental credential, paid in full by my employer.

 

Re: Here's a few...

Here's a few health care programs offered by distance with clinicals completed at local sites. The first two are RA plus CAAHEP accredited (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs). The others are RA, and one is Canandian.


Jackson Community College in Michigan, their Diagnostic Medical Sonography asociate's degree can be completed online with clinicals performed locally:
http://www.jccmi.edu/DistanceLearning/healthcareers/main.htm

Southeast Community College in Nebraska has a DL Surgical Technology program with clincals performed locally:
http://www.southeast.edu/OnLineClasses.htm


In nuclear medicine technology there's the following, but it might be limited to Georgia residents:
Medical College of Georgia:
http://www.mcg.edu/radscape/NuclearMedicine/NMTDistantProgramWeb.htm

Here's a link to the CV of the professor at MCG who developed the above program. Her CV includes an email address & program information link, possibly she may have more information on whether the program has been expanded beyond Georgia.
http://www.mcg.edu/radscape/NuclearMedicine/MimisCVSept__2002.htm


Another at Old Dominion University:
http://web.odu.edu/webroot/orgs/AO/assessment.nsf/pages/AR_NucMedTechBS

A Canandian DL program for MRI technology:
http://www.bcit.ca/study/programs/7950cert


Kit

 

Certificates

Thanks for all the wonderfull responses. It appears as though the right certificate can make a career, but that other factors obviously come into play as well.

And thanks, Kit, for the information on DL programs. I had not run across any of the ones you mentioned, and I will look into them.

Thanks!
-Jassen