For as long as many of us can remember, the four-degree was a symbol of prestige—accomplishment, pride and self-esteem. High-school graduates were encouraged to pursue a degree in order to be financially and psychologically secure. But since the pandemic, the tide has been changing. More business leaders are saying a four-year degree is no longer necessary for jobs that can earn top dollar. This goes against a long-held tradition that everybody needs a four-year degree to be socially accepted and financially successful. That message has been drilled into students’ heads from parents and schools, according to James Neave, head of data science at Adzuna—the world’s most comprehensive job search engine.
A report by Accenture, Dismissed by Degrees, also argues that degree inflation—the rising demand for a four-year college degree for jobs that previously did not require one—is a substantive and widespread phenomenon, making the U.S. labor market more inefficient. The report found more than 60% of employers rejected otherwise qualified candidates in terms of skills or experience simply because they did not have a college diploma. A piece in Vox, detailed how the report showed degree bias. First of all, workers without college degrees were just as productive on the job as their college-educated counterparts. And they were less likely to turnover and less expensive for companies to hire. Plus, degree inflation was harmful to Black and Hispanic job applicants because they’re less likely than white applicants to have college diplomas.
Because of degree bias, job seekers are less likely to pursue skilled trade careers, as if it was less socially acceptable. However, Neave insists that a college degree is not necessary to be successful and earn a good salary. “The Adzuna data indicates that skills, rather than degrees, are the top requirement candidates must have to secure a ‘high-paying job’ today, whether job candidates are looking for deskless or corporate positions. In particular, leaders with skills that can boost engagement in today’s workforce are in hot demand.”
Neave draws on Adzuna’s advertised job vacancies in the U.S. which tracked 7.6 million in September, and he points out that jobs are still plentiful, compared to the supply of available workers, with 10,000 job openings offering salaries over $200 thousand to job seekers. “None of these high-paying jobs require a degree. Emerging technologies are growing fast, making a degree less valuable than hands-on experience and knowledge,” he explains. “We’re seeing workplaces transitioning to recognize skills in the same way they have traditionally understood degrees. This might come as a surprise, but Logistics & Warehouse is among the sectors most likely to offer 200 thousand dollar salaries. Although it is primarily deskless, rather than a corporate industry, it’s leading the way with the highest number of job vacancies advertising salaries over 200 thousand dollars. There were close to six thousand job ads in the Logistics & Warehouse sector offering such hefty paychecks in September 2023.”
Last week, Walmart became the latest company to eliminate the four-year degree requirement for corporate jobs. The company is doing away with college degree requirements for such jobs as cybersecurity and data analytics. “I applaud them because it’s normalizing the idea that you don’t need a college degree to be successful,” says Jon Bostock, CEO of Leaf Home. We need more companies to follow Walmart’s lead.”
Neave adds, “As this year goes on, we expect businesses will continue prioritizing skills over degrees to fill open roles, including those that come with top pay checks.” Bostock agrees, emphasizing that they have more than one-thousand open positions that don’t require a college degree that they can’t fill, including installers and service techs—despite their high pay and opportunity. Leaf Home, a home products company with more than 200 locations in North America, provides gutter protection, home safety products, water purification and windows and doors. Bostock believes Walmart’s move will renew interest in these careers. “At Leaf Home, we currently have more than 1,000 open positions that do not require a college degree, including installers and service technicians,” he notes. “These positions are harder to fill, even though many people can earn six figures working on our projects. Of the existing installers and technicians that we employ, more than 60% graduated high school only, and nearly 20% did not complete high school.”
Bostock claims that the stigma that these non-degree jobs are seen as “less than” makes it more difficult to fill them. “For years, the message that college should be the end goal has been drilled into students’ heads from parents, teachers and guidance counselors,” he suggests. “As a result, students are not excited or incentivized to purse skilled trade careers.” Bostock also stresses that we need parents and schools to send the message to students that they can earn good money and have a great job without a four-year degree. Otherwise, he cites an estimated three million skilled trades jobs will go unfilled by 2028. “That’s a problem for the home improvement industry, specifically,” he notes. “Right now, 38% of homes were built before 1970, and the median age of homes in America is 39 years old. With aging doors and windows, overflowing gutters, outdated plumbing and electrical and antiquated HVAC systems, our homes are in desperate need of maintenance and modernization, but we have fewer qualified professionals than ever available to do the job.”
According to Business Insider, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook also have questioned the need for college degrees, and more companies are following suit, acknowledging that degree requirements put them at a competitive disadvantage. Dropping the four-year degree requirement is a welcoming and encouraging win-win for both employers and employees from a disenfranchised segment of the workforce without a degree. A framed diploma on the wall is no longer necessary for these highly-qualified job seekers to find the job of their dreams—one that is gratifying, pays a high salary and leads to career success.
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