I graduated 2 years ago, should I still list classes on my resume?

A reader writes:

"I graduated with my MBA 2 years ago, but haven't found a job in my field. Should I still list relevant coursework?"

The longer you've been out of school, the less relevant your classes become to potential employers. So, at the two-year mark, it is time to remove classes from your resume and look for other ways to get experience related to your field.

Look into related intern and volunteer positions if you are not finding a job in your field. You should consider both paid and unpaid opportunities, if your financial circumstances allow you to do unpaid work. If you need to work, try to find a part-time related intern and volunteer position that works with your schedule.

If you've been working, interning, or volunteering in the past two years, even if it isn't in your field, you want to highlight that experience over coursework on your resume by tailoring your resume to field-related positions. 

As I've said before, when your experience is not directly related to the position you're applying for but that "unrelated" experience gives you valuable skills that might be relevant, you want to highlight those on your resume. You should be focusing on what you think is important about your current "unrelated" experiences from the potential employers perspective.

One last thing: you may want to reconsider the types of positions you are applying for if you haven't landed anything in your field yet. I see a lot of students with graduate and professional degrees like the MBA applying for positions which require more experience than they have based on the assumption that their degree is enough. Unfortunately, and especially in this tough job market, experience far outweighs education when a graduate or professional degree is not a specific requirement for the job.

For example, some people mistakenly believe an MBA qualifies for a manager position on it's own. However, without any management experience outside of the degree, it would be pretty difficult to land a manager position. If you are in this boat, you may need to consider entry-level positions because, well, you ARE entry-level even with an MBA in many cases. Good luck in your job search!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

How do I know which class to choose for vet school?

A reader writes:

"I'm going to apply for Vet school and i don't know if taking physics for sciences or general physics would be the same or which one is best."

Well, it depends. Veterinarian schools prerequisites vary by school, so although the prerequisites are pretty similar between vet schools, your best source of information would be to check directly with the schools you're interested in apply to.

Check out the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges' Summary of Course Prerequisites to see what the requirements are at different vet schools.

If the school's prerequisites don't make it clear which you should choose, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Challenge yourself. Vet schools, and graduate and professional schools in general, like to see students choose challenging classes instead of the "easy" class, so picking the class that is seen as more challenging from an outsider perspective might be a good option.

Give yourself a boost. Although challenging yourself can help make you a stronger applicant, it might make more sense to choose the class that you will do the best in. You want a high GPA, so keep in mind your potential grade based on your strengths and areas for improvement.

Get your hands dirty. If one of your physics options has a lab and the other doesn't, most vet schools would prefer you take the class with the lab component. The reason behind this is that vet school--and being a vet, for that matter--is a hands-on endeavor, so the class that is more concrete and active is more likely to help prepare you for vet school.

Good luck as you prepare and apply for vet school!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Is it a good idea to change careers in this economy?

A reader writes:

"I'm a 33 year old man who works part time as a nurse assistant, at this point I am not happy with what I am doing. By working at the hospital one thing I know is I don't want to pursue a career in nursing. So I thought about things and looking into schools and decided to get a degree in computer science online, which some of my credits from a previous college should transfer over. My question is this the right direction for me at this age and is this a good career choice at this economic crisis?"

I can't really tell you if this is the right direction for you or not--no one can, really--but there are a few things to keep in mind when contemplating a big change like this:

Will you be happy? Think about what makes you happy and what you're good at, career-wise. Do you enjoy solving puzzle, hands on work, and working with technology? These might be good cues as to whether computer science is a good match for you or not.

What would make you miserable? On the hand, thinking about the things that make you dislike nursing can be helpful in pinpointing careers you should avoid. For example, if you hate dealing with patients as a nurse assistant, computer science jobs that require interacting with customers might not be a good fit for you, but a position that didn't require customer interaction might work for you. 

Do your research. Look at the requirements for the types of jobs that you want after completing a computer science program and use that as a gauge to help you figure out if this is a good choice for you. Doing so will also give you a sense of what jobs are available in your area. 

Get experience. When you are thinkiing about changing careers, getting experience related to the new career can be enormously valuable in helping you make good decisions. You can get related experience by volunteering or finding a new job that doesn't require a degree. 

Where you are now? When contemplating such a big change, it is easy to think about where you want to be, but it is very important to think about your current circumstances. Can you truly afford to go back to school and possibly take on my student debt? Can your afford to give up your current income? What obligations do you have that will not be changed by your choice? And what about the obligations that will be changed? You need to get really clear on what makes the most sense for you given where you are now.

Again, no one can really tell you if this is the right choice for you or not. But, by keeping the above in mind you can make a more educated decision about your next step in life. Good luck!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.