How essential is a degree to your job?

Would it be possible to get your job and do it competantly without a degree?

get it, no
do it, yes

I learnt to do some research and see if my subject area had been covered by someone else in the recent past.

Get the job you’d need one and to do it you would need the same set of skills and knowledge that someone with a degree would have… I’m a researcher in a University.

no

a Ph.D is fairly essential

I drive a truck.
what do you think?

I haven’t got one so not very i’d say!

(foundation degree)

get it, no
do it, yes

Get it, no
Do it, sort of – need a lot of training, I do know one guy who spent thousands on specific training and managed to get a job in it. Hard to get into a role without a degree that would provide the training.

Oracle Apps developer.

To do the job I’m in now (as a recent graduate)? No.

To do the job that it will morph into over the next year? Definitely.

Geotechnical technician, advancing on to be and engineer.

Funny that this thread has come up, I’ve just had to get an advert checked before applying because I was sure I’d missed ‘graduate opportunity’/’degree level’ etc. But I hadn’t 😀

I see so many job description where I’ve got more than enough experience but no (usually unspecified) degree. It seems to be getting more strict as well, 2/3 years ago I was getting interviews despite a degree being ‘essential’ but recently…

Medical/Academic Librarian. You need a Masters to get the job.

You could do it without one TBH. Although I do still use bits of my Masters, and having experience of being a uni student helps in the job.

So a degree is sort of essential I guess.

Get it – Yes (Graduate scheme…)
Do it – Yes (Naval Architect)

Get it – Yes
Do it – Yes

University Lecturer.

Cant get or do my job without a degree.

Probably wouldn’t get my job without a degree unless you had other experience or knew someone. Easily do it without one.

Very job-specific

But I would argue that

1. Very/Quite for getting a job
2. Increasing less for doing it

But expect a rise in better vocational training over the next few years so 1 may become less so!

Get it no. Do it no. (Medic)

To get it yes, to get on the diploma course yes. To do it no.

Blimey jet – you had me worried. I have been reading the responses in relation to the thread title rather than the actual OP (hence reversed everything and hence my longer winded response 😉 ). I thought you were joking, then I re-read the OP. Phew!!

bokonon – Member
Get it – Yes
Do it – Yes

University Lecturer.

ditto

I’m a carpenter , i went through a 5 year apprenticeship then another couple of years mastering my trade. I’m now a member of the guild of master carpenters, I could of trained to be a doctor in less time. 😆 So yes easily get my job without a degree.

I think you have to be able to tie your own shoe laces to do my job but I’m not sure all my colleagues are fully qualified 😆

get it no
do it no
service engineer(forklifts)
but you do need trade qualifications(ie city & guilds etc)
p.s ive got a mech engineer degree

Get it, no. (at the moment. Company want make it degree applicants only)
Do it, no.

Saying that, I can think of only 3 other people out of a maybe 100 who don’t have a degree in this job. I don’t, but no one has ever made me feel inferior about it. If you can do the job, that’s good enough.

To get the job – yes (but only because the company specified it)
To do it – no

Get it, yes.
Do it, no.

full time parent..

If you haven’t got a PhD from the University of Life before you start, you will have by the time you finish..

Mine requires a science degree and preferably a science Ph.D too.

A dgeree of bullshit is essential in my line of work.

Ideal, Takisawa can I work there sounds spot on 😆

If you applied to work for me and had a degree – I WOULDN’T employ you unless it was VERY VERY specific and an advantage to a particular project.
Experience and skills come a long way further up the list than a degree – if you aren’t able to do the job all the degrees in the world won’t help…..

There’s no job that needs a degree. Some may need advanced / specialist technical knowledge, but you can get that without going to University. However, lot’s of employers require you to have a degree to be able to apply for their roles.

You couldn’t teach what I know 😉

Management consultant here and yes you could do my job without a degree. But would a client pay for you without one? No.

You wounldn’t teach what I know 😉

To get it, no. For the mean time (i can see it being graduate applicants only soon).

To do it. Not necessarily (obviously).

The thing is you need a lot of hands on technical experience and the office based engineering experience a graduate may be more suited to.

I just struggle through both.

Subsea Engineer, north sea drilling rig.

Could get my current job without it – with about 7-8 years of experiance in drilling.

How ever to advance from where i am you need a degree, those without degrees are doing them distance learning

Sand control engineer in the oil field.

Foot flaps there are some jobs that absolutely require a degree: eg, medic, dentist, optician. There are also jobs where It would be very difficult though not impossible to do without a degree, e.g. a research scientist or a statistician.

no
no
IT, Degree got me my first job, since then it’s been skillset, skillset, skillset.