Is a foreign degree useless when applying to US jobs?

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

A foreign college degree that is, in Business.

I'm actually asking because a friend just moved to the US and is trying to find a job. She graduated from college in Korea but doesn't have work experience, and she's saying that companies won't hire her because her Korean degree doesn't count. Also something about how her degree isn't accepted because she never fulfilled the prereqs to get into a US college (like basic US history courses, etc.) since, obviously, she was in Korea.

I have no idea and I can't really find anything online. I was hoping that you guys might have more info.

Thanks in advance!

ETA: Edited for clarification.

 

[mary poppins]

While I can't speak knowledgeably about the likelihood of getting a job in the U.S. with a foreign degree, regardless, major hindrances for your friend is the U.S. economy and the job market, compounded by lack of work experience. Since the economic downturn years ago, many news articles and programs have consistently reported that the job market is particularly bad for recent graduates with no experience.

Since your friend thinks her foreign degree is impacting her job prospects, she can briefly highlight in her cover letter qualities of the school and the courses she took which pertain to the job for which she is applying. For example,

. . . obtained a Business degree from XXX University, a four year college in YYY city . . .

In particular, I believe my coursework in x subject, y subject and z subject will enable me to fulfill the responsibilities required of a Job Title in Company.

She can also offer to provide transcripts upon requests.

Good luck to your friend!

 

[Yimmers]

Sometimes it is. People have pointed out biases that foreign degrees from European universities will be accepted while Asian ones are not.

I recall a long time ago my BF saying her dad had to retake courses in the US because they wouldn't accept his pharmacy degree.

 

[iheartscience]

I agree with marypoppins-I bet her lack of experience and the current job market are more of an issue than her foreign degree.

At my current office we were recently hiring for an administrative assistant (entry level duties and pay) and we got applications from several people with MBAs. It's ROUGH out there.

 

[JulieN]

Err, I'd hesitate to hire anyone with a business degree but no work experience. Most biz majors in college have multiple internships under their belt. This is one reason why my alma mater didn't offer a business major as an undergrad- they thought it didn't mean as much unless you had years of work experience.

 

[LadyBlue]

I'm an accountant with a College degree from Mexico, I started working as an intern two years ago, since I did not have a Resident Card my first year here in the USA after I got married. After I got the Resident Card, a year ago. It took me a month to get a paid job as an accountant in a small company (35 people). I had 4 years of experience back home. So that plus the year as an inter here, helped. Accounting is the same no matter where you are, so I did not felt in any disadvantage while hunting for a job. Actually it helped that I'm bilingual and I have experience working in Latin America and USA.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Thanks guys for the responses!

Mary - I'm sure you're right and the economy/job market is really having an impact. Heck, I went to a good university for college and a great law school, and I'm having a problem getting a job too. I also have to imagine that part of the problem is her English is really bad right now. I told her she should focus on getting her English skills up to scratch first.

Yimmers - I was wondering about that. I felt like international European degrees were generally accepted (i.e. from Oxbridge, or the Sorbonne, etc.) so I just assumed all int'l degrees were generally accepted, but I guess not. Also, she didn't go to a super prestigious uni like Seoul National or Ehwa Women's University, so I wonder if that has something to do with it.

Thing - ouch! Yeah it's not a good time to be job searching right now!

Julie - I think she has done internships, but doesn't have full-time work experience. She's considering whether she should try to get into b-school in the US, but I told her that without a couple years job experience, it'll be difficult (not to mention passing the TOEFL).

Gaby - thanks for posting about your experience! I'm sure with your Spanish skills and work experience, you were a good candidate for many jobs Unfortunately, I think my friend is rather limited since she's not really bilingual and there's much less need for Korean speakers than Spanish speakers. I'm not sure how limiting or not her business degree in Korea is but I can imagine it'd be difficult to find almost a niche Korean-American business that should work and in which she could utilize her degree. I feel bad for her. She does have her Resident card, which is good.

 

[Indylady]

I don't think that foreign degrees are useless in the US, but having a foreign degree in her discipline definitely puts her at a disadvantage. (In my opinion, and from what I've seen through my time in college.) Its easier for more "technical" majors to find jobs..accountants, engineers, computer scientists, etc. If I were you, I'd encourage my friend to pursue a different track of study if she goes back to school. I really don't know how the rules work for CPA's, but could she take the exam to become a CPA and become an accountant with a foreign business degree?

 

[AprilBaby]

I know some medical people who had to go back to medical school because their medical degrees were not accepted here so that doesn't surprise me. Maybe she can find an internship somewhere or a Korean company in the US who will hire her for the experience to get her started? (ie: Hundai)

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Sorry for coming back to this so late, but I wanted to thank everyone for your responses and the time you took! I really appreciate it, as does my friend.

We ended up going to the local university to ask their career services some questions. It seems like she's going to need to get her Korean uni transcript sent to a service in the US to get it translated into Amer. uni terms. Hopefully that will be enough (if she applies for a job, she can show them her document showing the Amer. equivalent of her Korean transcript and hopefully that will help in terms of qualifications. She can also see what classes she would need to take to get the equivalent of an Amer. BA and can do that if she chooses.

She's also started regularly attending English language classes so that's good too!

Thank you again from both of us. We appreciate your advice so much!

 

[elrohwen]

I agree with most of the other posters -
1. the job market sucks, especially for people with her degree and level of experience
2. I think foreign degrees, especially from Asia, are not an issue in the technical fields, but may be an issue in her field (I don't really know)

Good luck to you friend! I think working on her English will help a lot. I imagine going to graduate school of some sort would be my first direction, if I were her.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I agree with most of the other posters -
1. the job market sucks, especially for people with her degree and level of experience
2. I think foreign degrees, especially from Asia, are not an issue in the technical fields, but may be an issue in her field (I don't really know)

Good luck to you friend! I think working on her English will help a lot. I imagine going to graduate school of some sort would be my first direction, if I were her.

I agree on all your points. Also, I think another problem is that her university isn't one of the few Asian ones that most employers would know/have heard of (like Seoul National).

I guess I see now why so many Asian parents opt to send their children abroad to Amer. universities if they can afford it.