The college degree is extinct

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It’s not a secret that the job market is horrendous right now. Ghost job postings. Countless rounds of interviews for minimum wage jobs. Mass layoffs. 

Most of us (myself included) followed the traditional path: graduate from high school, go to college. Maybe grad school. All with the promise of getting a job when you get out. 

But in recent years, with the rise of AI and economic changes, it’s becoming increasingly clear that a full-time job doesn’t guarantee the stability that it once had, forcing millions of workers to consider alternate career routes. 

More workers are trading their white collar jobs for the trades or self-employment. They’ve seen or experienced Corporate America firsthand and are choosing a different path for themselves. They’re choosing to value work-life balance, fulfilling work, and to work in a way that supports the life they want to live. And not to mention, avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt. 

While roughly 16% of the workforce is currently self-employed, it’s predicted that the number will jump to over 50% by 2027. Even the founder of LinkedIn predicted that a traditional 9-5 will be a thing of the past by 2034, with jobs either being replaced by AI or gig work. 

But it’s not just the type of work that’s going to change; it’s the qualifications. More companies are starting to eliminate their degree requirement (Companies like Google, IBM, Apple, and Microsoft have started to eliminate the degree requirement) in favor of skills and experience.  

A college degree is nothing more than a societal construct born out of Corporate America. For nearly all companies, it’s the golden ticket. If you think about it, it’s the only incentive for anyone to ever go to college—to have the opportunity to work a white collar job. So, when companies no longer require a degree, what’s the motivation to get one?

You can argue that for more professions, you don’t need a degree or schooling (excluding professions like a lawyer or a doctor). If you can teach yourself how to do it, you can likely get work doing it. Furthermore, if you run your own business, no one cares about your credentials or your background; they only care if you can do the job that you say you can do. 

In other words, your experience carries more weight than your degree ever will. And with the abundance of courses and educational resources, you can learn how to do virtually anything online. 

It’s why you have people building multi-million dollar agencies after binge-watching Gary Vee's video. Or people who decide to pivot careers after picking up a skill. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs don’t even have a degree or one even remotely relevant to their field. They achieved success through skills and experience. 

And more often than not, that experience serves as a better teacher than school ever will. Moreover, as AI continues to be more widely used to supplement (or replace, depending on your stance) skills, the skills that are going to become a necessity to cultivate are non-tangible—emotional intelligence, leadership, critical thinking, creativity, etc. And those skills can’t be taught in a classroom. 

It’s a depressing thought, especially for those of us who’ve spent years and money on education. 

Conversely, it is also a beacon of hope; that you do have the power to start over or pivot without the need to go back to school. It opens up a whole world of possibilities and options that we didn’t have before. 

College and higher education will always have a place in society, whether it is for prestige, education, or job opportunities. But we’re at a pivotal point where the role itself is changing. And it has the power to disrupt the future of work forever. 

Alexa Phillips is a writer, brand & content strategist, and multi-passionate creative. She is the founder of Bright Eyes Creative, a Seattle-based brand consultancy and media company that helps founder-led brands and creatives bridge the gap between vision and value.