Drop Degree and Take the Job Offer?

[JerrySTL]

Many jobs in the IT field have requirements like “A ?S degree in ?? OR X year of experience”. Therefore a degree isn’t completely important. However if your cover letter says “?S degree AND X number of years experience”, you’ll probability of getting interviewed will increased.

I suggest finishing the degree especially it the current job offer will still be on the table when you are done.

Otherwise take the job and see about going to night school or something. My daughter is finishing her Masters degree and working full time. Her boss even allows her to go to school during the day and work evenings and weekends.

I know more that a few people who have started working with the idea of finishing their degree later. When they finally get around to starting school again, they find out that many of their credit hours aren’t any good any more.

[Kaio]

@Furious_Marmot

EDITED TO ADD:
It’s just coursework that remains? Holy crap, you can sleepwalk through that. Finish the degree.

Agreed, when you’re that close to the finish line, there’s really no reason not to. Talk to your advisor, there’s almost certainly options for part-timing it / taking night classes. Lots of people work while in school, especially for higher degrees. I’ve known one or two who did night school while working full-time for three years. One or two more terms won’t kill you. (I say two terms simply because I’m not clear if you have more than one class left. If it’s just the one, you’ll finish in one term, of course. If it’s more, you may want to consider reducing your courseload to accommodate your work schedule.)

If you work and finish school, financial reasons are moot, since presumably they will be paying you a liveable salary.

Ah, well, now I see the deal is across national boundaries. There might still be a way to swing it, I’d ask your university if they can point you in the right direction. Online learning, etc.

[TriPolar]

@JerrySTL

Many jobs in the IT field have requirements like “A ?S degree in ?? OR X year of experience”. Therefore a degree isn’t completely important. However if your cover letter says “?S degree AND X number of years experience”, you’ll probability of getting interviewed will increased.

There is a lot of variance in the IT field. I work for a company that requires a college degree, but I don’t have one. Number of years of experience is sometimes a requirement, but often a person’s expertise can established and years of experience is an unreliable measure. When I started out in the 70s I was locked out of some job opportunities because I had no degree, but easily established myself with knowledge unattainable in schools at that time because technology was changing so rapidly. IT also covers a very wide range of job and employer categories, so it’s hard to make generalizations. However there are many jobs for which a college degree is unnecessary if you have sufficient skills.

[even_sven]

@TriPolar

There is a lot of variance in the IT field. I work for a company that requires a college degree, but I don’t have one. Number of years of experience is sometimes a requirement, but often a person’s expertise can established and years of experience is an unreliable measure. When I started out in the 70s I was locked out of some job opportunities because I had no degree, but easily established myself with knowledge unattainable in schools at that time because technology was changing so rapidly. IT also covers a very wide range of job and employer categories, so it’s hard to make generalizations. However there are many jobs for which a college degree is unnecessary if you have sufficient skills.

This is true, but some environments, such as governments or large corporations, can have very rigid hiring requirements.

[ZenBeam]

@TriPolar

If he was in the US, and the job was in the US I would have taken up the argument.

Until several people chime in with “I’m from XXX European country and it can’t be done”, I’m not buying it as an issue.

[ultrafilter]

If you don’t know what your options are for finishing the degree and taking the offer, you really need to find that out before you make a decision.

[adonis_boy]

Dear all,

Thank you very much for your comprehensive advice. Evaluating everything you said and also what my department head and supervisor adviced, I decided to go for 3-4 more months to obtain my degree. What is more, there is a high chance that I will get a part-time job at a company nearby during these duration.

I have an additional question though: What are the chances that the company will wait for me for 4 extra months if I accept their offer? Would it be appropriate to ask for it? I know that the work permit and visa formalities also take minimum 1 month to get approved so that time reduces to 2.5-3 months.

I would be happy to have your word on this. Thank you.

[Furious_Marmot]

It never hurts to ask.

Unless things in Europe are very different than in the US, the worst they’ll say is “No thanks”.

[artemis]

@adonis_boy

Dear all,I have an additional question though: What are the chances that the company will wait for me for 4 extra months if I accept their offer? Would it be appropriate to ask for it? I know that the work permit and visa formalities also take minimum 1 month to get approved so that time reduces to 2.5-3 months.

That depends on how badly they want you specifically. Companies are taking a risk when they hire a new person; there’s no way to be certain the new hire will work out. Since they know you and have seen you work, they may be willing to hold the position for you (since it’s a relatively short interval we’re talking about), knowing they’ll be getting someone with a high probability of fitting in well with their company. Or maybe they need someone immediately and can’t afford that delay, in which case they’ll hire someone else instead, since you won’t be available for another 3-4 months. There’s no way to know for sure except by asking them. It certainly won’t hurt anything to ask!

[sugar_and_spice]

It sounds like you’ve already made a decision, but what I would consider is if this software job is a unique opportunity you can’t find again. Is this a company you’ve always wanted to work for, or one of a few places that does commercial software in your field of interest, or were you applying for months with no job offers at all? If not (and I’m guessing not, it sounds like you’re just sick of being a student) then I would be fairly confident you’ll get an equivalent or better offer once you finish the MS. You may as well finish it.