I work on an IT desk for one of the most well funded government agencies in the US. Most of the people I work with and assist have college degrees, but that doesn't prevent them from being incompetent.
This may sound like a rant, but I will arrive at a point.
I get the idea behind wanting candidates with a degree. Who wouldn't want someone with a higher foundation of knowledge when trying to fill an important position? Having a degree shows that someone cares about education and demonstrates proficiency and an ability to follow through. Maybe some of that is true. Maybe it only used to be.
As someone without a degree who values education and knowledge, I am constantly disappointed by the people in high level positions. Six figure salaries to poke around some online tools, answer emails and sign some PDFs (some of the more competent people use excel as well). These are all positions that require proficiency with computers, no exceptions.
We are meant to step in when technical issues prevent someone from doing their job, but we also spend a lot of time training these people to do their jobs. “How do I sign a document?” “How do I do X in excel?” “Where can I find my calendar in outlook?” These are real questions that people have asked me in the last two weeks. So here I am training people to use very basic functions of applications that they're required to know how to use for their jobs, making less than a third of their salary.
How did we get here? How did we get to the point where I, with only 2 years of college and a spotty work experience can (and am expected to), do the jobs that require a degree before being considered qualified?
I think there are a few things going on here. 1. Due to the number of people who pursue degrees being so high and the bar being set so low in the US education system, we have a huge number of people with degrees who are good at regurgitating information for the sake of proving they have it, but have no critical thinking skills and have trouble learning things on their own. 2. Technology advances at a rate that outpaces institutions' ability to keep up (this is why critical thinking and the ability to learn on your own is so important). New tools and technologies are developed and implemented all the time and THIS WILL AFFECT YOUR JOB, gotta find a way to adapt. 3. The idea that earning your degree is the end goal. I see and talk to a lot of people that place a high value on their degree (and I get it, they're super expensive) and seem to think that since they have that degree, they have everything they need forever. A degree is meant to be a foundation. It's meant to get you caught up with where things are currently at (and how to operate) in your field and then you build on that as needed.
We have these expectations for people who have a higher level of education, but the expectations are much lower than they should be, to the point where some of our highest achieving people are complete bafoons.
We can change this by doing a little more homework on our applicants. Instead of taking for granted that someone with a degree knows what they're doing, look at skill sets and personality. If someone doesn't have a degree, how did they spend that time? It impacts more than just the role that is being filled, it changes the expectations for what everyone who comes after is capable of.
Education should be free and more focus should be placed on applicant skills. It would benefit everything from business management to government and elected officials. If we're seeking competent employees and not degree holders, things would improve at all levels (nothing I love more than working for a competent manager)