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In my last position, most of my co-workers had an MBA. I only have a high school diploma. I recently got promoted over them. There is a lot of resentment about this.
But I honestly wonder if some schools hand out MBAs in boxes of Cracker Jacks. Two of these people are absolutely horrible at their job. When we were all in training together, these two never took notes or asked questions. They spent most of their time typing snarky IMs to each other on their laptops (usually about me and all the questions I asked). When we got out of training, they were completely clueless.
When we were going through a slow period, they spent their time surfing the internet. I spent my time shadowing experienced people, taking classes online and studying examples of work other people had done. When we were busy, I worked evenings and weekends and had the highest production numbers. One of these guys has been let go and the other is hanging by a thread.
Of course, most people I know with an MBA are intelligent, hard-working go-getters, but these two tend to stick out in my mind.
Do you know what program they graduated from? Some degree programs are akin to what you describe from what I've heard, especially from some of the professionally-focused and for-profit universities like DeVry, UPhoenix, and Regis.
I think that if you're truly superior to the competition, then you should advance based on your merits regardless of your credentials.
Wow, all this condescending advice to the OP about keeping his head down and minding his own business. What's wrong with curiosity? What's wrong with wanting to understand more about how the world works? Not all questions here have to be to get advice on what to do, right?
I think the answers from people who have been promoted or know people in accounting without a college degree are really helpful. I'm learning a lot.
Wow, all this condescending advice to the OP about keeping his head down and minding his own business. What's wrong with curiosity? What's wrong with wanting to understand more about how the world works? Not all questions here have to be to get advice on what to do, right?
I think the answers from people who have been promoted or know people in accounting without a college degree are really helpful. I'm learning a lot.
If you’re referring to my post, my point was more that this was an HR disaster waiting to happen. Degrees aren’t everything, but asking why someone who isn’t as educated got promoted and you didn’t goes nowhere good. You can ask your supervisor and risk looking like a whiner or mysogynist, you can ask her for more details than she has already provided and look like you’re insulting her, discrediting her, or implying something about her character or sex. Or you can ask other coworkers and be a gossip, well meaning or otherwise.
There is really no way this turns out good. Focusing on why others are achieving what you want is only good inasmuch as you can glean lessons from their conduct or productivity. That’s not the angle he is taking on this. He phrased it as an education=seniority thing, which in this company is obviously is not the sole factor. Leaving it there is a good idea, because she disclosed this herself and cheerfully. Digging more is danger territory.
That’s the world we live in when it comes to employment. I’m not someone who suggests going with the flow like a sheep for the sake of it, in this case there is actual risk of causing himself real problems with his coworker and supervisor to poke any more.
Last edited by Schmooky; 02-09-2018 at 10:32 AM..
Reason: Typo fix
The OP didn't start the thread off by saying Susie doesn't have a degree, but she got promoted..how do I get a promotion. The OP sounded jealous and the OP hasn't been back....low post number and a fairly recent addition. We see this all the time on here.
Good point. However, remember the question was actually a little bit more questionable than you recalled here in your post: The OP asked, "Could this affect the company’s reputation?" There's no body language online. There's no way to hear someone's tone of voice or otherwise gauge the intent of their inquiry. Absent that, I think the responses people posted were reasonable given how a question insinuating that there could be impact on the company's reputation is generally intended. I think without the bit about reputation, the OP was much less likely to be misunderstood, assuming that the OP's intent actually has been misunderstood.
Wow, all this condescending advice to the OP about keeping his head down and minding his own business. What's wrong with curiosity? What's wrong with wanting to understand more about how the world works? Not all questions here have to be to get advice on what to do, right?
I think the answers from people who have been promoted or know people in accounting without a college degree are really helpful. I'm learning a lot.
Sometimes being too curious causes you to lose your job.
We don't often hear the term "bookkeeper" anymore. In the same way that the guy that drives the train isn't an engineer in the sense that we typically think of it, neither are many of the "accountant's" we now hear using the term. Working in AP or in the Accounting/Finance department no more makes you an accountant than an electronics technician is an Engineer.
If her responsibilities are no more complicated, merely broader in scope, then it really isn't surprising. It would only be surprising if she had responsibilities for decision making that could impact the company come audit time.
Mod cut: Orphaned (reply to posts which have been deleted).
Sometimes being too curious causes you to lose your job.
This raises the question of why you'd want to work somewhere with such a draconian culture in the first place. There are, of course, appropriate and inappropriate questions to pose throughout your career. But if you're not being inappropriate in any way, then you're better served by being in the know as opposed to being ignorant.
We don't often hear the term "bookkeeper" anymore. In the same way that the guy that drives the train isn't an engineer in the sense that we typically think of it, neither are many of the "accountant's" we now hear using the term. Working in AP or in the Accounting/Finance department no more makes you an accountant than an electronics technician is an Engineer.
If her responsibilities are no more complicated, merely broader in scope, then it really isn't surprising. It would only be surprising if she had responsibilities for decision making that could impact the company come audit time.
I worked in telecom in years past where everyone in the field, including technicians, called themselves engineers. So I definitely get it and have seen as much.
Mod cut: Orphaned (reply to post which has been deleted).
Oh my gosh - he/she is asking here. Is there any indication that the OP was going to ask in his/her real life? They're looking for perspectives to better understand why something happened that they didn't understand. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I worked in telecom in years past where everyone in the field, including technicians, called themselves engineers. So I definitely get it and have seen as much.
I'm not saying their isn't any credence in the idea that a college degree does not necessarily determine your capability. But statistically speaking, there is a strong argument that it does in most cases.
I'm not arguing that point. What I am saying is that it isn't unusual or all that uncommon for someone to have a position that would require a degree, but they worked there for years and demonstrated a level of competence that made it a moot point. The old, "he started in the mail room" shtick. There are plenty of managers out there, that given the choice between selecting candidates, interviews, etc etc, and then not really knowing if said person is going to work out, would take the person they have seen for years do a good job at their current role, show up on time, not make her life difficult, degree or no.
In my last job, they had roles that didn't require a degree, and roles that did. The thing was, if you proved to be good at the entry level, hourly position, you could move into the entry level jobs that normally required a degree...from there you could move up. I don't think this is unusual.
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