college degree vs. work experience. ur thought.

background:

I'm 20. I have 3 yrs banking experience and moving up at a very fast pace. bs aside, I'm the youngest person in the company at my postion. think of it this way, by the time I'm 28 ill have just over 10 yrs in banking experience.  

its something I could possibly do as a career as it does interest me. I've had managers say to me a degree is pointless and get all the hands on experience I can. but others tell me to get a degree. I have my associates and if I go finish up I'd have to drop down to part time and go to school full time to finish it. 

anyone have any opinions on the matter? experience vs. degree? 10 yrs in banking is a  good chunk of time and ill only be 28. but is a degree really THAT beneficial?

im not leaning one way or the other but my girl works at a bank and her branch manager has been there 5 years, she has experience and no college time.

I am in a similar boat as you...but on the other end. I will be graduating in March and currently looking for a job. My problem is that I have the degree required, but no experience...which makes my degree almost worthless. But heres something to think about...without a degree you can move up only so much within the company, sooner or later they will require you to have one in order to move up. It would be a good idea to ask your managers...just tell them that you want to stay and work for the bank, but not sure if the degree will help up with promotions. Plus most banks will pay for your education.

Personally I would say go for it and take the next 2 years to get the degree...who knows maybe at the end you will be able to move up within the company to a much higher position.

[QUOTE=Dark Anghell;39176]I am in a similar boat as you...but on the other end. I will be graduating in March and currently looking for a job. My problem is that I have the degree required, but no experience...which makes my degree almost worthless. But heres something to think about...without a degree you can move up only so much within the company, sooner or later they will require you to have one in order to move up. It would be a good idea to ask your managers...just tell them that you want to stay and work for the bank, but not sure if the degree will help up with promotions. Plus most banks will pay for your education.

Personally I would say go for it and take the next 2 years to get the degree...who knows maybe at the end you will be able to move up within the company to a much higher position.[/QUOTE]

theyre willing to work around my school hours but id have to work pt. and since i pay my mortgage, more money is better. id still make enough to pay my bills just wouldnt have all the luxuries i do now (ie: building my benz in 5 months lol). i do see what youre saying though, but banks are a little different. the highest positions are ones that started off as tellers/bankers. i think im going to get a degree eventually, i just need to find the ideal work/school sched. like my parents said, its always something to fall back on if i were to ever get tired of my career.

go to school part time. work ur way toward that degree. a degree is always better, and when moving up in the company, it will only look better on ur resume. besides, with that degree, you can hold leverage when battling for a position. you can also use that degree, and threaten to go somewhere else, and possibly get a raise from your current job to keep you.

Allstar-

IMO, both a degree and work experience are very important in achieving a well paid career.

While an employer looks at a resumé or application, they look at both education and work experience.  A person with high education and no work experience will be looked down upon; same for a person with a lot of work experience and no education.

I am 20 years old as well, transferring to San Diego State University for Bachelors in Business Management.  I was fortunate to have been hired in an internship program that will pay me well and give me the experience for management and entrepreneurship.  I will be out of school for Spring and Summer to take part in this internship, and I will resume my academic education in Fall 2007.

If you can manage to put school into your schedule without putting yourself in a financial crisis, please go for it.  No need for Masters; a Bachelors degree will do just fine with the large amount of work experience you've acquired.

Good luck with your future!

Here's a thing about going to school only if you want a career change...that may happen a year from not or 20 years from now. But right now you are still in "going to school" mode and you still remember things from classes you've taken. If you go to school years down the road, you will pretty much have to get your AA degree all over again. Plus you will be one of those wierd 40 year olds sitting in a classroom filled with 20 year olds and have nothing in common with them. Since it seems like you can manage the two things at once, just go for it.

[QUOTE=allstar;39171]
 I've had managers say to me a degree is pointless and get all the hands on experience I can. but others tell me to get a degree. [/QUOTE]

Believe it or not, this statement is true.  I graduated with a BS degree from UH.  I've been looking for a decent job in a hospital but nobody wants to hire me.  Now im going back to school, community college, to be certified to work in a hospital.  In some professions, college degree is just another piece of paper.  I wasted my time going to college and if I could start all over, id go to ITT technical institute to be certified in something.  Man there are people who don't have college degrees making A LOT more money than I am.. =o(

man your 20 years old. a young buck !!! 

get your DEGREE fo sure !!!!

i'm going on 32 and i work in a field where there are alot of young kids that didn't get there college degree.  i'll be honest w/ you, when it comes to the work itself, experience is definitely desired.  however, you need to get the job first in order to make use of the experience.  the degree gets your foot in the door, especially from a respected institution.  it may not sound like a lot but being in the workforce full time for some 10 odd years now, i can tell you that while most people can get a job w/o the degree very few advance past the position they were hired in.  it's not impossible, but the degree does look better on paper so it helps that little bit.

My wife used to work at a very large financial institution which gave internships to students enrolled in an ivy league school based solely on the fact that the student was enrolled at this particular institution.  It didn't matter how bright or talented you were, if you were enrolled at this institution, you're pretty much automatically in.

I'm in IT and while a degree is very helpful in this field, i have schoolfriends who skipped University to go straight to work in IT. They are currently earning double what i am because they have all the experience...

But at the end of the day, my 4 years at Uni were the most fun in my life. There's nothing quite like college life... I dont care if it puts me 4 years back from my schoolfriend.

[QUOTE=Dominik;39208]
 There's nothing quite like college life... I dont care if it puts me 4 years back from my schoolfriend.[/QUOTE]

lol... I agree..

I finished my bachelors in business administration for Marketing and now I'm going for my Human resources degree which will take 2 more quarters.

School is fun (the social clubs) lol.. but i agree that it isn't for everyone. Many will work without a degree and then go back to school later to get one. Be aware that the older you get, it is harder to retain information such as test information in college.

My recommendation to you is do what your heart says. I have friends who are succesful without college degrees. My main objective was to get a few college degrees to make sure that I completed the last leg of my school career.

On a sidenote, Tiger Woods does not have a college degree.Knowing his work ethic and dedication, I have a feeling he will complete school in the future as will Kobe Bryant. hehe

Just weigh the positives and negatives in your decision as well as be firm. Accept your decision, don't have regrets, remember, you have the rest of your life to work. Enjoy the college experience.

-Bryan

depends onw hat you go and get a degree for... me i would prefer hands on experience. ive been working on cars since i was 7 (17 now) and i really have no interest inlearning anything more besides cars.but if i had to go to college i would either go to a 2 year college or go t UTI. im leaning to UTI.... tired of GE classes.

one of my professors told me that a degree is for an employer to see how well you can learn.

I'm in the same boat as you, actually with the company you used to work for... Washington Mutual. We don't get paid that well, but the incentive portion makes up for it in most markets (except mine mostly). And it just seems that I can't get my footing here to start producing like the top 4-5 guys in my region (all been there a year or more) where as I'm going on 1/2 a year. Things are starting to look up but now, at 19, about to purchase my first home I'm starting to look to my future and wonder if I'll be happy making 60-80k a year in the banking profession without a college degree or if I should  start working towards a Business Degree so I can move up in the world in some sort of managerial position later. I'm still doing school part time while working 40+ a week, so I am working towards a degree, I just don't know wether it's worth all the added stress all the time.

[QUOTE=gmckey;39334]I'm in the same boat as you, actually with the company you used to work for... Washington Mutual. We don't get paid that well, but the incentive portion makes up for it in most markets (except mine mostly). And it just seems that I can't get my footing here to start producing like the top 4-5 guys in my region (all been there a year or more) where as I'm going on 1/2 a year. Things are starting to look up but now, at 19, about to purchase my first home I'm starting to look to my future and wonder if I'll be happy making 60-80k a year in the banking profession without a college degree or if I should  start working towards a Business Degree so I can move up in the world in some sort of managerial position later. I'm still doing school part time while working 40+ a week, so I am working towards a degree, I just don't know wether it's worth all the added stress all the time.[/QUOTE]

What positions are you guys holding in at the bank?

[QUOTE=Dark Anghell;39349]What positions are you guys holding in at the bank?[/QUOTE]

I started out as a High School Intern at 16, and have been working my way up from that for 2 years to teller to Personal Financial Rep now... Not a bad job at all for my age, but I tend to run with an older crowd here in town, and the lawyers of the bunch make me feel like an under achiever with them pulling down  100k+ a year easy doing less work than I do at my age. Given they've all been to school 6+ years and are now in their 5th+ years of Lawyer-ing after internships and the like... but it sucks being the runt of the pack if you know what I mean.

The importance of a degree comes into play once you have 10 years experience and are in line for the promotion you have been expecting.  Usally the person without a degree is passed over.  So a degree is usefull for getting on a higher caerer track.  So if your employer is willing to facilitate your attainmment of a degree i say go for it.  It can only help in the long run especially since you already have a steady job. I just graduated and I just got my first real job, but I plan to go to Law school in a year and a half.

D.

I've been trying to get onto banking for a while, but they never hire me...so i gave up on that idea.

Employers look at your degree as an asset. Especially if you are getting your masters...not only are you smarter, you will benefit the company as a whole...that's why so many of them will pay for your masters. Plus then you can earn more money even if you continue with your current position, because company will want to keep you around for a while.

Right now I only have BA, but as soon as I have a chance i am going back to school to get my MBA, and then it's a 6-digit salary for me hehe.

There's no real money to be made in banking anymore is what I hear from all the higher ups I've talked to (Regional Managers)... And by real money I mean BIG dollar amounts in the hundreds of thousands a year. I mean sure, you can make 100k+ a year, but if you want to be filthy stinkin' rich, banking is not the area to go looking for that kind of money in.

i don't want to be filthy rich...but i do want a black turbo Cayenne and a black 911 turbo chillin in the garage hehe. So as long as I can afford mortgage and those two, I'm set.

well I feel you there. I'm 19, bought my first car 100% on my own a few months back (the LS) and am about to buy my first house, nothing expensive, but my own home. The payments are marginally higher than living in a nice apartment but in the end, it's an investment.

I don't want to be filthy rich either, but hey, I don't mind have the ability to possibly get there some day.

Is money really the end all be all????
 I am going to school right now for my education. I am going for a major in Chinese and Lingustics and am also enrolled the honors program. I am setting myself up for grad school all the way and I can say right now that im not doing it for the money. Knowledge is the key to freedom so if you can get a degree get one. Idk just my 2 cents on the matter.

For some people money = Happiness.
In my case I don't have a college degree but I work for IBM through work experience. I was picked up after my previous company decided to out source IT Services to IBM. It's not a bad gig but I honestly believe I may not be able to move fwd very much unless I get some sort of degree. People look for both Degree and work experience. In the end it's probably the experience that gets you the job. Reason why so many people do Internships before leaving college.

While money may not itself equal happiness, I dare anyone, especially on a car website, to say that money does not make life a hell of a lot easier if you've got it.