How the college degree lost its value: Nearly half of US companies plan to ax Bachelor's degree requirements

[SlimShady]

Some 45% of companies plan to eliminate bachelor's degree requirements
And 55% said they'd already eliminated bachelor's degree requirements in 2023
Walmart , IBM , Accenture and Google are among those to have led the charge



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/c ... lmart.html

[RIZZY]

"In particular, it said it will waive the need for a university degree if candidates can show they have gained the necessary skills through alternative prior experience.

'While degrees should be part of the equation and in some cases even required, there are many roles where a degree is simply unnecessary, including at corporate headquarters,' a blog post from the retailer read."


This is common sense. Employers have been operating without any common sense for far too long. In the huge majority of cases, there is no reason why entry level positions should require both a degree and 5 years of experience while paying barely liveable wages, which is how most job postings are phrased. We're finally starting to see how nonsensical and unrealistic that is.

[SouthernIslander]

This really isn’t a new concept to me. Every company and IT department I worked for accepts experience in lieu of a degree. It’s treated case by case and it depends on the position.

[WellPreserved]

This really isn’t a new concept to me. Every company and IT department I worked for accepts experience in lieu of a degree. It’s treated case by case and it depends on the position.

So does federal government.

[SallyMae]

There is infinite value in understanding history, and therefore being able to avoid repeating it, and HS history does not suffice.

[SallyMae]

The reason the college degree can be dropped from many job qualifications today is because of advancing automation. Why send everyone through learning to write term papers, when Grammarly will standardize their writing no matter how bad it is? It's not needed because computers are doing the work.

But, writing and defending a cogent premise, getting feedback and correction, builds critical thinking skills. There is no automated replacement for that. Whatever jobs require, we should still encourage and enable everyone who wants to be in college to be there and get those skills. We'll have a better society as a result.

[WellPreserved]

The reason the college degree can be dropped from many job qualifications today is because of advancing automation. Why send everyone through learning to write term papers, when Grammarly will standardize their writing no matter how bad it is? It's not needed because computers are doing the work.

But, writing and defending a cogent premise, getting feedback and correction, builds critical thinking skills. There is no automated replacement for that. Whatever jobs require, we should still encourage and enable everyone who wants to be in college to be there and get those skills. We'll have a better society as a result.

Just wanted to relay my experience with Department of State and the Foreign Service. When I entered FS, the requirement for all applicants was to hold a degree (which I had). A few years later, DoS realized that experience was more beneficial than degree in some cones - security and IT specifically and expanded employment requirements to include job experience specifically for those cones of operation and renamed employees in those cones "Specialists" rather than "Officers". At the same time, criteria for "Officers" while officially remained holding a degree, "advanced degree preferred" was added. I got in under the gun!

I think corporations recognize (as DoS did) that for some positions, experience is equal to or even surpasses formal education and we've seen this for decades in computer sciences. But they also realize job experience does not necessary replace learning when it comes to critical thinking skills. Look at the experience necessary to enlist in the US military and then look at what's necessary to join the military as an officer?

[Murdoc's Mistress]

Shit, it's like an unspoken rule where I work that even if it says it requires a college degree, you apply anyway whether you have one or not and chances are, you will still get an interview.

Lots of places have made this a thing for years. What's shitty is companies like wal mart and other retailers expecting degrees and X yrs experience for entry level work and min wage.

[Quorra2.0]

That’s really not new or uncommon. The reality is there are some jobs in which experience is equivalent to and at times hold a greater value than a college degree. There are jobs that regardless of work/life experiences require a degree, some require additional certifications or post grad degrees.