Self Proclaimed/Honorary Doctorate Degree? - GoFuckYourself.com

96ukssob · 08-13-2012, 12:40 PM

Serious question... if you work in a field where there is no real formal accreditation (you can through vendors and 3rd party approvals), is there anyway to proclaim yourself as the professional in this field?

There had to be someone who was the first economist, first paleontologist, etc., so what about a field that does not have any set educational structure such as Internet marketing?

Is there a way to get professional accreditation for a field like this besides waiting until Pheonix online puts together a program?

thegreatestporn · 08-13-2012, 01:14 PM

A degree mill? Pay a few bucks, get a degree in whatever you want.

NaughtyRob · 08-13-2012, 01:35 PM

They are not accredited.

I agree with the OP.... some people have soooo many years of experience in a field of expertise, there should be some sort of way to at least apply that to a degree.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegreatestporn

A degree mill? Pay a few bucks, get a degree in whatever you want.

kane · 08-13-2012, 02:10 PM

I think in some cases you can apply work experience towards a degree. A friend of mine who is a cop is going back to school and he was told some of his work experience and training will translate as credits towards his degree. Some schools will let you challenge courses and if you successfully challenge them you don't have to take that course and get credit for it.

On a side note, it is amazing how many companies don't even bother checking on degrees. Several years ago I wrote a piece about this for a magazine. I greatly enhanced my resume and put down that I had two different bachelor degrees. I applied for jobs, went in for interviews and actually was offered a few different jobs. After the job offers I went in and talked to the managers in charge of hiring and found out that out of six companies that offered me a job none of them contacted the school to check my credentials. I did other call backs and found that out of 10 additional companies that gave me serious consideration for the job only two of them checked. It was pretty crazy.

96ukssob · 08-13-2012, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NaughtyRob

They are not accredited.

I agree with the OP.... some people have soooo many years of experience in a field of expertise, there should be some sort of way to at least apply that to a degree.

That's the thing. In my field, there is really no way to stand out besides your LinkedIn profile or if somehow your name gets around. There are some "schools" that offer a bs in Internet marketing, but that's a joke.

The big issue is when its me vs. some smuck that has no experience, it comes down to who ever is hiring to make the decision. I spoke to a company today that I was trying to bring on as a client and the guy told me "it was between you and someone else, they had a masters in Internet marketing." BULLSHIT! there is no such thing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kane

I think in some cases you can apply work experience towards a degree. A friend of mine who is a cop is going back to school and he was told some of his work experience and training will translate as credits towards his degree. Some schools will let you challenge courses and if you successfully challenge them you don't have to take that course and get credit for it.

On a side note, it is amazing how many companies don't even bother checking on degrees. Several years ago I wrote a piece about this for a magazine. I greatly enhanced my resume and put down that I had two different bachelor degrees. I applied for jobs, went in for interviews and actually was offered a few different jobs. After the job offers I went in and talked to the managers in charge of hiring and found out that out of six companies that offered me a job none of them contacted the school to check my credentials. I did other call backs and found that out of 10 additional companies that gave me serious consideration for the job only two of them checked. It was pretty crazy.

Exactly. At a company I worked with in the past, I was running their Internet marketing division. We had to hire about 3 more campaign mangers and people would put they have a bs in this, or masters in this. Most people these days have a bachelors degree, but when you are 24 and have a masters in "marketing" that is a red flag for lie.

I have friends that did the same thing tho, lied about their education on a resume or even told the person they were interviewing. I guess as long as you dont have it on something that you sign, you can't get in trouble

kane · 08-13-2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossku69

That's the thing. In my field, there is really no way to stand out besides your LinkedIn profile or if somehow your name gets around. There are some "schools" that offer a bs in Internet marketing, but that's a joke.

The big issue is when its me vs. some smuck that has no experience, it comes down to who ever is hiring to make the decision. I spoke to a company today that I was trying to bring on as a client and the guy told me "it was between you and someone else, they had a masters in Internet marketing." BULLSHIT! there is no such thing!

Exactly. At a company I worked with in the past, I was running their Internet marketing division. We had to hire about 3 more campaign mangers and people would put they have a bs in this, or masters in this. Most people these days have a bachelors degree, but when you are 24 and have a masters in "marketing" that is a red flag for lie.

I have friends that did the same thing tho, lied about their education on a resume or even told the person they were interviewing. I guess as long as you dont have it on something that you sign, you can't get in trouble

This might sound like a somewhat crazy idea, but you might consider hiring a publicist to help you put together a resume and press kit. When I left LA and eventually made my way back to Portland (after a few detours) I needed to get a job. This was pre-internet. I contacted a publicist I knew that worked for a record company I used to work for. I hired her for a few hours and she help me put together a kick ass resume/presentation. It looked like something you would submit to the Academy for Oscar consideration. It had information about me, clips of work I had done, a couple of pictures that were integrated and a synopsis of who I was and what my life was like. As she told me, it is easy to reject a piece of paper, not so easy to reject a person so give them your picture and make yourself a person to them. The thing came in a folder and looked great. I sent copies of it out to a handful of different companies and got a lot of response for it. Every single interview or conversation I had mentioned the resume. At the least it got me in the door and in front of them then it was up to me sell myself.

mce · 08-13-2012, 08:50 PM

Real world experience with top brand companies will probably be the better route to take.
Write up some articles, get published, move up the trade publication pyramid-get published at the top publication.... BAM... "industry expert."

08-13-2012, 12:40 PM	#1
96ukssob So Fucking Banananananas Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: If I was in your ass you'd know it Posts: 12,991	Self Proclaimed/Honorary Doctorate Degree? Serious question... if you work in a field where there is no real formal accreditation (you can through vendors and 3rd party approvals), is there anyway to proclaim yourself as the professional in this field? There had to be someone who was the first economist, first paleontologist, etc., so what about a field that does not have any set educational structure such as Internet marketing? Is there a way to get professional accreditation for a field like this besides waiting until Pheonix online puts together a program? __________________ Email: Clicky on Me

08-13-2012, 01:14 PM	#2
thegreatestporn Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2012 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 516	A degree mill? Pay a few bucks, get a degree in whatever you want. __________________ CrakRevenue \| WebCamWiz - Free WebCam Whitelabel \|

08-13-2012, 08:50 PM	#7
mce Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: All Over Posts: 3,917	Real world experience with top brand companies will probably be the better route to take. Write up some articles, get published, move up the trade publication pyramid-get published at the top publication.... BAM... "industry expert." __________________ Pay Virtual Assistants Based on RESULTS instead of TIME STOP getting FUCKED IN THE ASS by your VA

08-13-2012, 02:10 PM	#4
kane Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: portland, OR Posts: 20,684	I think in some cases you can apply work experience towards a degree. A friend of mine who is a cop is going back to school and he was told some of his work experience and training will translate as credits towards his degree. Some schools will let you challenge courses and if you successfully challenge them you don't have to take that course and get credit for it. On a side note, it is amazing how many companies don't even bother checking on degrees. Several years ago I wrote a piece about this for a magazine. I greatly enhanced my resume and put down that I had two different bachelor degrees. I applied for jobs, went in for interviews and actually was offered a few different jobs. After the job offers I went in and talked to the managers in charge of hiring and found out that out of six companies that offered me a job none of them contacted the school to check my credentials. I did other call backs and found that out of 10 additional companies that gave me serious consideration for the job only two of them checked. It was pretty crazy.