I recently interviewed with a company, and the VP asked me why I didn’t finish my degree. I explained it simply like this. “A year into my college education, I saw that the line ‘get a computer science degree and they’ll be lined up to hire you’ was just plain bull. So, I asked my advisor to see if he could get me an internship where I would work for free in exchange for experience. He did and I worked for 6 months until they had an opening for a full-time employee, and they extended me an offer. As a now full-time IT professional, I became very busy and no longer had time for both college and a full-time job. By the time my schedule opened up and I could consider going back to college, I found the coursework so elementary that I refused to spend 1000′s of dollars and an equal amount of hours to engage in such elementary studies just so I could check off a box. When you think about it, how much of what I was learning back in the 80′s would have an ounce of applicability in today’s software development environment? So, in retrospect, I think I made the smarter decision. I truly thought outside the box, and that is one more reason that you should hire me.”

Having recently finished a degree mid-career, can attest that a non-traditional distance learning institution is a great way to go. Matriculated at Excelsior, took online classes at schools across the country and in person at an excellent local community college system. Having attended a traditional state university much earlier, found surprisingly little variation in the quality of instruction. Didn’t use testing for credit as much as anticipated, but it expedited completion. All very inexpensively (by careful course shopping and good advising) while working full time. Had no problem subsequently applying to state university online graduate programs across the country. (Everything was regionally accredited to aid transferability and acceptance.)

Although I don’t think this will make me a notably better worker, it was satisfying to verify that my practical experience was essentially equivalent to what my degree holding colleagues had learned. The knowledge gained informally as an older student made classes and tests (technical or otherwise) much easier than as a just ex-high schooler. And the theory (usually) made more sense for having real-world experience.

You might be able to say, in a less cocky way than I say here, that you don’t have a degree because you haven’t needed one – that you can do the work expected, and more, and that you learned it on your own.

And if the company truly values diverse backgrounds, and you’ve been working and on your own since high school, you might add a different perspective.

3.
In my immediate family, I am the only person without a degree, but none of us went the traditional college route. One time when my mother was hired for a job, she was told that either a reason or *the* reason she was hired was because of the persistence she had shown to get the degree. It wasn’t the degree by itself that gave her the advantage, but the fact that she’d earned it while working and raising three children.

4.
A few people have brought up different options for getting a degree.

Nick gave the example of Thomas Edison State College. Another that has a very good reputation is Excelsior College in New York. I believe it offered the first external degrees in the United States (although it originally had a different name, Regents, I think).

Besides taking traditional or distance courses, another choice is to forego some or all of the classes but get credit through some type of evaluation. Usually, this is through testing, such as challenge exams at a traditional school, exams through an external-degree school, or programs such as the College Level Examination Program (the dominant program).

The tests could save you a lot of time, and maybe money. Depending on your background and goals, you might get a lot of credit without even studying.

For instance, I passed the five “general” CLEP exams – math, humanities, English comp, natural sciences, and social sciences and history. Individual schools make their own determinations about these tests. But together, these are typically worth about 30 credits – a year of college and a good chunk of the general education requirements.

Besides testing, a less common route is through a portfolio demonstrating college-level learning. (Portfolios – They’re not just for artists anymore!)

Also, remember community colleges. These typically cost much less than other schools and are often more attentive to nontraditional students.

5.
On a tangent — I agree that there is inflation of the perceived value of formal education. For example, the college orientation of our culture does a disservice to youngsters when it diminishes opportunities for vocational education in high school. Often, skilled trades often pay well but our culture dissuades students from exploring those fields.

There are those perverse interviewers that want to waste your time so they can berate your for not doing things the “right way”, or not accumulating several thousand dollars worth of student loans, or because they are in fact jealous over your success.

Very true the Dave Thomas would not get hired to be a shift manager at the restaurant chain he founded. Bill Gates would not get hired at Microsoft, even to sweep the floors. Same with Michael Dell.

“2. In some astute circles, five years of productivity equals a four year degree. That you CAN verbalize.”

I totally agree with that and used it to my advantage.

Here is what I said (& did) when I faced the same dilemma:

‘I realise that I don’t have an undergraduate degree, my plan is to obtain an MBA from an institution that equates my work experience as being the equivalent of an undergraduate degree’.

However – this statement could only get me so far & it eventually came time to back it up with actions.

I finished high school in Dec 1992 & started my first job in Jan 1993.

I was employed by a large bank at their lowest entry point (I was promoted to teller 6 months later).

After 5 years of working through the ranks it was apparent that I would struggle to gain a decent management position with the bank (& many other companies for that matter) without having a degree.

As we all know it is often a matter of policy, that preference for management positions would be given to those with a degree or actively studying for one.

I had no interest in completing a 4 year undergraduate degree & after some research I discovered that many MBA programs (and other degrees) are willing to accept students without an undergraduate degree.

To be accepted I had to provide a copy of my resume, sit a general university entrance exam and provide suitable references.

Luckily my resume was up to scratch, I nailed the exam & my referees said enough to convince the university that I was ‘student’ material.

So at the start of 2003 I became a fulltime student & by the end of the year I had gained an MBA (I took all the summer classes so that I could finish the course in a calendar year).

I must also say that even though I was skeptical that it would do so – I did in fact learn a lot more than I ever thought I would & it certainly improved what I can offer any potential employer.

She had a great attitude about it, esp. being in a predomininantly male field.

Then after several years of successful self-employment she joined an employer who’d pay the tuition. She saw it mostly as a means of just complying with the “get the ticket punched” mentality. She got 3 degrees, including a PhD in robotics.

She points out she didn’t really learn much going to class that she wouldn’t have in the real world. Yet trying to convince employers of that was a hassle. Now it’s one less burden to deal with.

Incidentally, some of the best business people never went to school and were successful nonetheless. A classic hero is the late Dave Thomas who founded Wendy’s. Yet plenty of employers would deny him entry because of his not having sheepskin. (Sometimes, those who have the degrees are jealous and do NOT want to let anybody in who didn’t “struggle” like they did.)