To degree or not to degree. That is the question.

I understand the reasons for not revealing the field. But it's hard to give anything but generic advice in this case. Different fields usually have different answers. The entry points and considerations differ from one field to the next. If a person could, as Bryan suggested, get a part-time gig - and I suggest that BEFORE they abandon their present career, they could look around from that vantage-point and see:

(1) The possibilities - if they keep on going. That'll tell them when it's time to jump ship for good - or never to do that at all.
(2) What they'll need, in the way of qualifications - and how best to get, then keep and advance at a full-time gig and where they should start, cert. degree etc.
(3) The cost they're going to run into to accomplish those qualifications.
(4) And most important - whether or not they like, and feel as good about this line of work as they thought they would?

Sorry it's rather generic but the best I can do, flying blind. The person will need to know the above things.

 

Ikigai.

If you do not set your priorities, they will be set for you.

 

I'd put a lot of weight on the answer to how likely you'd be in the future to get an opportunity to enter this new field comparable to the job offer you have now.

 

I get the need for confidentiality but now you have to suffer through a vague response that is filled with added hedging...

My personal view is that degrees for vocational purposes should really be limited. Not just as a society should we divorce the notion but we, as individuals, should reconsider it as well. Sometimes that isn't possible. A B.S. in Nursing is tied to the nursing profession. Want to be a nurse? You need a BSN (or you know, the alternatives, but let's not go down the rabbit hole right now). If you have a degree in business then the idea should be "Hey, this person has a bit of a background in business. We run a business. This makes sense." But getting a degree in business does not mean you are now qualified to be "businessperson."

I, personally, would love to see a world where it was not at all novel for a trucker to have any number of degrees in areas that interest them and where we are comfortable seeing a plumber with a degree in philosophy and not see it as some sort of failure of a "useless" major but rather of well rounded individuals pursuing education for reasons other than a quick and easy transaction whereby degree = loads of cash.

With that philosophical construct in mind, let's shift back to my work self. Work self sees resumes as a holistic overview of a person. Which is why two dimensional takes that boil down to a list of jobs and degrees are boring and often don't make it to even a phone interview phase.

Ask yourself, "what does this move tell about the narrative of my career?" Is that the narrative you want? Is that the narrative that you think will help you to achieve your goal?

Career shifts are scary. What can be scarier than the paycut, though, is what if you get there and the new job/industry is terrible and not at all what you thought it would be?

I think your hypothetical "friend" might do better to consider the pay cut and the future pay potential more than tuition reimbursement UNLESS you will absolutely and 100% need a degree to embark on this path. So if, for example, you're getting a job as an unlicensed counselor working for a mental health counselor and will really need to get an MSW or an MS in MFT to get where you want to go, that could be a major tuition hit. If we're talking more like an IT situation whereby you can get along with a degree in Music Composition as long as you have the experience (and maybe some certs depending on your field) then I say worry not about tuition reimbursement at all.

If you can:

1. afford the pay cut
2. confidently say this is a step in the right direction for your career
3. Map out credentials that make that resume show you are the well rounded professional I am sure you are

Then go for it.

Tuition reimbursement is very rarely as clean cut as people make it out to be. I have a five year period of indentured servitude tied to my MBA. Other organizations have similar rules. And tax implications above certain very low thresholds can make you come out of pocket even for the most generous of programs (my colleagues at Cornell, which has an employee degree program, have all said you generally cant get a "free" Masters without coming out of pocket at least $30k unless you progress so slowly you're unlikely to ever be able to use the thing professionally). So don't hang your hat on that benefit. Degrees, such as they are, are a means to an end and not an end themselves. What matters more is your career and satisfaction thereof.

 

Scenario A: Work at the same job you have now, NOT in your field of interest. Be paid a higher salary. Work towards a degree you don't need to get a job in the field, with tuition reimbursement.
Scenario B: Get a job in your field of interest, that is hard to break into. Be paid a lower salary. May or may not work towards a degree.

Experience trumps education in all but licensed professions (noted above.) Assuming this is not a licensed profession, it would make sense to take the new job. The difference between two candidates with 3 years experience where one has a degree and one doesn't, will often come down to the degree.

The difference between the candidate with no degree and 3 years experience, and one with a degree and 0 years experience, almost always goes to the experienced candidate. Paying for a degree through loans or slowly self-funding is not off the table if you're in the new job learning your new profession, and it would be relevant to your career progression. Staying at an unrelated job while you work on the degree might mean that when you finish it and go to look, the opportunities you wanted aren't there anymore.

 

My thought is that it depends on whether the opportunity to move into the other career field will still be there in the future, or if this is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. If these opportunities come along every once in awhile, or if having more education would make it easier / better for you to make that move in the future - then I say stay where you are, accumulate the money and get the free/discounted college education. It will never "hurt" you to have a degree, an additional degree, or a certificate - at least not in my experience. If this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it's what you really want, I'd grab for it - but know the risks and what you are giving up and try not to dwell on it with regret if it doesn't work out. In my experience as well....experience was not always rewarded - people with degrees were always hired in ahead of me, regardless of how much experience I had with a job. Corporate culture may have evolved over the years, but it made my 20's and early 30's very tough. I felt like I was working but not getting anywhere. That's why I went to college and got it out of the way. I graduated at 35. It's never been an issue since. I will almost always err on the side of "make more money and get free college." Free college is IN ITSELF a "once in a lifetime opportunity" so choose wisely, my friend.

 

I think there have been some really excellent posts, particularly by Neuhaus. My one (minor) addition would be to consider growth and promotion in your “friend’s” potential new job/field.

I worked for many years in museums and historic sites and there was a work culture where people who hired in at lower levels (tour guide, docent, interpreter, etc) would not be promoted to more skilled, higher paying, “back of the house” jobs (curator, collections manager, education director, etc). I worked with many people who had relevant masters degrees (history, museum studies, art history, etc) and experience in the higher status job categories who were stuck in entry-level positions simply because of the position into which they were hired.

If the organization/industry your “friend” could join does a good job of growing and promoting people internally, I, personally, would make the jump to the new job. If growth/promotion internally is more limited, I think I would be inclined to stay where I was, make more money, get a relevant degree, and hopefully shift industries into a higher-paying/higher-status job.

 

This is solid advice as well.

I had a colleague who worked as an HRIS Analyst. He was frustrated. He hit a ceiling. Then he bounced to work a lower paying job at another organization doing healthcare analytics. The thing is that within 18 months he was back up to his HRIS level salary and by the 5 year mark he was a director making significantly more. He never would have promoted out of his prior role if he had stayed.

 

I think a winning combo is a Degree + Certs
It can be certs first degree later or together while earning degree achieve a few certs or degree first followed by certs what ever works or situation of the individual.

 

If your new job field has such a low barrier of entry, what happens if you get 'replaced' in the future? eg, the field gets saturated. what's the fall back option?