How much damage can one bad hire cause? Not much directly. Even in engineering, entry-level work is usually scutwork, so they probably won't get the chance to

How much damage can one bad hire cause? Not much directly. Even in engineering, entry-level work is usually scutwork, so they probably won't get the chance to break anything important. But hiring a flake can cause a lot of damage indirectly. If they lose an important document or attach the wrong appendix to the marketing proposal, you could lose a lot of money. So if you're a big company with complicated procedures and a lot to lose -- what if that lost document is important because of a lawsuit? -- hiring dependable people trumps almost everything else. Bachelor's degrees are a great way to certify that someone can show up on time, follow directions, meet deadlines, and pay attention to one thing for four years at a time.