While browsing the Internet, you have probably come across advertisements offering you the chance to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree based on life experience easily.
You may even have received an email advertising the same thing. Some of these advertisements will ask you to call a phone number so you can give your credit card information, and whoever sent the email or posted the ads will take care of the rest.
Such ads and emails are considered spam by many, leading to an important question: Is a life experience degree even legitimate?
Some people, and maybe even you, are questioning the legitimacy of it, saying that a degree based on one’s life experience sounds too good to be true. They even say that an accredited life experience degree does not exist.
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What Is a Life Experience Degree?
Before we explain what this degree under scrutiny is, let us answer the claim that it is non-existent. The fact is, yes, it does exist.
However, let us be clear in saying that you cannot earn a legitimate degree entirely through your life experience. So, the advertisements mentioned in the get-go are most likely scams meant to rob you of your hard-earned money.
To crystallize the point, some colleges and universities allow life experience to be counted towards your credits; thus, some subjects may be waived to help you save time and money while completing a degree program. However, you can’t earn a legitimate degree based exclusively on your life experiences.
So, what is a life experience degree? As the term suggests, it’s a type of degree obtainable based on the high level of experience you have displayed in your field of expertise.
For instance, you may have gone through college but had to drop out before graduating. After dropping out, you were able to start working, and in the process, were able to gain lots of experience. You want to vie for a promotion or perhaps a better career opportunity, but one of the requirements is a proof of graduation.
Since you are not able to go back to university for further studies, your best option is to acquire an online life experience degree. That degree recognizes your contributions to the industry you belong to and allows you to take your career to even greater heights.
Why Are Some Not Sold on the Idea of Life Experience Degree?
There is no denying the fact that today’s job market landscape has gotten more cutthroat than ever. Usually, individuals who can present a decorated curriculum vitae (CV) have better chances of getting noticed by employers. And if you can present a degree, then you stand a better chance of getting the position. Why is that?
Applicants like you become an integral part of the workforce that contributes to the success of a company. That is why employers ask their recruiting team to do background checks on applicants to see how well the applicants did academically.
Through the diplomas and transcripts presented by applicants, they are able to weed out who among the applicants are graduates of a bachelor or master’s degree.
Yes, for some employers, a college or university degree serves as a guarantee of a specific skillset, the one they are looking for. On the flipside, life experience, while varied, is something they consider nominal.
Have you ever heard of the figure of speech, “Jack of all trades, master of none?” It is used to reference a person who may possess many talents and may have even dabbled in many skills but because that person did not focus on a single skill to gain expertise on, he can’t be considered an expert authority in his craft.
That dogma holds back most employers from taking a gamble by employing those who present them with the best life experience degrees.
On the other hand, there are employers who prefer knowledge of and competence in life skills over academic achievements when hiring applicants. They reason that they are better able to gauge the aptitude of applicants through their skillsets and life experience.
And that’s the upside of a life experience degree; it lets you flaunt your skills in the best way possible. Hence, you put yourself in line for a well-paying job or career advancement.
Is a Life Experience Degree Legitimate?
The straightforward answer to that question is yes. What makes it questionable are the advertisements mentioned at the start of this article that only seem to be there to extort money from people.
Those ads are, in fact, fraudulent and are products of diploma mills – fly-by-night businesses that offer useless, fake “degrees” that are not even worth the paper on which they are printed on.
The best life experience degrees are those that are often spoken about but not well understood. These are degrees that are perfect for those who, for one reason or another, don’t have a higher education qualification.
They are also perfect for those wishing to add something to their portfolio after spending time holding a top-level management position or professional level employment.
Let’s say you have an awesome track record as far as your skills and achievements go – work skills, volunteerism, military training, education, etc. The experiences you gained through any of the aforesaid may be applied as college credits equivalent to, say, an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.
It works this way: colleges and universities typically award credits based on a variety of factors, mostly after you have taken examinations. However, sometimes, there is a window for alternative credits that you may earn through your portfolio or life experience.
What the university will do in this case is review and evaluate your listed life experiences, certification from professional training (if there is any), and other qualifications to see if such can be counted as credits.
For example, if you have your own business, the experience you have gained in managing it may be counted as management credit.
Another example is if you worked as a manager for human resources (HR) before deciding to apply for a degree course. In that case, your work experience as an HR manager will earn you some credits that will be applied to your course.
Nevertheless, you will do well to take note of the fact that not all life experience credit programs are created equal. The programs may vary depending on the school’s prerogative. Hence, it will be wise for you to ask beforehand whether the school applies life experiences as credit or not.
You can get a degree on the basis of life experience through.
- Standardized testing, which is time-intensive; or
- By purchasing an accredited life experience degree, which doesn’t cost as much and is released within a few days.
Why Buy a Life Experience Degree?
If you are already at the peak of your life and are merely looking for a way to advance your career, spending time attending classes and completing requirements may prove to be taxing. On the other hand, if you buy an online life experience degree, you will, in effect, be compressing the time needed in obtaining the degree.
It is the best option if you have a family and want to balance your time well between your career and spending time with them. By buying a life experience degree from a reputable source, you can enjoy career advancements without compromising family time.
Because the degree acknowledges your industry experience in a particular field, it will give you an edge over applicants for a coveted position.
Not only will it make your employment potential wider but it will also allow you to present your CV to potential employers with pride and confidence. There are other benefits to having the degree in question.
- Job security – Because the degree reinforces that your knowledge of your work is more advanced compared to your colleagues, your position stays secured. They will look up to you as an expert in specific work processes. Also, if something happens and the company needs to downsize, you won’t risk losing your job because you’re considered one of the company’s valuable assets.
- Increased earning potential – You will be in a better position to vie for an opportunity for a job promotion even if such is given on short notice. Even if your colleagues who are vying for the same position have regular degrees, you will still have a competitive edge over them; thus, you have a shot at a salary increase.
- Handy when pitching to investors – Supposing you need startup funds for a business. Having this degree can be a turn-on for investors who believe that degree holders (no matter what degree it is) have a better understanding of business, which means there is less risk of losing the funds. In fact, the degree can be a good back-up, proving to investors that your potential of generating a good return on investment is high.
If you’re concerned about being duped when you buy said degree online, don’t be. The aforementioned company has partnered with many universities that legally offer the degree to people like you.
What’s more, an online degree is much cheaper compared to traditional schooling. You only need to find a website such as the one mentioned above that offers real degrees.
An accredited life experience degree means the one providing it has ties with widely-recognized universities. If a world-renowned university is willing to stake its reputation by accrediting the degree, then it can only mean the degree is legitimate and certifiable.
