Employers Are Moving Beyond Educational Pedigree. It’s Time We All Do

To say that Americans these days are ambivalent and confused about the value of a college degree is an understatement. For instance, according to a survey by the Schultz Family Foundation, traditional college remains the number one post-secondary path parents advise their children to pursue, even though only half of those parents believe a college degree is worth the investment.

The traditional college experience is right for some people, especially those pursuing specialized careers like medicine or law. And while a degree offers knowledge and skills—and a person’s willingness to stretch their mind and apply themselves to rigorous pursuits—it does not define a person’s potential and capabilities, adaptability, or whether they thrive in a rapidly changing economy. The hard knowledge and soft skills people acquire through work, including internships, apprenticeships, and community volunteering, are important, too.

As someone who engages with business, education, and civic leaders about the future of work, I know what happens when we broaden the definition of “job-ready.” As a father of four, I have also witnessed how a young person’s life can be changed by an employer who sees beyond a college credential.

My son Jesse was always ambitious and hardworking, but, as we all do, he had a unique way of learning. The standardized approach to school left him with considerable self-doubt and questions about whether college was the right path. Still, because he was interested in business and had even launched a few startups, Jesse thought a four-year degree was the right choice.

Like so many parents, we did too.

What happened next was heartbreaking. My son struggled. After a single semester, he left school to pursue what he loved: nice clothing. And by that, I mean selling nice clothing. At Nordstrom.

In the retail sector, Jesse flourished. He quickly became one of the store’s top salespeople, was promoted, and put on a leadership development track. He advanced, I am certain, because he loved his work and had aptitudes—people skills, social awareness, and a sense of style that came entirely from his mother—that Nordstrom needed.

One day, my kind and perceptive son saw a customer having a tough time and helped him. That led to a lunch invitation, which turned into a soft interview for a sales position at Cook Medical, a national medical device manufacturer. The leaders at Cook were intrigued by Jesse. Despite no college degree, he had sales success, quality letters of recommendation, and those dazzling people skills. They made him an offer.

Cook’s decision to take a chance on Jesse set in motion companywide changes in hiring practices; it now looks for traits like mindset and aptitude rather than just educational pedigree.

Jesse did not follow the career map that so many families carefully draw, but he excels at Cook, finding success and purpose in selling medical devices that improve people’s lives. And for one company at least, he inspired a rewriting of the talent playbook, creating opportunities for other job seekers.

So, I have a message for parents: A four-year degree from a top-tier university does not guarantee career success or fulfillment. College is just one path. In a world where technology is rapidly changing our jobs and hiring managers question whether college graduates have the skills needed to succeed, parents and young people should examine the range of post-high school options. 

Employers certainly are, and they are embracing new pathways to address the workforce gaps they have experienced over decades.

Camye Mackey, the Atlanta Hawks’ executive vice president and chief people, diversity, and inclusion officer, told me workforce gaps often stem from outdated hiring and retention practices, such as job descriptions that don’t reflect actual needs, limited visibility into how skills transfer across job functions, and automated hiring that may unintentionally screen promising workers out of the talent pool.

To address the NBA franchise’s own gaps, the Hawks focus on each applicant and employee’s strengths—their potential to contribute—and match them with roles where they can have the greatest impact. The organization has also invented pathways that enable teammates to grow, reskill, and access opportunities they may not have previously considered.

Other companies are building infrastructure to “bring the outside in and the inside up,” regardless of whether a person has a degree.

I wish I could take credit for this phrase, but it comes from Missy Hopson at Ochsner Health, a nonprofit health care provider that operates hundreds of hospitals and urgent care centers. Over the last 15 years, Ochsner has constructed a system of training, development, mentorship, and career planning that taps new talent from the communities where it operates—bringing the outside in—then walks alongside employees throughout their career journey, encouraging them to acquire new skills and challenges, allowing them to rise through the organization.

The “outside in, inside up” strategy has led to higher employee retention, greater productivity, and improved patient satisfaction—while changing the lives of thousands of employees.

That last point is important. Employers are not the only ones who benefit from changing how they train and hire. By creating a system that encourages people to explore what gives them passion and purpose, organizations prepare employees to weather technological, cultural, and economic shifts. In an environment where parents and students brim with questions about whether AI will replace today’s jobs, that outcome matters.

Meanwhile, data center innovators in West Texas are creating employment opportunities for people without a college degree.

Texas has the country’s second-largest concentration of data centers, but the region lacked one resource: workers trained to build, operate, and sustain them. Instead of recruiting degreed applicants from outside the region, the Education Design Lab and SkillUp Coalition, along with local employers and educators, created the Texas Flywheel Initiative, which connects residents to the training, employers, and career navigation tools needed to step into these exciting jobs.

The Hawks, Ochsner, and West Texas data companies are not alone. Businesses like IBM, Delta Airlines, Google, and Bank of America have dropped degree requirements for most jobs. Instead, they are finding people who can do the job from day one, who are passionate about the work, and who are adaptable enough to assume new responsibilities as the company, technology, and labor market shift.

These replicable models show that success in emerging, lucrative fields is possible without a four-year degree. I sympathize with parents who are unsure about a non-college career path. But looking at the wonderful life my son Jesse has built, I know what’s possible when employers give talented young people like him a chance to thrive by hiring based on potential, not credentials.

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