For Human Resources people or experts, it seems like most major corporations these days are specifying that applicants for certain salaried positions must have a college degree and/or certain certifications. I’m talking about major companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Disney, Proctor & Gamble, etc.
If a job posting specifies that a college degree is required for that position, is it still possible to get an interview and get the position without a degree? Is it possible to be the exception and how can it be done? Have you seen it happen?
I’ve held several positions where the job requirements said college degree required. I don’t even mention it - I just send in my resume. I don’t hide that I don’t have a degree, but I don’t advertise it either.
Of course, having many years of experience in the field helps a lot.
Yes, there are rather few situations where a degree is truly required. Engineering and nursing are 2 that come to mind.
The main thing that helps is to genuinely have equivalent experience. Some companies have informal equations of x years of school = y years of work experience. Very conservatively, 6 years of successful work experience in marketing should translate into a 4-year degree in marketing, for example. Bear in mind that the nature of the work in marketing, similarity of products, etc. will have impact this, also. Successful work experience is important, too. Getting fired from 6 marketing jobs after the first year, not so good…6 years with one or 2 companies and 2 or 3 promotions, very good.
Another approach is to work for the company as a temp, demonstrate your skills, and eventually be hired into a permanent position.
If you are competing against many qualified candidates who do have degrees, you will be at some disadvantage but it can be overcome in many circumstances.
If you look for exceptions, there are some in just about any position where general bachelors type recommendations are a “requirement”. However, they really are the exception and most companies in the U.S. look at someone trying to get one of those positions like someone trying to slip into a movie theater without a ticket. The general attitude is that any type of degree, even in something completely unrelated to the job, is preferable to someone without one at all. I know for a fact that many companies and outside recruiters do a hard screen to see if a candidate has the minimum degree. Those that don’t have it have their resume in the round file quickly never to emerge again. I work in IT and it was reasonably common for people not to have degrees back in the dot.com era. There are many hard skills jobs there that need people wherever they picked up the skills. However, now that bubble has burst, I don’t see that very often. Degree status in the U.S. is very important and even if you end up with suitable job, you may be locked into it and not be able to move anywhere else inside or outside the company.
That’s not to say that I haven’t gotten a specific job because of my lack of degree. But I’ve never had a problem getting a good job, or advancing in that position.
With a large company like Lokheed Martin, Ford, Chrysler, Disney, etc, it’s very likley that without the degree your resume goes right in the trash. They get so many applications that they only take the resumes that look the best (note, not necessarily an indicator of the best employee) and follow-up on those.
If you don’t meet all of the qualifications, the HR machinery just sort of grinds you to a halt right there. If you want flexibility and understanding, look for a large company that’s known for it (hint, not Disney), or look at smaller companies.
Even them there are exceptions. I interviewed and was offered a postion with Siemens as an electronics test technician, despite the fact that I did not have the two-year degree in electronics the job normally required. I wound up not taking the job, but it was nice to know that it was an option. Many employers count relevant experience at least as heavily as education, sometimes, more.
Just to say that some of the companies you mentioned do DoD(Department of Defense) or DoE (Department of Energy) work.
What usually happens in thiese cirsumstances is that the government sets certain standards for the qualification/hiring of individuals in that job category. In this case, the contracting companies don’t have a lot of “wiggle room.”