To List a Master's or Not To List? That Is The Question

[RNtobeinSoCal]

Hi,

I have a BA & MA in Liberal Arts (not remotely science related), just earned an AAS Nursing Dec 2011, hoping to take NCLEX in Feb/March 2012. Obviously, this is a second (third?) career.

Question: Do I list the MA on my resume or job applications?

Pro: It shows I am educated and not afraid of the work it takes to earn these degrees. I'm planning on earning at least an MSN once I get going as an RN. The MA has given me a broad base of knowledge that has really enhanced my ability to relate to a wide range of patients - but that's a bit wordy to go in a CV!

Cons: The MA might make it seem irrelevant to a nursing job, or perhaps a recruiter/hiring nurse will interpret that as a sign of someone being indecisive or erratic. Also, many online job sites ask you to indicate the highest level of education you've achieved. But when I enter "Master's", I start getting hits for MSN/NP/MUCH higher level jobs than I'm qualified for/interested in, and I definitely do not want to mislead an employer.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

[RNtobeinSoCal]

WOW- thanks to all for you for such incredible feedback. RiverOtter PhD, I hear you on the spelling/grammar! I was forever flinching at all the mistakes at hospitals & the professors' presentations. But yes, nursing is different. When applying for your first nursing job, did you put student clinicals on your CV? I have zero medical experience without that - I also had some interesting shifts in the Pediatric ER, SICU, CCICU, OR, etc. Those aren't standard student clinicals, are they? People from my school are not putting clinicals on their CVs, but people on allnurses seem to say yes. Thoughts? BTW, I got the ATT finally - hoping the gods are smiling on me in mid-March!

[noahsmama]

I have a PhD in a non-nursing field (Chemistry) and you bet it's on my resume -- I worked my butt off for that degree and I'm darned proud of it. I've gotten more than one interview from people who were curious why someone with a PhD in another field would go into nursing. I explain that it's because I wanted to work directly with people, and wasn't doing that in my previous career. This seems to be a satisfactory answer.

On the other hand, I don't generally mention it to co-workers, unless it somehow naturally comes up in a conversation. I do put PhD as my highest degree level when asked on job websites, and it does get me some inappropriate solicitations to apply for jobs where they clearly want someone with a PhD in nursing and lots more years of experience than I have but so what -- I just don't respond to those solicitations.

To answer another question you posed -- I did list my student clinicals on my resume as a new grad. I have no idea if this helped me get my first job or not, but I figured it couldn't hurt. One thing that I did that I know helped get me my first job is that I listed my volunteer experience at the hospital where I was eventually hired under the "previous experience" section of the online job application -- their instructions explicitly said that it was okay to list volunteer experience -- I listed it as my "most recent" experience too, because that was pretty much true -- it was the last "experience" I had before entering nursing school (I listed my clinicals under "education"). When I was called for an interview by the nurse manager who eventually hired me, she specifically mentioned that she had noticed my volunteer experience with the same hospital. She didn't specifically say that's why she called me, but clearly she noticed, and she chose to call me out of bazillions of applicants.

Good luck with finishing your degree, and with your Job Search!

[caliotter3]

I would list it. But I would be prepared to explain in interviews or at other times when asked. However, I must state that my non nursing degree has caused me more grief than it is worth, since I have been in nursing. I have actually encountered overt discriminatory remarks and treatment because of it. Most of this discriminatory behavior has taken place in the employment seeking arena. If I thought I could do so without problems, I would not list it.

[RNtobeinSoCal]

What kind of discriminatory behavior/comments have you been subjected to? Was it that you studied something other than nursing first, or was it the actual subject that you studied before nursing?

[riverotter]

I definitely would list my clinicals in my resume, I did that as well. @ noahsmama: I have had the same experience listing my highest degree as PhD but not all that often. When I'm comfortable at a job someitmes my colleagues refer to me as "Doctor." It's just for a laugh.