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I put on my resume that I obtained a Bachelor degree at an University but in fact I enrolled and didn't complete my bachelor there.
Now I know they will run a background check and will see that I am only "enrolled" with no degree. Should I come clean after I accepted the job offer? Feels miserable and I understand the consequences are coming back to me I but really need this job. Plus, I do intend to finish my bachelor.
If you really full fledged lied, you're probably hosed. If you just listed as having attended the university, you might be okay. The whole purpose of a background check is to verify that "this person did what they said they did". If the initial honesty check fails outright or raises any red flags, it is a bad sign for you in that the employer will be very unlikely to trust you at your word.
The best thing you can do at this point is to take this as a learning opportunity to remember these words: Do not lie, ever.
Going forward, be clear to any potential employers that you attended the university but did not graduate. This is not necessarily the kiss of death and is in fact fairly common, but lying is.
As far as your current situation is concerned, I would ride it out and hope for the best. If directly asked about it, I would definitely take the opportunity to clear up the mistake.
Remember, lying almost always bites you in the bum.
Judgments aside, I suggest coming clean. Waiting to come clean will not change their response when you come clean, and if you wait until they find out on their own then I think you know what'll happen: you will almost certainly lose the job.
You didn't mention a field, but if you are skilled then companies may accept you before you have the degree. Not having a degree is not usually a death sentence, but claiming to have a degree you don't actually have usually is.
There are three major practical reasons you should come clean:
If you should or not confess is really up to you.
If you decide to, perhaps the best approach for you would be to contact them (right away) explaining you sent an incorrect resume, and including one with such things corrected. Hopefully this will amend the situation.
Now, if you decide not to "confess", then the possibilities are that you get rejected or not. If you are not, then you would be again in a situation similar to this one, wondering if you should tell them or not. In that scenario, if you decide not to, then you will have to live up to the expectations of having finished that degree (whatever they were), something that could become evident if they give you tasks that someone with that degree should be able to do... see where I am getting here?
Next time, I suggest you stick to the truth when applying for jobs (and in life, in general).
Original question:
Should I come clean after I accepted the job offer? Feels miserable and I understand the consequences are coming back to me I but really need this job. Plus, I do intend to finish my bachelor.
Withdraw your application, if you have made one. You don't need this job if it lands you in jail and marks you as a criminal at the start of your career. When considering the worst that can happen if your lie is discovered, include in your deliberations not just being fired, but a prison sentence and a criminal record for fraud, which are not good on your resume/CV. In many (if not most) jurisdictions, lying about qualifications or experience on a CV or resume to get a job may be fraud, a criminal offence.
A man in Britain claimed to have a BSc, an MBA, and an MSc, and to be the author of an academic paper written by somebody else. He got a job paying £120,000 a year plus car package and relocation allowance. He was sent to jail for 12 months.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5175631/Executive-jailed-lying-CV-inventing-degrees.html
Another appointee to senior positions in the National Health Service (earned £1 million over 10 years) got two years in prison.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/06/jon-andrewes-nhs-jailed
A less serious offence (only lied about 1 degree, didn't even get the job) got a 6 month suspended sentence, and was ordered to pay £9,600 costs and do 150 hours unpaid community work.
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/nhs-hr-manager-who-lied-on-cv-ordered-to-pay-9600-in-costs/
British fraud prevention officers have sent a new guide to every university in the country warning students of the consequences of inflating their degree grade, doctoring their employment history or making up personal references.
Some students have been jailed for six months for lying on job application forms, it emerged, but the offence carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in the most serious cases.
Another point: Apart from the subject knowledge, a bachelor's degree is evidence to an employer that you have successfully stuck at, and completed, a three or four year personal project. You will have learned things about yourself, and gained skills from that. If you lie your way into a job, it may become painfully apparent to your employer and colleagues that you haven't learned those things and don't have those skills. Then the questions will start. Directed to you and the university you said awarded you a degree.
You cannot come clean. You lied and you are gonna get caught.
You might get some points if you speak up before they actually confirm but that's speculation.
The best you can do is start looking for a new job and do not lie again.
If you confess, (because you really need the job, and hope for the best), then you won't get hired.
If they do verify whether you have a degree, then you won't get hired.
One honest way out would be to contact the company and reject the job. They won't verify the degree then at this point. Why for would they do this?
And then, you could indeed finish the degree as fast as possible. Maybe take some distance education for getting some credits.
Is there any chance that you keep studying and finish your BA for real in the next 1-2 semesters?
Some important points to consider:
It is unethical and potentially illegal to accept a job under these circumstances. As others have said, you should either withdraw your application or submit a corrected resume.
If you accept a job under these circumstances, you should seek to leave it as soon as possible. I mention this only because it seems like your financial pressure may lead to an unethical decision. You will likely be terminated once they discover your deceit, and this will return you to your state of financial distress.
The long-term consequences are even worse. There have been people fired for this 10 or more years after the fact in the US, so there is no time at which you should feel comfortable. At that point, you would either have to admit to being terminated for cause, or you would have to omit that period of employment on your resume. Since employers tend to view employment gaps as potential red flags, this job could pose a significant and ongoing risk to your career.
Should I come clean after I accepted the job offer? Feels miserable and I understand the consequences are coming back to me I but really need this job.
You should come clean right now!
Worst case you will feel a lot better about yourself.
Best case you will feel a lot better about yourself and you will have a new job that you need.
If you do not admit the inaccuracy/lie and they still offer you the job. Do not take the job.
If the quality of the background check is so poor, that they offer you the job based on clearly inaccurate information. It is not a place I would want to work.
If you just did not make the cut to receive the background check, they may never find out. You can hope that your application is purged after some years and will not come back to haunt you. In 10 or 15 years you may actually be qualified to work there and apply again. A previous falsehood is going to hurt your future options.
Just wait and see what happens.
If you come forward and say "i don't actually have a degree" then you're going to cause all sorts of problems. It's going to confuse HR and nobody will know what to do. Given you're apparently young, this isn't the end of the world for you, by the way.
However, "background check" normally means "check your financial situation and your criminal history and your work history". I've... I don't think I've ever had to show any of my degrees to an employer. Nor have I ever actually requested proof of degree - amazing, I know, I'll have to start doing that.
I would, for no other reason than that a bachelor's degree is a good thing to have, strongly suggest you strongly consider getting the degree. Little good ever comes of "working early", despite the desire to do so - I know I hated studying and would have rather been working during my first degree.
I would actually suggest you do whatever it takes - night classes, part time, whatever - to get that degree.
For now, you might as well wait and see what happens. If they check, you're probably in a bit of bother because it would appear you've just lied on your application form. That's a big no no, if only because if you're capable of lying, it sends a signal that you have uncommon morals, and now who knows what else you might have few moral qualms over.
If they don't check, I'd suggest you might not particularly want to mention that issue when you start working - but please get the degree.
As the others said, and you suspect, you will get caught.
But there are still different ways to go about it. In case you want to be smart, come "clean" and avoid confrontation/risk:
Or, if you want to go all in with your lie and eventually get caught (not advised):
The truth eventually comes out. Might be today, might be in 5 years, but I wouldn't risk getting caught today hoping on an insignificant chance the lie could hold for years.
Third option: Contact them and ask for clarification on whether a degree is required for the job, since you realized that it isn't clear from your resume that your degree is in progress.
That way you can start the conversation on an upbeat note and they can give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't intend to claim the degree on the resume. In my experience hiring in the US, it's common for students to list degrees that are still in progress and it can require a close reading to figure out whether they really have the degree, and I also see an array of mistakes on resumes that look like someone wrote it in the past (perhaps with anticipation of things happening in the future) and didn't fully update it (or update it at all). I wouldn't assume dishonesty just from a misleading education entry, without other evidence of outright lying.
There is nothing to be gained from telling the truth. If you come clean, they will not hire you. No employer will hire someone they know lied. If they find out that you lied after the fact, they'll probably fire you, unless you're some amazing rock-star employee.
Your best bet is to keep your mouth shut. You don't know what the background check entails. You don't know if they're actually going to look at your graduation record. If you get asked for transcripts, you'll have to come clean. Until that point, just shut up and wait. Best case is they believe you. Worst case is you get caught and don't get the job offer. No good can come of admitting that you already lied.
