I've known a number of people who either had only a GED or a high school diploma who were amazingly talented. The flip side of exam based evaluation practiced b

I've known a number of people who either had only a GED or a high school diploma who were amazingly talented. The flip side of exam based evaluation practiced by Universities is the work based evaluations practiced by trade unions. I had a summer job where I got to work with some masons who constantly amazed me with their skill, their depth of knowledge, and the quality of their work. And none of them had more than a high school education and at least one had immigrated with about an 8th grade education. I have similarly worked with both software and hardware engineers who developed their skills entirely self taught and I have always felt that a trade union approach could be a good way to both hone one's craft and eliminate the shenanigans that goes on with degree comparisons. The current state of affairs, especially with regard to software and qualifications, does not feel tenable long term. I would hire a high school drop out who was a software journeyman over someone who lied and cheated their way through a four year degree program any day of the week. But we don't have such programs yet.