Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with qualifications

What have they done to become a corporate executive?

neworder7 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:32:34 -0800

What have they done to become a corporate executive? I am aware that there is no exact path to follow like a cookbook recipe to achieve the results , but I always wondered what some of the executives have done to get there? Any formal or informal qualifications that helps to get there? Real life examples/stories would be good too, trying to get the feel of how one can increase their potential.

I always thought most people at that level have very good articulation and writing skills. People skills, networking are also obvious ones that I can think of. I know getting a Business degree helps but not every MBA degree holder gets to be successful.

Any comments welcome even if you don't have real life experience.

Thank you.

How to retain a career in the arts industry

Weng — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:28:17 -0800

Is there a qualification that will (relatively speaking) "recession-proof" a career in the arts industry? For example, a management qualification? I have recently withdrawn from a graduate research program to work full-time in the museum & gallery sector (... and because, well, I found that I hated doing a PhD.) What I am now concerned about is how competitive this field is, and whether I may have disadvantaged myself by not having an extra qualification, beyond my BA Hons in Art History. Although I'm not keen on solitary academic research right now, I'm open to the general idea of more study - by coursework, for example - to gain extra skills & have better employment prospects.

I should add here that I'm not specifically interested in being a curator, although that is the area where I have done my internship and 1 year of work experience (just as an assistant). It's possible that I'd be equally happy in the areas of Education, Exhibitions, Marketing, Publications, Design, etc... the problem is, they are all specific skill sets in themselves, requiring e.g. an Education degree or Design portfolio. I am not sure where (or if) I want to specialise or how to get experience in those areas without more study - i just know I like working in this creative environment. I am a fairly typical ENFP personality type, if that helps.

* So my question is: Is there a general qualification that would give me a competitive edge in as many areas of museum & gallery work as possible? Is this what an Arts Management degree (e.g. Masters) is? Would this be more broadly useful than, say, a Diploma of Education? And if it really becomes hard to get a job in the arts (even more so that at present, I mean), am I better to get something non arts-specific? (I admit I have no background or apparent aptitude in economics and the like, although I am willing to learn.)

So I guess I'm basically asking which qualifications are most highly sought after in the museum & gallery sector (or more broadly the arts), by as many areas as possible?
(apart from a PhD, that is... if in fact it does top the list, as I have heard conflicting advice on this point.)

Not a deadbeat but I play one on TV

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:18:42 -0800

Rentalfilter: Would you rent to me? I'm not a complete deadbeat, but I am paranoid about looking for a new place to live in the coming months. Anon because I'm revealing a little more than I'd like publicly linked to me, especially the finances bit.

This might be tl;dr, but I'll try to keep it concise.

It's me, my SO and our kid. We have an apartment but would like to move, and before I hire a Realtor and start the process in the coming months I'd like to get a feel for if this will even happen. We'd like to rent a 3 or 4 bedroom townhome and most of those in our area are done by individuals or smallish companies with a lot of paperwork and manual checking. (Ergo I won't be able to "sneak by" having a credit freeze like was done with our current complex; when they saw the freeze, they just asked for paystubs and rental verification. I did the freeze when I lost some papers with identifying numbers on them, but it can be easily lifted). Our budget for this is ~$1500/mo, and making 3X rent is not a problem, nor is job stability (7+ years at the same company). I have no issue paying a larger deposit (not too large; savings account isn't THAT big), but I have no one to act as guarantor so it's just the two of us as joint tenants. My SO has no credit, but also no bad housing debt either.

The good: Right now we're paying a little under $1200/month for our three bedroom apartment. The year lease will be up in summer and we have paid every month on time, in full and have had no problems with the complex. It is professionally managed, for whatever points that may bring. Prior to this we rented a house from an individual for $800/month and were there for about 14 months, again with no late payments or problems. Our landlord there was happy to sign a form for our current complex verifying all this. We have a couple bills (no credit, obviously) that have also been paid on time--electric and car insurance--and I can hopefully get letters from them showing this. Water is through our complex, so no go there.

Now, the bad news: I have two bankruptcies, and both are chapter 13. My SO has a chapter 7 from the same time as my first one (mid-2002) that's discharged. My first was discharged in 2005 and will drop from my credit report later this year, but before we go to rent anywhere else. The other was started in early 2008 and is ongoing. The first bankruptcy was from a lot of debt racked up early on; the second was to try to save our house. That failed so the house was foreclosed upon at the beginning of January 2009. I remain in the bankruptcy to keep our vehicles and clear other debt.

"But wait," you cry, "I thought you began renting in mid-2007. What gives?" We did. Initially we tried to sell (both traditionally and short-sale) our house and moved out in 2007 on the advice of our then-Realtor who said it'd be easier to sell with it vacant and "staged," and who was confident a sale would happen quickly. (Why did we move? Maintenance and upkeep; it needed a lot of work from before we bought it and we were over our heads) We kept paying on the mortgage until September 07, and then stopped to try to "force" a short-sale. That didn't work, so I filed bankruptcy (house in my name only) in early 2008 to work out a deal and let us short-sale the house under court protection. Our lender wasn't willing to play ball, so it went to foreclosure. During that time, we've been renting.

If you've made it down here, thank you. My questions are from the beginning: Would you rent to me? How difficult should I expect the process to be? My thinking is that there will be more renters as a result of the housing bust, so my/our application won't warrant even a second look; am I too paranoid about this?

Oh, all of this is in Texas, Fort Worth area.

Throwaway e-mail: anonmefi771@googlemail.com

Teach me something new.

Neonshock — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:01:30 -0800

What is the right course/night class/learning path, to take right now? Some background info.

Im 23 and I have a 'safe' job (or mostly safe, I work for a department of the British infostructure similar to the NHS etc) and my contract doesnt come into question untill December this year (but it has been verbalised that I will be "fought for tooth and nail"). I earn a great wage for someone my age and have some spare cash (after ISA's and savings) and miss learning.

So my question is...what should I learn? I have a degree in English Lit though I would love something more practical, especially bearing in mind the difficult times ahead. What would make me, even more indispensible. Not particularly about my job, although I wouldnt rule it out per-se (i work in security and facilities at an entry level ). Im open to anything and in the UK. Im also interested in options similar to the OU.

Thanks!

Translating a (lack of) qualifications when I move to the US

tallus — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:38:22 -0800

Help me translate my (lack of) qualifications when I emigrate to the US. I'm emigrating to the US next year (on a K1 visa — I'm marrying a US citizen) and need to figure out how to best present myself to potential employers.

I have 7 'O' levels which is equivalent to high school graduation, roughly, but I don't have a degree. It's a long story but I chose not to take the final exams. However I did successfully finish the first two years which is the equivalent of an HND in the UK (an associates degree in the US) though I don't have the actual paper qualification. On my CV I have always written: Completed two years of University, equivalent to HND. It has never been a problem - most likely due to my age (I'm now 40), my experience and the fact that I work in a field that's used to self taught people and doesn't always rate qualifications — I'm a linux/unix sysadmin.

I've been doing this for sometime however (10 years), and I really don't want to carry on in this field, so I want to take this opportunity to re-invent myself. I understand this might mean starting at the bottom, and take some work to end up where I want, but I'm prepared for this (how and what will be the subject of further askme questions). My question is about I how I can make the best of other skills and qualities without letting a relative lack of, or unfamiliar, qualifications get in the way.

I will be using a functional CV. Is writing

7 O levels (equivalent to High School graduation)
Successful Completion of Two Years at UK University (equivalent to an associates degree)

going to be fine?

Are there other options I could explore? I've thought of trying to get a GED while I'm waiting for my work permit to come through, but I'm not sure that wouldn't be a regressive step.

What about getting a minimum wage/service industry type job while I'm finding my feet? How might this be affected?

How closely do job requirements in a want ad typically match what a company is actually willing to accept?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:31:11 -0800

How closely do job requirements in a want ad typically match what a company is actually willing to accept? I've been job hunting for a systems admin position for a few months with little success. The problem is that I'm sort of in-between mid-level and high-level technology requirements. I managed a pretty large environment - 75 servers, 6,000 users, 3,000 desktops\notebooks, etc. - but it was 100% Windows which I think is somewhat rare. We also contracted out higher end switching and routing tasks although I handled basic day-to-day management like switching VLANs, unblocking ports, creating NATs, etc. Basically, I did a little of everything - active directory, server management, pc imaging, SQL, etc. - but never really mastered anything. In addition, I only have a two-year degree from an unaccredited technical college. I worked my way up to network admin over several years (and held the job for another 3 years) but would never have been hired off the street by the organization without a degree.

It seems as though every job posting I see lists a technology I have very little experience with such as Unix, Novell, VMWare, etc. or requires a certification I don't have. I'm a very quick study but it's hard to convince somebody to give you the opportunity to learn on the job. They usually want a Bachelor's degree but it's also fairly common to list it as "preferred".

Obviously, employers are going to list the qualities of their dream candidate when putting together an ad, but how far are they stretching it? Should I just say screw it and apply for everything regardless of how closely I fit their criteria? If the ad contains the exact statement "Bachelor's degree required", should I still apply? A friend of mine in HR told me to "throw as much as you can against the wall and see what sticks" but I'm reluctant to apply for a job that says I'll be managing Linux desktops when I know nothing about Linux other than using it a couple of times.

I'd like to hear from hiring managers or somebody in HR who reviews resumes. Do you scan for the job requirements and automatically trash any resumes that don't match or do you look at the overall candidate and at least put them in the maybe pile? If it's the latter, what things on a resume might help someone slip thought the cracks? Or, is it the overall "vibe" you get from the resume (escalating responsibility, impressive accomplishments, etc.).

Also, I'd love to hear any stories from people who've gotten killer jobs they weren't even remotely qualified for and how they did it.

If we know what we're talking about, can we review books without a PhD?

midatlanticwanderer — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:24:39 -0800

Will academic journals generally publish book reviews written by people who are not academics, but who have applicable experience and knowledge? I am interested in determining whether some journals might publish book reviews by people who, while not academics, nonetheless have knowledge and experience with a certain subject area. Possible collaborators would have masters' or professional degrees. Can we just contact individual journals to see if they'd be willing to share a list of books for review/find out their policy on the credentials of reviewers, or would that be a waste of time?

Of course we would only focus on specific publications and/or subject areas (in the social sciences) where we have knowledge and experience through our own work experience. It's not like we'd be trying anything or everything that comes along.

Job qualifications help

triggerfinger — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:31:13 -0800

Specialised question I hope someone can answer: American in UK with UK qualifications....chances of my finding a decent job in the US? I am an American living and working in England. I work in the financial industry and have the Securities Institute Diploma (SII Diploma). This is a well-regarded qualification in England and I have a good job as a "Relationship Manager" (basically a financial advisor) in a large and well known firm. I provide all round financial planning for clients. I would like to move back to the US someday but am wondering how my qualifications will be recognised, if at all. The SII Diploma claims to be internationally recognised but the one or two people in the industry in the US that I have asked claim to never have heard of it. My fear is that I will have to start over from the bottom once I move back, which is what I had to do when I moved here. Is there anyone who is familiar with the industry in both countries who could tell me if my qualifications are recognised and what I could do (if anything) to make myself more marketable if and when I move back? Thanks in advance for any help, I honestly don't know where I else I might go for advice on this matter.

Is Brad Pitt a particle physicist?

alby — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 07:12:10 -0800

In order to inspire my pupils, and demonstrate to them that studying science does not mean you have to become a scientist, I'm trying to compile a list of famous people with science-related qualifications (bachelors degrees and better, preferably). I'm specifically interested in those with physics, chemistry or biology qualifications (or variations thereof, e.g. biochemistry, astrophysics) but if it turns out that Orlando Bloom has a degree in geology or Christina Aguilera is an expert neuroscientist then I'll take them too. This is who I have so far:

Physics:
Mike Judge (creator of Beavis and Butthead), Angela Merkel (German Chancellor), Jonathan Edwards (triple-jump world record holder), Tim Berners Lee (inventor of the world wide web), Helen Willets (BBC weather forecaster), Robert Moog (inventor of the synthesiser), Ehud Barak (former Israeli Prime Minister) and Brian Mawhinney (Chairman, British Football League).

Biology:
Lisa Kudrow (actress)

Chemistry:
Janet Reno (US AG) and Margaret Thatcher (former UK prime minister).

I'm specifically not interested in those who tried but failed, so for example James Cameron (physics) and Cindy Crawford (chemical engineering) are out.

P.S. Please, no "Britney Spears has a degree in semiconductor physics" posts.

A roadmap for life

DZ-015 — Fri, 12 May 2006 04:20:47 -0800

At the grand old age of 37, I've suddenly been hit by the realization that I'm in the wrong career and it's corroding by soul. I want to work in something to do with the surveying and production of maps (I love maps). Does anyone work in this field and have advice on what qualifications I'll need and be able to tell me what sort of stuff they do?

Help me choose a career!

BuddhaInABucket — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 17:32:48 -0800

Today at a job interview for a marketing position at a law firm, the lady interviewing me expressed her concern that I would find the job boring because I am overqualified for it. My question has two parts: how do you respond when an interviewer tells you something like that? And, if I'm so overqualified for this marketing job, what kind of job should I be looking for? I graduate in a few days with a degree in linguistics. My resume is sort of bare, but contains a couple of gems like a high position in student government and a newspaper editing job.
The three fields I'm most interested in are law, politics, and journalism. Am I underestimating my potential? What kinds of jobs should I be applying for?

Which Degree?

ttrendel — Thu, 08 Apr 2004 08:51:20 -0800

I'm returning to college this summer to finish a degree and have come to a crossroads as to what degree to go for. (more inside) I need about 20 credit hours to finish my Bachelor's degree and am trying to decide which degree to go for.

Option 1:

B.A. in Computer Science/Philosophy - not a double major, a combination of the two. This will take a longer time to finish and move back my graduation date by a semester. Need to finish philosophy and language reuirements.

Option 2:

Bachelor of General Studies with minors in Computer Science, Information Technology, and Entrepreneurship. This is by far the quicker of the two, only requiring a few semesters of part time work to finish the Entrepreneurship minor.

I want to work in the tech sector ideally doing any kind of programming and would love to delve into interface design.
The BGS makes the most sense based on money contraints and time until graduation, but something about receiving a BGS instead of a BA bothers me. Do employers looking for fresh grads to fill entry-level positions make any distinction between the two? Will the multiple minors in different disciplines help or hinder me?