Hand-Wringing vs Resume-Building (a little advice)

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Maniac Craniac, Feb 6, 2013.

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  1. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I still can't make up my mind if I should spend extra time and money to do a BS in Business Administration from TESC when I am done with my BA in Social Sciences (for those who wonder, I hit a few more snags recently, but I'm creeping closer each day). Today, I came up with a genius- well, more like common sense- idea. I can get nearly the same impact on my resume without the BSBA if I simply listed my business coursework, of which there is quite a bit. What do you think?

    THIS:
    -----------------------------------------
    BA- Social Sciences
    Thomas Edison State College

    BS- Business Administration
    Thomas Edison State College
    -----------------------------------------

    VS THIS:
    -----------------------------------------
    BA- Social Sciences
    Thomas Edison State College

    • Business Coursework: Money & Banking; Management; Marketing; Economics; Information Systems & Computer Applications; Organizational Psychology; Ethics
    -----------------------------------------

    This little adjustment in my resume would save me $2000 (for me, this is a HUGE investment of money) and loads of time that I could spend towards obtaining certifications relevant to the jobs I'm applying for. In fact, now that I really think of it, my degree being so general allows me to do something similar for just about any field I can imagine- with my significant coursework in business, psychology, sociology, economics, foreign languages, sciences and mathematics, I could selectively represent myself as being specifically prepared for almost anything as opposed to being a simple generalist.

    I know some of you are employers- how would you rate the two resumes sampled above?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2013
    Maniac Craniac, Feb 6, 2013
    #1
  2. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    Is it too late to scrap the Social Sciences degree and just go with the BSBA? Save the Social Sciences stuff for your Master's degree.

    BS- Business Administration
     Thomas Edison State College

    MS - Touchy Feel Good Stuff
    State University Closest to You

    Sounds like you have a pretty good idea with which direction you are going. Finish one...soon...it will lend more clarity to what you are trying to accomplish.

    Good luck just finishing one will feel really-really good, trust me.
     
    03310151, Feb 6, 2013
    #2
  3. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Interesting you say that, 03310151, because I would say the opposite -- skip the BSBA and do an MBA or other Master's degree in a business field.
     
    SteveFoerster, Feb 6, 2013
    #3
  4. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Above works for Business. Below for Human Services:

    BA - Social Sciences
    Thomas Edison State College

    • Human Services Coursework: Cultural Diversity; Human Growth and Development; Abnormal Psychology; Psychology of Adulthood and Aging; World Population (Demography); Juvenile Delinquency, Gerontology, Ethics

    With my languages to boot.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2013
    Maniac Craniac, Feb 6, 2013
    #4
  5. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    The way my credits are laid out, there wouldn't be a difference in how long and how expensive it would be to get just the BSBA as opposed to both the BA and the BSBA. If I went for the BSBA, I might as well just get the BA along the way anyway. Also, I just got a job offer based partially on my expected winter 2013 completion of the BA.

    I'm not planning on a Master's degree. I will avoid it, if possible. I have no need for it and can't imagine one anytime ever. The exception would be if I had an employer granting tuition reimbursement and if I was still single and needed a new hobby. I could see myself doing a degree in either Mathematics or Linguistics, although an MBA would be enticing.

    This makes more sense to me. If it ever came to be that I needed a degree in Business, I could direct my efforts toward an MBA instead of a BSBA. Most likely, that won't even be the case, though.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2013
    Maniac Craniac, Feb 6, 2013
    #5
  6. distancedoc2007

    distancedoc2007 New Member

    I like the second one in both cases. The coursework says "lifelong learner" to me, and someone who is committed to getting better at what they do. Multiples of the same level degree (bachelors, masters, doctorate) say something else to me, along the lines of the person seeking refuge in university and maybe having trouble deciding what to be. But then, that's just me! I'm a huge fan of more general degrees like an MBA for this reason. They can be "repositioned" with a few extra courses whenever you want to make a shift.
     
    distancedoc2007, Feb 6, 2013
    #6
  7. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    I may be in the minority here, but whenever I have seen a resume where someone lists out specific undergraduate courses I immediately get the impression the person is either trying to fill space or distract from the major/title of the BA degree. My BA is in "Interdisciplinary Studies" and I used to list out individual courses until it was pointed out to me by a few who make hiring decisions that listing my coursework gave that impression - now I can see that pretty clearly.

    My personal view - if you need to list "Business Coursework", use the number of credit hours instead of individual courses unless the posting you are applying for asks for specific coursework foundations. The interview is where you would expand upon business coursework specifics and topics.

    While my hiring experience is limited, I do review a lot of resumes in various capacities. I would not hire someone based on the fact that he/she took individual classes in a subject unrelated to the degree major. It may even be a detractor as a sign that the person was not focused on a particular subject and just went for the degree that was closest.

    As for the "lifelong learner" aspect - I would agree with this as being a positive, but I think it looks cleaner and makes you look more focused if you list it out as separate additional coursework rather than as trying to include it with the unrelated degree listing.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2013
    truckie270, Feb 6, 2013
    #7
  8. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    What Truckie wrote in the above post is pretty much what I thought when I saw the first post.

    I see no reason to list individual classes on a resume.
     
    airtorn, Feb 6, 2013
    #8
  9. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    Your way would work as well.
     
    03310151, Feb 6, 2013
    #9
  10. BobbyJim

    BobbyJim New Member

    Would it be possible to have a minor in business?
     
    BobbyJim, Feb 6, 2013
    #10
  11. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    +1 on this. If you can add a minor or concentration, or even do a double major (one degree, two majors), then you don't have to go to the effort of earning the full additional 30 hours for a second bachelors.

    This old thread seems to indicate it's possible, although there was some discussion if you could earn a BA and a BS in the same go without earning 30 extra credits.

    http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/8008-double-major-excelsior-tesc.html
     
    Fortunato, Feb 7, 2013
    #11

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