[mlinsey]

I was hired with no college degree, when Microsoft and Google would not even consider me on that basis.

Also, for Amazon and other companies, there is a world of difference going through their public-facing recruiting process and getting to know someone on an interesting team through your network, and getting hired through them.

[zecho]

I'm sure the same rules of networking apply anywhere, though, including Microsoft and Google. Degrees are an HR filter, but networking can bypass HR. So it goes.