GIVING IT THE OLD COLLEGE TRY?

It can be a controversial move to hire candidates without a college degree for professional positions. But according to one study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, the value of the bachelor’s degree can be outweighed by years of work experience. They found that thirty-eight percent of employers feel that four to five years of work experience equates to a bachelor’s degree. However, that is not the view of all employers. Fifteen percent felt that the candidate needed ten years or more of work experience to catch up to the qualifications of a candidate with a college degree.
In either case, however, there is a good chance that the experienced hire without the college degree is going to have a more elevated level of scrutiny to surpass. But is that elevated scrutiny always fair? Personnel psychologists at the Department of Management and Organizations at the University of Iowa have found that experienced hires without a college degree rate higher in most characteristics including: understanding business, knowledge of competition, realistic expectations, technical skills, interpersonal skills, writing skills, work ethic, likelihood of success, and personal ethics. On the flip side, college graduates outrank their non-college degree counterparts in the areas of open-mindedness and willingness and ability to learn new things. In the end, it all really depends on the position and the qualifications that are necessary for success in that role.