Degrees don’t matter anymore, skills do

Well, firstly its a very American centric article - and I have  found  the education level of Americans I have met to be very non-uniform compared to that of Europeans, where you can pretty much guarantee basic maths to O level equiv, some country specific history and a foreign language, and then more or less of the 3 sciences and varying amounts of music and arts. The US in contrast really does seem to produce some people who 'have no math' . Or no knowledge of history and geography... And then from other places, people who are practically polymathic


I think the point about certification vs credentials is overplayed - a degree and or being a good talker may get you your first job, however, unless you cock up badly, your first job gets you your second etc. Certainly in the world I inhabit, experience and subject matter expertise are key, how you acquired that knowledge less so.  For example I do have a PhD, but no one has asked to see the certificate or read the thesis in over 20 years. I do however end up describing a catalogue of previous projects quite often.

It may be that education could be improved. Actually in many cases it is likely. I am less convinced that the authors proposals are optimal to achieve that.

Mike

The problem I have seen is that stating a degree as a prerequisite for a job is easier for the HR department than trying to evaluate what skills are required and how to prove their competence. This is not universal however and in some companies the HR department may not be involved in the requirement specification, especially in the more technical areas.