I left university after 2 years to take a sysadmin job and don't plan to go back to finish my degree. Now I have 5 years of experience and I'm wondering how to handle the Education section on my resume. Is it worth mentioning the schooling, given it didn't result in a degree?
Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask; r/sysadminresumes/ didn't look very active.
Posted Feb 22, 2019, 9:56 PM UTC
I list my two years of university and all my job experience. 13 years later it's not really relevant, and to start with, I just justified it by saying "I didn't really get along with the academic life and enjoyed getting paid for doing work far more".
Hit the nail on the head with the last statement
Oddly I was asked once for a transcript of my coursework. Fortunately I was able to get them relatively easily, though had been almost twenty years ago. They gave the job to the other guy who made the third/final round. Figures.
Ha, classic. "Jump through these hoops because we really need to know exactly which (obsolete) courses you took 20 years ago. Oh by the way, you didn't get the job."
Gotta know the exact OOP programming class you took.
I dropped out after 2.5yrs. I just list the years I was there and my major, and the scholarship I won from the school based on my SAT scores. No one has ever blinked or asked me otherwise.
[deleted]
Thanks, appreciate the response!
I did a year at the university, then switched to college. My teachers at college told me it was better to be honest and put my failures on my resume than to leave it out and have some strange gaps. They said companies prefer you being honest about not finishing your studies over having to find out you left something out of your resume. Especially in IT, experience is far more important than education.
But that's in Belgium. No idea how it is where you live.
Just to add to the other good responses: I put that I am pursuing my Bachelor's, because a lot of ATS will filter you out or downrank you if it's not on there and it's a job requirement. Luckily, the ATS can't read intent, so it sees the keyword and checks the box.
Remember, unless you're bypassing the system, your first resume review is probably done by a bot.
Interesting. Guess I wasn't aware of how automated it's become
My $0.02.
I wouldn't mention the education side at all. Having two years of school but no degree isn't going to appreciably help you get a job IMHO, and though someone here said "can't hurt", it certainly can. On the negative side, the best case is that you look like someone who is prone to taking better opportunities when they come along, which may make some companies wary. Worst case, they won't fully believe your reason for leaving school and will consider you to be a person who doesn't finish what they start.
I'm not saying most companies will look at it negatively, but some will, and I don't know of any way to see it positively. If neutral and negative are the only outcomes, best to just not mention it.
That's what I'm worried about as well. On the other hand, the 5 years of experience was with one company so perhaps that offsets it a bit
I'm sure it will to an extent, but I still don't think there is any benefit to you mentioning the education in the first place.
i was in college during the tech boom in the 90's- the temptation to no longer be a broke-ass college student and make some real money was too great. So left the university scene and started making money.
Now that I have 20 years of experience and looking to switch jobs, the education thing is starting to bite back. I was passed up for a job opportunity doing exactly what I do currently, because I didn't have an associate's degree ( a f'ing associates!) I said, I don't need an associate's degree, I have 20 years of experience - the response was, "well, it's a requirement"
my opinion- if you don't have the degree, don't mention education. They'll ask about it if it's required.
WILL WORK FOR FOOD
List the school you went to, the years you were there and what you studied. Just dont list a graduation date or a degree.
I dropped out of school and didn't finish my degree until I had been working for nearly 10 years. I was on my 2nd management job before I finished.
Amusingly in all that time only one person ever asked me 'did you graduate from college?'
'No, I did not. I attended from <date> to <date> and took classes in <class list>.'
Wow, surprising you only got asked once! Thanks for the response
In 21 years, I've only been asked about a degree once.
I've held at least three positions that listed a degree as being mandatory.
I don't have a degree and failed out during my second college course.