Bye-Bye Degrees?

I mean, well, no duh, degrees haven’t meant anything in a long time. More recently it’s become evident that college and university systemically keeps the middle class in debt, while propelling the privileged further. It used to be that a college degree was the ticket to the upper-middle class, but now it’s just another credential.

In the US, it’s become common for jobs to require a bachelor’s degree, even ones that didn’t used to. However, with a shortage of workers, politicians and employers are starting to rethink the importance of degrees.

Former President Barack Obama used to say that a college education was the best path to the middle class, but in recent years, more and more states have gotten rid of college degree requirements for government jobs, following the lead of companies like IBM. Even Obama himself tweeted that more states should do the same.

The US government has been hit hard by the tight labor market, with government employment still below pre-pandemic levels. To address the shortage of workers, state governments are turning to the workforce without bachelor’s degrees, which makes up the majority of the population.

Republican governors were the first to get rid of college degree requirements, with Maryland and Utah leading the way. Democratic governors are also getting on board, with Pennsylvania’s Gov. Josh Shapiro opening up 92% of state jobs to those without college degrees.

The private sector has already been moving away from degrees, with companies like Tesla, Apple, Google, IBM, and Delta no longer requiring four-year degrees for many roles. A report from the Burning Glass Institute found that a significant percentage of middle-skill and high-skill jobs have cut degree requirements.

So, while a college degree may have once increased one’s earning potential, it’s clear that it’s no longer the path to the middle class or beyond. It’s about time that we start valuing skills and experience over arbitrary degree requirements.