Devoted to WAHMs -Work at Home Moms

I don't think that a degree is necessary when it comes to many work-from-home positions. Experience is.

I have a dear friend who has an adult son with severe autism. He was never supposed to talk and the professionals suggested that he be institutionalized. He's now working full time and he has a very full social life, all due to his parents' efforts.

His mother is the true professional when it comes to the treatment of autism. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a degree so no local agencies will hire her. It's maddening.

People who work from home need an entrepreneurial spirit and focus. They can work with their strengths and personal experiences.

Thanks Tammi!

What you say about having an entrepreneurial spirit is true - there are some people that just aren't cut out to work from home, no matter how many degrees that they get.

Thanks for sharing the inspiring story of the autistic gentleman who is able to live a normal life. Has his mother considered starting a blog to show her experience?

Personally, I still like having the "insurance" of having a degree. It's there if I need it...

I've suggested it to her. She's not interested in writing. Her gift is dealing with kids. She would make a great therapist...I'm just glad that she's a big part of my daughter's life. It's a real blessing.

I guess that not all abilities are compensated with money.

As far as a degree being a form of insurance, I agree but I wouldn't hesitate to hire a person who doesn't have one. Maybe on day I'll be in that position;)

I went for my Master's immediately after college, and then a year after that immediately started a family. I found (at a younger age), having degrees helped me be more confident. Now, that I'm through my twenties, I do have that level of confidence that I tried to mask by a high level of formal education. But I'm older and wiser and ready to conquer the world now. So I'm still all for formal education, even if as in my case, you go to school then immediately become a SAHM. But the only thing my degrees have helped with previously has been making me feel more confident. Sure my writing has improved throughout my life, but I think I was always a writer, and I'm entirely confident some of the assignments I do now as an adult freelance writer, I could have done just as well as a freshman in high school.

Hi Tammi!

I hope your friend finds what she needs! In the meantime, it sounds like she has a lot to give.

Hi Sharon!

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I think that a degree can't hurt you. I know I can do this without the degree but if I wanted to leave working at home and apply for work in a publishing house or as an editor somewhere, hiring managers are going to look at my degree as well as my experience. I think like you said, it depends. What are you going to do with the degree? What is the degree in? Someone who went to vet school and got their degree might be qualified to write and publish work on animals but it could provide them with little else.

I am going back for a degree. I am lucky enough to be able to get an Assoc of Arts and then turn it into a specialized degree in Media Writing from Ohio University. Will I need it? I don't really ever know if the future will require me to have it but I didn't know the future held four kids in store for me either. If I can prepare for what the future might hold as far as my career, then I shouldn't pass that opportunity up.

Hi Nikki!

"I think that a degree can't hurt you."
I couldn't have put it better myself. I know plenty of work-from-home moms and other entrepreneurs that are successful without a degree, but I would advise a young person who is just starting out and has the opportunity to attend college to go ahead and go.

You never know what the future holds, and having a degree just gives you more options in the future.

I'm a freelance writer with an English degree, and honestly, I don't think the degree made a huge difference. I've had several one-time assignments, wherein the editor didn't ask for educational background. On the other hand, a few long-term clients have required an English, Journalism, or Communications degree. I guess it all depends on the type of job.

Hi Valencia!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think that this is a question that everybody has to answer for themselves.