Some fields of employment require you to start out with some basic knowledge or training in the subject area, or as preparation to learn the particulars of the job.  For example: 

To start out in the accounting support field with Riverside County as an Accounting Assistant I, one of the ways you qualify is to have completed 12 semester or 18 quarter units from an accredited college in business mathematics, bookkeeping, accounting or a closely related field. 

If you want to enter the Mental Health field you can qualify to be a Behavioral Heath Specialist I, with completion of 15-sem./24 qtr. units in psychology, sociology, or related behavioral science coursework from a recognized college.

California Children Services Technician I involves completion of 60 semester/90 quarter units at a recognized college including at least 15 semester/18 quarter units in one or more of the following: medicine, social welfare, sociology, social/human services, other behavioral sciences.

Code Enforcement Technician - Course work directly related to code enforcement including; administration of justice, land use, planning, building and safety, civil engineering, zoning, or public administration maybe substituted for up to six months of experience on the basis of 22 quarter units/15 semester units equal to six months. 

Criminal Information Technician (D) - Completion of 18 semester or 24 quarter units in Criminal Justice coursework AND 3 semester or 4 quarter units in statistics from a recognized college. Plus one year experience working with computers. 

Elections Technician I – Services - One year of the required two years clerical experience may be substituted by either of the following:  Completion of either 9 semester or 18 quarter units from a recognized college or 250 hours of training from a recognized occupational program in secretarial sciences, office practices, business education, or a closely related field. 

Eligibility Technician I -  Completion of 60 semester/90 quarter units at a recognized college including at least 15 semester/18 quarter units in one or more of the following: social welfare, sociology, social/human services, other behavioral sciences, business/public administration. 

Engineering Technician I - College level courses in civil engineering or closely related subjects such as land surveying, soils erosion, soils testing, blueprint reading, mathematics, computer graphics, or hydrology may be substituted for the required experience on the basis of 12 semester or 18 quarter units equaling one year of experience. 

Obviously, I don’t have the space to list all of the County jobs which you can qualify for with little or no experience and college credits, but this gives you an initial idea. 

Now that you can begin to see the positive employment picture from having a certain amount of college credits, arrange your resume so that your educational accomplishments can be easily accessed by a recruiter.  Your resume may be one of tens or hundreds which are read in connection with a search for the skills need by a particular position.  To qualify you for positions being recruited, that detailed information has to stand out.

For jobs which have no specific educational requirements, the fact that you have related coursework may put you in the group to be interviewed first.  So, having a detailed listing of coursework and credits can only help you in the long run. 

Sometimes people think not having a degree will hold them back, and believe if only they could get to an interview they would show everyone how truly intelligent they are.  Thinking this way may cause people to prevaricate in drafting their resume description of education.  Human Resources recruiters commonly see something like: Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of California, Riverside (in progress, or expected graduation 2015, etc.) 

I don’t intend this to be taken in a mean spirited way, but I recently saw one of  the most self-defeating bits of resume deception that I have come across, because it was almost good enough to fool someone reading it in a hurry.  Under the sub-heading EDUCATION the resume stated, “Major / BA Degree in Psychology/Education.”  One of a number of things would happen with a resume that contained this “information:”

The recruiter would read it (right away) as incomplete or miss-information and go on to the next resume.  Potentially passing up a person who actually did have 24 quarter unit of psychology to qualify for the Behavioral Health Specialist I position being recruited; OR  

After reading sixty resumes on the computer monitor before this one, the recruiter with eye strain could have put this candidate through believing the candidate had the required degree for the particular position being recruited.  The result would be either that the recruiter is later embarrassed when the mistake is discovered, the candidate is mortified in the interview when asked about their degree, or the hiring authority is upset not to have received a qualified candidate for the interview process… and more likely all three. 

None of the above can be construed as good, so don’t be ashamed of not actually having a degree, because the coursework you do have could qualify you for the beginning step on a terrific career ladder with Riverside County government, here in the Desert.  We have a number of programs to see that our employees have access to educational opportunities to advance their careers and become better County employees.  There is no time like the present to make a move and start that new job.