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An education summary is the section on a resume where you list your degrees and relevant academic accomplishments.
It can be either the least or the most important thing on your resume.
It all depends on your degree and where you’re in your career.
This guide will show you:
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If you never went to college, your resume’s education section is going to be pretty straightforward:
See? There’s no reason to complicate it any further.
Unless you’re less than three years out of high school. Then you can add anything that shows off your skills and achievements:
In the end, your high school education resume can look a bit like this:
That’s it. This is really the furthest you should go in describing your high school education on a resume.
Before we finish, let’s take a look at least at some uncommon scenarios and see how you can put those on a resume too.
If you’re a student, college dropout, or you’re taking a leave of absence, this part is for you.
You should always include even an unfinished education on a resume. Employment gaps always make hiring managers a bit suspicious. And that’s the last thing you want.
Just because you don’t have a degree yet, it doesn’t mean you can’t put it on your resume. All you have to do is emphasize that you’re still working towards attaining it.
The same holds true if you don’t plan on ever finishing your studies. After all, you put some effort into them. Even more importantly, you paid the tuition.
Yet again, listing even unfinished education is nothing difficult. There are only two ways you can go about it, depending on your situation:
If you’re a fresh graduate, you probably don’t have much work experience to put on a resume yet.
That’s normal. On the other hand, what you DO have is your degree. What’s more, in the past couple of years you’ve learned and achieved more things than you realize.
So don’t make your education section only about the degree. Use this space to include your most notable academic accomplishments. Otherwise, it might look unpleasantly hollow:
If you’re a recent graduate, the education section should dominate your resume. Make it more elaborate than others and put it near the top, right above your work experience section.
If you worked really hard, your resume’s education section might ultimately look a bit like this:
In a way, this is the easiest scenario to work with.
Once you’ve become a seasoned professional, your education is far less important than at the beginning of your career.
Which means that you can get away with simply listing your degrees in a reverse-chronological order. And leave it at that.
These professional summary examples were written by real people who got hired at the world's top companies.
They're not exactly based on the how-to described above. At the same time, all these people scored high-profile jobs at their respective companies.
Mets Engineering College, Mala, Thrissur, India
GPA: 7.09/10.00
Relevant coursework: Computational Theory. Operating Systems. Compilers. Microprocessors. Cryptography, Database. Computer Networks.
St. Thomas College Higher Secondary, Thrissur, India
Score: 87%
Higher secondary course containing main subjects as mathematics, physics chemistry and biology.
University of Sheffield, UK
The course focused on:
Leading to particular development of skills/experience building:
Bishop Ullathorne School, Coventry
Business A. Psychology A. Maths C.
University of Ottawa, Canada
University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
The Bachelor of Science degree program in Psychology provides a comprehensive platform to pursue careers in mental health care delivery, business, law, medicine, and education.
University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
The Bachelor of Science degree program in Neuroscience provides an opportunity to engage in the in-depth study of neuroscience from a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective with extensive exposure to fundamental and applied aspects of neuroscience through classroom and laboratory interactions based in the College of Arts and Sciences and Medicine, including Biology, Anatomy and Neurobiology, and Psychology.
Jefferson Community & Technical College, Louisville, USA
Jefferson Community & Technical College is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada