You do not have to enroll in a university and study for almost a decade to earn a college degree. Yes, you read that, right! Earning degrees are no longer exclusive to gaining admission to a higher education facility. You can get valid academic recognition without studying by using your work background to obtain a work experience degree.
Not everyone knows about the idea of experience degrees. And those people who are familiar with the certificate tend to doubt its credibility. Hence, there is a lot of discourse regarding the value and worth of a work experience degree. This is because many think that it is not a real academic recognition.
Contrary to what some may think, experience degrees are authentic certificates with educational value. Not to mention, many universities and learning institutions grant this to deserving students. That said, to earn and know the importance of a work experience degree, you must first understand the concept behind such a certificate.
What is an experience degree?
An experience degree is an academic recognition given to an individual in exchange for their work or life background. Remember, learning goes beyond the conventional education system. One can earn knowledge outside institutions through real-life experiences. On that note, a work experience degree is a certificate that acknowledges and appreciates your expertise gained outside universities.
Individuals who usually seek degrees for experience are already established professionals looking for an official certificate to recognize their skills. However, the most common means of getting recognition is to acquire schooling in accredited universities, which is not the most practical choice for someone who already has knowledge in the industry. Thus, instead of getting the usual undergraduate degree for credentials, they rather get a work experience degree.
By getting degrees for experience, you can earn valid and transferable college credits. You can use these for future employment opportunities or to shorten your time in school for future academic endeavors.
How to use an experience degree
There is a stigma claiming that work experience degrees do not have any academic value. They think that an academic recognition earned without schooling is not a real acknowledgment. But, this has been long debunked by the multiple benefits a work experience degree has to offer. Besides, what people do not know is that it is very useful for academic purposes as it is for employment advantages.
That being said, below are some beneficial ways on how you can use an experience degree:
Easily pursue a college degree
Experience degrees lets you get academic credits by using your work and life background. Hence, you can have valid transferable credits that you can use to apply for traditional degrees. For example, you can accelerate your way into getting a Bachelor’s degree in your industry by using these credits. Meaning, your coursework becomes less, and you can cut your time in school in half.
Advance your career growth
Some individuals begin their careers from scratch. Not every employee entered the workforce with a college diploma. Besides, most of the working professionals in the US only had high school diplomas, to begin with. And one problematic consequence of this is slow career growth. This is because you must also boost your credentials to advance to the next level of your job. But not everyone has the luxury to go back to school and earn a diploma. That said, you can apply for degrees for experience and use it as a credential booster to earn that much-awaited promotion.
Demand for better working conditions
Degree holders have better employment opportunities that yield better working conditions. They tend to enter in-demand industries without hassle, gain higher positions within a company, and acquire employer-employee benefits. Without a degree, it would be hard to obtain such benefits. Hence, if you want to have a better faring career without having a diploma, you can exchange your expertise for an online work experience degree.
Increase your salary grade
People who have valid academic recognition earn a heaping 32,000 USD more than those who only have a high school diploma. This is because their skills and knowledge seem more valuable to an employer’s perspective. On that note, if you are looking for a way to gain more appreciation for the worth of your expertise, especially if you have long been in the industry, it would be best to get a degree for experience. By doing so, you can increase your salary grade to how much it is worth. As a result, you do not have to compromise your financial stability, and you can gain more income in the future.
Create a solid foundation for your career
The very essence of having a college degree is to have documented proof of your expertise. Without it, people tend to doubt how well a person can perform at work and question the validity and quality of their skills and know-how. That being said, an experience degree will let you have a genuine certificate that will establish a solid foundation for your career. Thus, enhancing your professional credibility and making your expertise more trustworthy.
Generally, having a degree for experience lets you enjoy the major benefits of being a degree holder. Your value as an expert increases, thus allowing you to gain an easier path to professional success. Hence, if you are wanting a more prosperous and more rewarding work experience, it is best to equip yourself with a work experience degree.
How to get an experience degree online
Now that you know how useful a work experience degree can be, you might be interested in how you can get one. Thankfully, the requirements to get a degree for experience is fairly minimal and easy to collate. Hence, below are what you need to have if you wish to earn an online experience degree:
Portfolio
The most important prerequisite of having an online experience degree is a portfolio. It is essentially a collection of documents that universities can use to access the value and validity of your expertise. Therefore, you must include previous employment certificates, sample works, professional training acknowledgments, community work certificates, and other similar recognitions.
Character references
Organic testimonials should back up your portfolio from people who witnessed your growth and performance in the industry you are part of. Meaning, you will also need to have a few people who you worked with write letters of recommendation as reference for your expertise. This will further your chances of getting a work experience degree since there are real people vouching for your skills.
Skill assessment results
Since experience degrees are valid academic recognitions, schools need to have an official way to evaluate the authenticity of the applicant’s competency. If not, the granting university may be held accountable for giving a degree to someone entirely unacquainted for a specific discipline. Therefore, instead of completing multiple exams while earning a degree for years, an experience degree only requires applicants to complete one skill assessment exam as a formality.
The best thing about getting a work experience degree is that it is practical and accessible. You can even get a degree for experience online and conveniently apply for it in the comfort of your home.
Where to get an experience degree
Because there are a lot of people doubting the authenticity and academic value of work experience degrees, it is best only to find an accredited provider for such a certificate. Besides, there are a lot of diploma mills in the virtual market offering degrees for experiences. Meaning, it is easy to obtain a fake experience degree online and subject yourself to the risks it imposes.
On that note, if you were to earn a work experience degree online, you should only acquire an accredited experience degree. Accreditation is very important for every school certificate. Even the most conventional undergraduate and graduate degrees possess little value if they are not from an accredited university.
That being said, here are are the universities and official assessments exams that will help you get an accredited work experience degree online:
- Capella University
- College Level Exam Program
- DANTES Subject Standardized Tests
- Excelsior College
- Strayer University
- Western Governors University
- Thomas Edison State College
All of these are the official ways on how and where you can get a work experience degree online. However, most of the universities mentioned above offer competency-based education wherein it can only exchange your work experience into academic credits. Thus, you can only go as far as accelerating the time it takes for you to complete a traditional degree.
Therefore, if you are looking for an instant work experience degree, you should instead seek the help of third-party degree providers and buy it online. Look for a website that officially works with any of the universities mentioned above to ensure that what you are purchasing is a real and accredited work experience degree. By doing so, you can quickly get a recognition you can legally use to gain the benefits of being a degree holder.