Former college recruiter,April Norhanian tells you the secrets to self-education and career preparation without spending a fortune on a conventional (and oftentimes useless) college degree.

Motivated in school by an interest in other cultures and language, April spent her senior high school year in France as an exchange student. After high school, she spent two years to live and work in France before caving in do what most of her American peers were doing; go to college. At a small, private, and very expensive college in Jacksonville, Florida, she studied dance, French, and Spanish. In 1995, April landed an ambassadorial scholarship from Rotary International to study in Costa Rica, and she graduated in 1996 with a BA in French and Spanish. She still considers both of her living experiences abroad to be more valuable than any education she received in college.

April was employed as a recruiter for the international admissions department in one of the nation's leading art schools in her hometown, Savannah, Georgia. Responsible for meeting the school's monthly goals for obtaining international students, she traveled throughout the world attending college fairs and setting up trade shows. Using her experience as an exchange student, she was able to relate to the concerns of foreign students. As a recruiter, she had first-hand experience in 'selling' college to the international market, and learned about the tricky ins and outs of higher education as a money-generating commodity and business.

April's professional background encompasses a wide range of vocations including; cocktail waitress, real estate agent, actress, collections agent, fitness instructor, college admissions representative, dot-com marketing manager, web designer, ESL teacher, activity director, and blackjack dealer. April knows from her own experience, and that of her friends, that most people with a college degree rarely work within their field of study. After losing her home-based marketing job with a California dot-com company that went bankrupt, she began to re-assess her education.

In 2001 April decided she needed to return to school to broaden her skills and credentials as a web designer. After two years, she ended up with a Masters Degree in Technology. During those two years she saw yet another side to higher education that frustrated her; grad school. She was amazed how freely students were admitted to graduate programs, yet how difficult it was to obtain the classes she really wante or needed. Because of a shortage of web design classes, she was reduced to paying for an 'independent study course'. This meant simply that she ended up teaching herself while paying the school for the credit hours. April was surrounded by other professional adults who were working full time and relentlessly pursuing their MBA in order to advance their careers. She observed the number of people who were becoming over-educated and under-employed. Dissatisfied with where their first degree had gotten them, graduate students were buying into the notion of obtaining upward mobility through education. Unfortunately however, most of April's graduate peers earned their master's degree in vain; without a promotion, raise, or even a handshake from their employers.

After graduating with an MT (Master of Technology), April spent several months applying to various jobs and realized for herself that a graduate degree, unless it was in a very specialized and sought-after field, didn't hold much weight at all. Some local employment agents told her that a master's degree might actually hurt her chances of getting hired. After a discouraging job search that lasted nearly two years, April desperately applied for a PhD program in Organization and Management figuring she may as well make a career of academia since she seemed to be so good at it. (Luckily, for her, she did not get accepted into a doctorate program.)

Through her experiences living overseas, April is a keen observer of the social attitudes and values that have defined the American way of life. She knew that going to college (even if you don't know what you want) was part of the game when she first enrolled. A strong supporter of education, April has come to see American colleges as a commercial product that is not always relevant or effective for the pursuits of career seekers. April's mission is not to detour people away from going to college, but to challenge them on their reasons why, and discuss alternatives that may make more sense for many of them.

April says that despite her college degrees, it's her parents who have inspired her the most. Her father (who has only taken two college classes in his life) is a creative and successful entrepreneur who, she claims, 'is better read and informed than any college professor she has ever had.' He even helped her with her homework in grad school. Her mother is a property manager whose 'natural people skills and networking genius should earn her an honorary Ph.D in public relations.'

April lives in Georgia with her husband and their two dogs.