| Edit: in the general case, I would replace on the job with 1 year job specific training. Companies may or may not offer this as on the job training depending on the demand, but 6mo-1yr retraining is not a major issue. There is a huge realm of office jobs that take basic collage level skills. EX: Software tester, receptionist, Manager, etc. (Substitute) Teaching is another huge area that often takes collage education, but many states have a 3.0 GPA requirement. Many companies will higher programmers without the background, granted you’re not going to make much but it's a start. The US military for example will train you to be a welder or machinist in less than 1 year. Depending on demand the same thing can happen in private industry but you’re starting doing true grunt work. Nursing is something of a grey area. You can quickly become an orderly without a related background and there are various levels of certifications necessary to do various types of nursing. EMT takes collage level general skills + 6 months training though again you don't need a degree just that level of basic skill. The Police are another area that takes people without any background training and may require a degree. PS: That's not to say some high school students could not succeed at these jobs with similar training. However the demonstrated skills associated with a collage degree are significantly higher. |