Here is my deal, I have 14 grad credits in finance and can take a 4 credit class at Trident to hit 18. For the past 5 years I have managed 50+ employees (national responsiblility) with responsibility for ~$400M in service contract revenue. I work closely with finance but not in finance. I would like to add that to my CV as an option to teach. Here is my thought - I can take the additional course but I will not have anything on my CV that says "finance" in the education section. To say I work in finance is a stretch. I was thinking of taking the extra class then something like one of these programs to show a solid finance bit in the education section: Online Professional Certificate in Corporate Finance Training Course Financial Management - Online Certificate Program | eCornell Certificate Program in Finance — UC Berkeley Extension Executive Certificate in Global Finance | Thunderbird Online FSU Certificate in Financial Planning | Program Overview These range from under $2K to about $5K or so. What do you think? Does that sound like a good plan? Oh, I was kind of promoted and now I am responsible to over 125 people spanning 4 groups (still national responsability) so a deeper understanding and review of the foundations can never hurt so these certificates will be duel purpose.
Randell, I had the same questions (in my case accounting). The issue is that employers would notice that you are trying just to profit from the 18 credit requirement and teach anything that can make you a quick buck but notice that you are not really a finance person. You stated that also teach marketing, project management, etc. I pesonally think that you seem to be already in too many areas and adding an extra area might make you to lose credibility. It is not very credible that someone can master so many fields. The impression from the employer perspective might be that you are just taking 18 credits from a field to make extra cash but you are not really commited to the field. As you have already done the extra work, my suggestion would be use these credits to teach areas within your expertise that are more finance oriented. For example, you can show that you can teach project cost analysis or project evaluation with your finance background. I wouldnt bother with an extra certificate but this is my opinion. I was going in the same direction as you but I realized that I was starting to lose credibility at some point.
Thanks for the sanity check. I do have the max number of classes I can handle. I guess I feel like I am "growing grass under my feet" by not taking classes. I probably will take a finance certifcate from the New York Institute of Finance at some point just to the additional knowledge. I have tried to start working on a paper for publication but do not have the drive to do it now, I guess I like the deadlines of a class.
Randell, congratulations on the promotion. Don't be a cheap bastard (like I am sometimes) and pay the money for the credits you desire. Its good to see that companies are promoting the best and brightest.
I went with "none of the above". I decided to follow what I really enjoy and plan on two things in the next 1-2 years. Become a Certified Trainer in EI Attend SoEI's Train-the-Trainer EI Certification Workshop (2-days) September 12-13, 2012 Tampa, FL and Lean Bronze Certification