A lot of job ads which are very specific in listing degree requirements do so to fulfill legal or policy requirements to advertise a job and are really designed

A lot of job ads which are very specific in listing degree requirements do so to fulfill legal or policy requirements to advertise a job and are really designed to exclude everyone except for one specific person the company wants to employ. I've learned this recently in the process of sponsoring an H1B employee; now I look at job ads a little differently. We've hired programmers with degrees in CS who weren't very effective and programmers without degrees who are brilliant. A history of hacking with results seems like much better predictor of efficacy than a degree although a good CS degree improves the odds a programmer will be effective - at least, that's what I've noticed.