Three things have risen sharply since the Great Recession of 2008-2009: inequality, dispair of those without a college degree, and the number of jobs that require a college degree to get hired but not needed to do the work. Degree inflation is a huge waste of money for companies. Competing for a small pool of college-educated workers forces businesses to pay more for talent. For certain jobs like a surgeon or quant, a degree is essential, but for many other jobs, both workers and companies can benefit from fewer degree requirements.

Obsessed with degrees

Since the pandemic, employers are resetting degree requirements in many roles, most notably for middle-skill positions - those requiring some post-secondary education or training but less than a degree. The change is also noticeable for higher-skill positions. Companies are finally refocusing on skills over degrees. They are also desperate to find skilled workers during the pandemic that they are willing to forgo degree requirements.

Skills over degrees

The shift toward workers without degrees during the pandemic will likely show if workers who have degrees can perform better than newly hired workers without degrees. Studies show little performance difference between those with and without degrees outside fields such as professional services and finance. Entrepreneurs and hiring managers are already aware that a college degree is often unnecessary, and that competing for talent will become harder.

Degree deflation

<img alt="" src="data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg height='1080' width='1920' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' version='1.1'%3E%3C/svg%3E" width="503" height="283">Hiring<div dir="ltr"><h1 dir="ltr">Employers Are Finally Rethinking Requiring Unnecessary College Degrees. Thank the Pandemic</h1><h3 dir="ltr"> A rare pandemic silver lining: fewer employers are demanding college degrees for jobs you can do without one. </h3></div><div>By JESSICA STILLMAN</div><img alt="" src="https://incafrica.com/images/Ellipse-avatar.png" width="50" height="50">Here are three things that have shot up in American society since the Great Recession of 2008-2009: <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/" dir="ltr">inequality</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-13/college-degree-in-u-s-separates-deaths-of-despair-from-success" dir="ltr">deaths of despair among those without a college degree</a>, and the number of jobs that require a college degree to get hired but not to do the actual work. These three facts are probably not completely unrelated.&nbsp;Not only does so-called "<a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/degree-inflation-is-costing-companies-big-time-new-report-finds.html" dir="ltr">degree inflation</a>" keep competent workers out of good jobs that they could do well, making life more precarious for those without a degree, it's also a huge waste of money for companies. Competing for a limited pool of college-educated workers (only about 35 percent of Americans have a four-year degree) forces businesses to overpay for talent.If you're hiring a surgeon or quant, fancy qualifications are essential, but for a huge number of jobs, both workers and companies benefit when degree requirements are dropped.I'm not being original to point this out. Experts have been yelling about this problem for years, <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/hiring-resume-screening-software-job-descriptions.html" dir="ltr">but progress has been glacial</a>. Little <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/at-least-maybe-coronavirus-will-finally-kill-open-plan-office.html" dir="ltr">happy news came out of the pandemic</a>, but new research out of Harvard may have uncovered some. Thanks at least in part to the Covid-related labor reshuffle, employers might finally be seeing the light about requiring unnecessary college degrees.<h2>One of the pandemic's few silver linings</h2>To investigate whether the pandemic is actually making a dent in whether employers are requiring degrees, Harvard researchers Joseph Fuller and Christina Langer partnered with Emsi Burning Glass, a labor-market data company, to examine 51 million jobs posted between 2017 and 2020. Their data wrangling yielded cheerful results."Employers are indeed resetting degree requirements in a wide variety of roles. The change is most noticeable for middle-skill positions -- defined as those requiring some post-secondary education or training but less than a four-year degree. To a lesser extent, the change is also noticeable at some companies for higher-skill positions," <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/02/skills-based-hiring-is-on-the-rise" dir="ltr">Fuller, Langer, and Burning Glass's Matt Sigelman report on HBR</a>.Why are companies finally heeding the call to <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/why-elon-musk-doesnt-care-about-college-degrees.html" dir="ltr">stop being so degree obsessed</a>? The research team cites two interlocking factors. One was a general refocusing on skills over degrees during the hot job market of 2017-2019. The second factor is the recent <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/great-resignation-mit-revelio-research.html" dir="ltr">pandemic-related labor shock</a>."Desperate to find skilled workers during the pandemic, which has been the biggest health crisis of modern times, many employers have been willing, at least temporarily, to forgo degree requirements for many jobs," they write.<h2>Is degree deflation here to stay?</h2><a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/bill-gates-pandemic-prediction-2022.html" dir="ltr">The pandemic is, hopefully, temporary</a>. Will employers' newfound open-mindedness towards workers without degrees last? It's hard to say, but there are reasons to be hopeful."The shift may reflect only a temporary accommodation in the face of an emergency... but nonetheless, given its scale, it's likely to teach us a lot about whether workers who have degrees actually perform better than newly hired workers who do not," the researchers note.&nbsp;They stress previous studies show performance differences between those with and without degrees "are often marginal outside specific fields such as professional services and finance."Academics will no doubt be keeping a close eye on job requirements as the virus fades, but for entrepreneurs and hiring managers the message is already clear. It's time to take a hard look at how you hire. If you're still clinging to the reassurance of a college degree when it's not strictly necessary, competing for talent is just going to get harder.Maybe it's time to rethink your requirements. For many jobs, you will get near equal performance for less cost. And you'll be doing your bit to make American society fairer and more equitable too.This article was originally published in the original United States edition of Inc. or on inc.com and is the copyright property of Mansueto Ventures LLC, which reserves all rights. Copyright © Mansueto Ventures LLC.Written on: Feb 16, 2022Newsletter

A rare pandemic silver lining: fewer employers are demanding college degrees for jobs you can do without one.

career

Career

education

Learning & Education

Employers Are Finally Rethinking Requiring Unnecessary College Degrees. Thank the Pandemic

Here are three things that have shot up in American society since the Great Recession of 2008-2009: <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/">inequality </a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-13/college-degree-in-u-s-separates-deaths-of-despair-from-success">deaths of despair among those without a college degree </a>, and the number of jobs that require a college degree to get hired but not to do the actual work. These three facts are probably not completely unrelated.

Not only does so-called "<a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/degree-inflation-is-costing-companies-big-time-new-report-finds.html">degree inflation </a>" keep competent workers out of good jobs that they could do well, making life more precarious for those without a degree, it's also a huge waste of money for companies. Competing for a limited pool of college-educated workers (only about 35 percent of Americans have a four-year degree) forces businesses to overpay for talent.

If you're hiring a surgeon or quant, fancy qualifications are essential, but for a huge number of jobs, both workers and companies benefit when degree requirements are dropped.

I'm not being original to point this out. Experts have been yelling about this problem for years, <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/hiring-resume-screening-software-job-descriptions.html">but progress has been glacial </a>. Little <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/at-least-maybe-coronavirus-will-finally-kill-open-plan-office.html">happy news came out of the pandemic </a>, but new research out of Harvard may have uncovered some. Thanks at least in part to the Covid-related labor reshuffle, employers might finally be seeing the light about requiring unnecessary college degrees.

To investigate whether the pandemic is actually making a dent in whether employers are requiring degrees, Harvard researchers Joseph Fuller and Christina Langer partnered with Emsi Burning Glass, a labor-market data company, to examine 51 million jobs posted between 2017 and 2020. Their data wrangling yielded cheerful results.

"Employers are indeed resetting degree requirements in a wide variety of roles. The change is most noticeable for middle-skill positions -- defined as those requiring some post-secondary education or training but less than a four-year degree. To a lesser extent, the change is also noticeable at some companies for higher-skill positions," <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/02/skills-based-hiring-is-on-the-rise">Fuller, Langer, and Burning Glass's Matt Sigelman report on HBR </a>.

Why are companies finally heeding the call to <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/why-elon-musk-doesnt-care-about-college-degrees.html">stop being so degree obsessed </a>? The research team cites two interlocking factors. One was a general refocusing on skills over degrees during the hot job market of 2017-2019. The second factor is the recent <a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/great-resignation-mit-revelio-research.html">pandemic-related labor shock </a>.

"Desperate to find skilled workers during the pandemic, which has been the biggest health crisis of modern times, many employers have been willing, at least temporarily, to forgo degree requirements for many jobs," they write.

<a href="https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/bill-gates-pandemic-prediction-2022.html">The pandemic is, hopefully, temporary </a>. Will employers' newfound open-mindedness towards workers without degrees last? It's hard to say, but there are reasons to be hopeful.

"The shift may reflect only a temporary accommodation in the face of an emergency... but nonetheless, given its scale, it's likely to teach us a lot about whether workers who have degrees actually perform better than newly hired workers who do not," the researchers note.

They stress previous studies show performance differences between those with and without degrees "are often marginal outside specific fields such as professional services and finance."

Academics will no doubt be keeping a close eye on job requirements as the virus fades, but for entrepreneurs and hiring managers the message is already clear. It's time to take a hard look at how you hire. If you're still clinging to the reassurance of a college degree when it's not strictly necessary, competing for talent is just going to get harder.

Maybe it's time to rethink your requirements. For many jobs, you will get near equal performance for less cost. And you'll be doing your bit to make American society fairer and more equitable too.

This article was originally published in the original United States edition of Inc. or on inc.com and is the copyright property of Mansueto Ventures LLC, which reserves all rights. Copyright © Mansueto Ventures LLC.

Employers Are Finally Rethinking Requiring Unnecessary College Degrees. Thank the Pandemic

Obsessed with degrees

Skills over degrees

Degree deflation

CURATED BY

Related collections

More like this