When Degrees Don’t Equal Ability

First, a quick apology for being late with this post. Life threw me a curveball last week. I came down with what felt like a cold or flu, and it set off a flare of my map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy. The pain was so intense, and my vision in my right eye dropped out so suddenly, that I ended up in the ER. Things are stabilizing now, and I have a follow-up with ophthalmology next week. So, I’m slowly climbing back into the land of the living—and writing.

But today’s post isn’t about my health. It’s about something that’s been gnawing at me for a long time: the over-reliance on degrees as gatekeepers for jobs.

Here’s the truth: degrees do not automatically translate into the ability to do a job. Sure, I want my doctors and lawyers to have formal education and credentials—please and thank you. But does someone working in tech support really need a bachelor’s degree to troubleshoot a printer, reset a router, or walk a frustrated customer through a software update? Absolutely not.

The issue is that many employers have turned “degree required” into a lazy shorthand for what they really want: skills, discipline, problem-solving, and reliability. But those qualities don’t come gift-wrapped in a diploma. They come from experience, adaptability, and hands-on learning.

Every job requires training—but let’s be clear, a degree is not job-specific training. Most degrees provide a foundation in broad knowledge and critical thinking. That has value, but it doesn’t mean someone with a degree is automatically better prepared for a role than someone who has spent years working in the field, teaching themselves new systems, or earning certifications that are directly relevant.

When employers demand degrees for entry-level or technical positions, they’re not just raising the bar—they’re raising it in the wrong place. They’re shutting out skilled, capable people who could excel if given the chance, and they’re feeding into a cycle where people take on debt for degrees that don’t guarantee better pay or more opportunity.

We need a shift in thinking: hire for skill, train for the job, and reserve degree requirements for the fields where they truly matter. Because right now, far too many doors are closed to people who are ready and able—just because they don’t have a piece of paper.