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There are some orgs that a degree is required and your friend is right, though most I find are more experience focused. In my experience, the orgs that work like your friend described are generally not where you want to work anyway as they are using bureaucracy and credentialing not merit (like anything though, exceptions exist). A degree is what helps you early in your career to get a foot in a door, or a slightly higher starting pay or position etc. In the end, it is your ability to sell yourself, deliver and most importantly be personable and work with people of all types. For the most part in tech, whether I am hiring an exec or engineer the only time I actually will look at/for a degree (or certificate) is if I am hiring someone with no professional experience or filling a highly specialized role. Frankly, too much time spent in university is a negative indicator to me, unless you were specializing in a research heavy area or needed it for a professional certification like a medical doctor, attorney etc. FWIW, some degrees and certain schools on a resume are a negative indicator to me as well. This is because over the past 20+ years I've seen the type of people they produce on average. That isn't to say I won't interview a candidate (or hire them) if they seem like they are a potential fit, just that I'll dig pretty deep to see if the candidate avoided the issues I am aware of. More traditionally "top rated" schools/programs are on this list than basic public state universities. At any good company, it always boils down to the person in my experience, not a piece of paper. And it should be noted, C level and other exec's usually get hired through referrals, their own network or headhunters and not generally through blind resume submittal. So it is generally a much more personalized process than applying as a basic engineer etc. |