Are education credentials really that inflexible?

[Programmerguy6996]

Hello,

I'm well into an army reserve application and am still upset about my education credentials being essentially worthless to the military because they don't align with very specific highschool courses. I'm an experienced software developer and IT technician with a college diploma that included some college math. Despite that, the recruiter I spoke to essentially told me I may as well just have grade 10 and that I'm only eligible for a few trades like the combat ones.

I initially wanted to join as an Information Systems Technician since that is pretty close to what my education and experience lines up with but I've been reduced to a handful of trades that have nothing to do with anything I've ever done because I don't have a specific math module from highschool (I did a GED and then went to college).

According the the CAF - A 17 year old highschool dropout who happened to take a specific math module in highschool before dropping out and has zero work or life experience is qualified to be an information systems technician but I - a college educated and experienced software developer am not - because I don't have some random math module from highschool 10 years ago.

I'm having a hard time believing this can be true and that there must be a way for an intelligent human being to view my application and say "Okay, obviously this guy is qualified" rather than just a hard no because it says so in the system. Is there really no way to have my file reviewed?

Thank you

 

[PuckChaser]

Yeah, you can go to an adult high school, get your college diploma credits applied to high school, take a class or 2 and get a secondary school diploma.

We have specific education requirements because it's easier to baseline high school than college courses. I also wouldn't talk down to dropouts, you're one as well. You just happened to figure it out. Once you have that math course you may even be a semi-skilled entry and have some of your training written off.

TLDR, they are not discounting your education you're just not special to be able to bypass it. That math course is a 1 or 0 and you want it to be 17.

 

[Programmerguy6996]

Yeah, you can go to an adult high school, get your college diploma credits applied to high school, take a class or 2 and get a secondary school diploma.

We have specific education requirements because it's easier to baseline high school than college courses. I also wouldn't talk down to dropouts, you're one as well. You just happened to figure it out. Once you have that math course you may even be a semi-skilled entry and have some of your training written off.

TLDR, they are not discounting your education you're just not special to be able to bypass it. That math course is a 1 or 0 and you want it to be 17.

Yes, I understand why they have generic standards. What I find extremely surprising is that there is no system by which a person can have their file reviewed by a human with veto power to make a logical exception, especially at the moment considering CAF recruitment issues.

I am also not talking down to drop-outs, nor to combat trades, not even remotely. As an experienced and college educated software engineer I am just objectively more qualified for an entry level IT position than a 17 year old high school dropout. Just as an experienced and educated civilian mechanic, doctor, electrician, firefighter, etc would obviously be more qualified for their respective roles than a 17 year old high school dropout, regardless of what math course either of them took in high school.

Anyway, I was asking if there was genuinely no way for a human to look at my file and logically conclude that I am qualified for the role and it appears that there is not, so it seems you’ve answered my question, regardless of what I think of the situation. Thanks.

 

[Navy_Pete]

Are you talking about the trade below? Grade 10 math and science is the minimum, and they will look at actual education. If you have college level training that will exceed the minimums. It's possible the recruiter you talked to is new and doesn't actually know what they are talking about. If recruited, the trade may also do a PLAR, compare your existing training/experience against the courses, and potentially give you credit for some of the trade related training and courses.

Information Systems Technician | Canadian Armed Forces

Having said that, you may want to pick usernames that don't end in 6996 (although I appreciate the palindrome) if you want to be taken seriously when claiming to be a professional.