How to Get a Master’s Degree Based on Work Experience

The goal of most school graduates is to continue their learning at a college or university. They want to become certified specialists in the chosen discipline to find a well-paid job for professional and personal growth.

In the meanwhile, many youngsters want to begin to work soon after school. After some time passes, they change their mind and want to acquire a Master’s degree because they understand the benefits of being certified. However, they don’t want to spend time learning. Such people ask whether they can acquire the desired degree based on their work experience.

It’s an interesting question and the experts from a legitimate essay writing service CustomWritings can answer it. Our experts have defined that it’s quite possible to get a Master’s degree based on work experience. Nonetheless, it happens rarely. There is only a small number of colleges, which provide credits for work experience and so, give different degrees. There are only nine of them and they provide a pretty small number of credit hours. We’ll highlight this and other questions, which are related to this important matter.

Credit Hours and What They Give

Each of nine colleges offers students credit hours. They are equal to the hour spent in a class. Accordingly, the more credit hours you receive the closer your degree is. Colleges provide not more than 30 hours per year. It’s the maximum for everyone. Let’s compare the traditional way of learning with a work-experience method.

The campus-based approach demands to spend 60 hours per semester for four consecutive years. If you want to acquire a degree based on your professional experience, this process takes two years. You should spend 30 credit years per semester. Thus, 60 credit hours are enough to acquire a Master’s degree. If you want to get a Bachelor’s degree, it takes a year. Accordingly, this way of getting degrees is much faster.

How Much Will I Earn?

Many workers without certificates realize that a degree promises a higher salary. Of course, it’s necessary to understand how beneficial it may be. Employees without a degree may be lucky to receive a high salary. Nevertheless, it goes in no comparison with certified experts. On average, employees with a Bachelor’s degree receive more than $42,000. The Master’s degree holders earn over $52,000. As you can see, it makes sense of being educated and certified.

Do Employers Prefer Experience or Education?

Many people wonder what is more valuable – experience or education? It should be said that both issues are important. It’s always better to have an experienced worker who already knows how things work. Students with no experience are a bit slower to progress and don’t receive high salaries at once. Nevertheless, the statistic says that they commonly end up with higher salaries than workers without a degree.

Employers highly value certified specialists. They tend to trust them more. On the other hand, most employers tend to trust people who know what they do. They sometimes don’t even check the education of their employees. They check their professional skills.

What May Become a Challenge?

There may appear certain challenges while uncertified people try to receive an educational certificate. Firstly, they’ll have to combine their learning and working experiences. Secondly, they’ll have to pass certain exams that are also known as a Challenge Test. This test shows their work experience and professional knowledge. Passing it successfully, students receive more credit hours.

Is There Any Future in Getting a Degree Based on Experience?

As the number of educational institutions that provide degrees is small, many people ask whether it makes sense and has any future. The answer is actually positive. Nowadays, there is a tendency to provide previously uncertified employees with degrees based on their workload.  According to the American Council on Education, many huge corporations similar to Disney, Microsoft, Google, and some smaller enterprises offer their employees special courses. They exist in the forms of:

• Corporate training;
• Courses;
• Volunteering projects;
• Labor unions;
• Completion programs, etc.

Each has its benefits. Passing them, you can receive the official licenses and certificates. Thus, they can be accepted by your college and turned into credit hours.

Things to Consider Before You Choose Your Path

We’d like to add a few words concerning your future choice. Before school graduates leave their schools and choose to work soon after graduation, they should consider several crucial points.

Firstly, consider the perspectives of your profession. Will it be popular in the nearest future? Secondly, evaluate your salary. Is it enough for your needs? Thirdly, dwell upon the complexity. Perhaps it’s too difficult to master and you require some education first?

Obligatorily evaluate these points. After you’re done with them, you’ll choose the right path. There’s a possibility to acquire a degree based on your work experience, but it may be difficult.