Need a job fast but lacking academic credentials?
We are living in an era where the job market is very fluid. Some times companies are hiring and laying off at the same time. In that case if you are one of those persons with lots of experience and very competent but not much credentials to show in the job hunt, you could be at a disadvantage.
What could you do to correct this situation very fast with well accepted and respectable credentials? It all depends on your general field of study but here are some general advice.
Degree Completion
This may be hard in a very fast time frame but you could consider testing out for a degree depending on what you had before. This is probably more suitable for someone that already have some credentials but just need to top up the whole picture.
One alternative option is to learn French and check out the VAE system in France to get a degree based on your current knowledge.
Certifications
These can be very useful especially if you need something fast.. Its hard to list all potential certifications in a blog post but the general rule of thumb is to go for the most respected certification in your current field.
Some certifications that are fairly general and you can check on Google search are the Certified Manager, PMP and several others.
In the technical realm, there are a few to consider for example Cisco CCIE, ASQ Engineering track, ASQ manager track, NARTE Telecommunications engineer and several others.
Also places like Brainbench may have a role based track that may fit your field.. You pay $199 per year and can take as much exams as you want.
Credential Evaluation
The US has the concept of an H1-B visa for professionals coming to work here. Typically this requires a bachelors degree and they have a direct conversion for work experience degree of 3 to 1.. Which means if you have good work experience of 12 years, that could be treated as a bachelors degree for the purpose of H1-B qualifications. This approach requires the evaluation by a respected agency.
The recommendation here is to consider applying for a credential evaluation by an agency that is a member of NACES. Tell them you need it evaluated against the H1-B standard assuming you have the required time and experience to meet the standards. Armed with this evaluation, you can at least claim you have equivalent knowledge to those with a degree in your field. This approach works best with all of the above with certifications and other credentials already available.
Summary
As you can see there are many options to get quality credentials fairly fast.. In looking for your next job or employment, you need to always do an inventory of your skill set and find the right credentials to take you to the next level.