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Carefully!
If you did not graduate from school, you did not complete the degree program and may not claim to have done so. You can not call yourself a Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant, or Social Worker without specific certifications and degrees. A potential client was curious why she wasn’t getting hired to do accounting work when she was an accountant. I asked if she had her CPA. No, she didn’t, BUT, she’d done “tons of bookkeeping work and worked with lots of accountants.” That did not make her an accountant. She truly believed that because she she had the same skills as an accountant that she could call herself one.
There are always exceptions. However, when a job requires a degree, saying you have the degree when you do not, regardless of how strongly you feel that you deserve it, could have received it, or took some classes towards it, is a lie. Your potential inability to understand the difference is what is preventing you from getting hired.
I have no doubt you could do the job as well as, if not better than, many people who have their diploma stuck on a piece of wood in their office. You should indicate that you’ve taken classes towards your degree, which clearly shows an interest in the subject matter. If you intend to complete your degree you should indicate your anticipated graduation date and be ready to explain why there is a gap in your education. This only applies to job seekers who started a a degree and didn’t finish or started years ago and are planning to complete their degree now.
NOTE: It is illegal to act like a lawyer or doctor without proper degrees, licenses, certifications, and experience.
There are many professional degrees, act like a professional and no one will fault you for not having one.
