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Comment by tptacek | Hacker News Reader

You mean except in trading, sales, marketing, and management of those fields and technology? Like I said: outside the Professions, where is the degree an absolute requirement?

A degree is necessary to be an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor, or an (non-computing) engineer. But that's a small slice of the overall workforce.

And sure, especially in the Fortune 1000, companies strongly consider degrees even outside the professions. But I guarantee you that success in (say) sales has almost nothing to do with the degree (or lack thereof) you start with, and management of sales teams has everything to do with prior sales success.

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There might be verbiage like "B.A. or equivalent experience" on the description, but if it is a managerial position I think 90% is B.A, 10% is equivalent experience. So, there may be no literal requirement, but there is still a de facto requirement.

Sales may be an exception here -- though I would hazard a guess that to sell software for IBM to governments and businesses, my above comment would apply. To sell real estate, though, nobody really cares (same for cars, etc).

Getting hired externally into a management role probably does require a degree, but many of these positions are filled internally, and if you are (e.g.) a star sales account manager or responsible for the company's most successful marketing program, the degree is probably a non-issue when you bid for the promotion.

Evidence? Seems plausible or common knowledge, but lots of wrong things seem plausible or common knowledge (remember Columbus and falling off the side of the earth?)

You can't get a job as a secretary without a degree these days.

There is a bubble in Silicon Valley, but it's not an economic one...

I have a friend at a Fortune 500 where I used to work who started working as an administrative assistant (secretary) and now 4 years later is a project manager and is making more than I did as a fresh out of college as a junior dev. She only has a high school diploma. I can think of at least three other similar examples at the same financial institution.

There are lots of ways into "real" jobs without a degree if you're smart and you find the right path into the career you want (obviously this does not work for professions with licensing bodies).

Yeah I think you're just wrong.

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