One question that many people contemplating a career change ask is whether they will need a degree in order to establish themselves in a new career.

The short answer is, “it depends”.

The question of a degree, or some other formal qualification, is an aspect of the career change process that, depending on your career goals, may require some thought.

Committing to a degree course is clearly not the same as taking a six week course at night school, which requires two or three hours of your time, and usually only once a week, for the duration.

To become say a doctor, dentist, or lawyer, fields where professional qualifications are an absolute necessity, then obviously the answer is yes.

The prospect of going, or returning, to university can be daunting though, especially for those who are established in working life, and also have other commitments and obligations, such as a mortgage and a family to support.

At best a minimum of three years may be required to gain a degree, but if part time study is the only option, then the time frame could be, at the very least, six or seven years. That’s a long time to remain committed to a career change, to say nothing of the cost, both financially and in terms of time.

While some form of study, or re-skilling, will almost certainly be necessary to make any sort of career change, there’s a good chance long term, and potentially expensive, study will not be required.

In fact your current qualifications, despite the fact they may not seem relevant, may be all you need.

Use what you have
An existing degree, if you have one, can be of considerable benefit, no matter what it is for. A degree is more an just a piece of paper stating that you are university qualified in a particular subject or field.

The fact that you committed to several years of successful study demonstrates that you are prepared to apply yourself for extended periods of time, and achieve goals. It is for this reason that many employers place a high value on a degree, regardless of what it is for.

Therefore your existing degree, supplemented with a certificate, or diploma, from a shorter course of study relevant to your new career interests, will go along way to finding the work you want, without having to spend years studying, possibly needlessly, at university.

A universal qualification
As I’ve just said simply holding a degree, any degree, can open doors long after you’ve left the university campus.

For example I saw a letter someone wrote to the careers editor of a local newspapers several years ago, asking how they could become a journalist with the same publication. The writer was told that a good portfolio of published work, together with any degree, would be sufficient for them to be considered for a journalism internship with the newspaper.

This situation once again illustrates how useful any sort of degree qualification can be, regardless of the work you want to do.

As I’ve already said, while an accounting or commerce degree will probably not be adequate if you wish to become something like a doctor, there are still other options you can pursue without the need for long term study.

A top up?
It could be that time spent studying for an honours, or possibly even masters, “extension” of your current degree will be the sufficient re-qualification you require. This could take a year or two, but would be preferable to starting again and devoting three or fours of your time to study.

Conclusion
In a lot of cases you should not require an additional degree to make the career change you are planning. Use of your current degree, regardless of what it is for, combined with some recent short term study, and the leveraging of your transferable skills, and past work experience, should be sufficient.

Always look at what you have first before deciding what to add. It could be you already have much of what you will require.