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Companies Prefer Traditional Degrees Job-seekers with an online degree may have a harder time finding a position. Although more workers are furthering their educations over the Internet, it doesn't mean they are guaranteed a job. Forty-nine percent of hiring managers, according to Vault.com's 2008 Online Degrees Survey that questioned 172 employers and hiring managers, say they have come across candidates with online degrees. But only 19 percent have hired a job-seeker with an online education. "A candidate with an online degree would have to be truly extraordinary otherwise to merit serious consideration," says one hiring manager. "I don't think online degrees reflect a serious commitment to education on the part of the degree-holder." Sixty-three percent of respondents say they prefer job candidates with traditional degrees when compared to job applicants with online degrees, while 35 percent of managers would give both types of degrees an equal consideration. It seems that online degrees are still in the process of becoming fully accepted by employers, even though 83 percent of hiring managers agree that online education is currently more tolerable than five years ago. "Everything has moved online, including education," says Erik Sorenson, Vault's CEO. "Though more and more Americans are getting educated online, there is still a bias toward traditional classroom education, especially for high-end careers and top-ranked companies." For more information, visit www.vault.com. To find out more about Amy Winter and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC. |
