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I don't have a degree but it's literally never come up, and I've been working as a software engineer for two decades. How do you know it has "never come up"?

I don't have a degree but it's literally never come up, and I've been working as a software engineer for two decades. How do you know it has "never come up"? Because you've never been asked about it? If people have passed on your profile completely for that reason -- then it has still "come up" on their side, even though of course never know that's the reason.

robbyking 5y ago
That's fair, but the comment I replied to said "my peers [...] have recruiters beating down their doors while I barely get emails back," and that hasn't been my experience; my teammates and I seem to to get about the same number of recruiter calls/emails a day, very often from the same companies. Besides, the vast, vast majority of job listings say "CS degree or comparable experience."
lordnacho 5y ago
Likely he means in terms of being asked for the documentation once you get an offer. I've only been asked once, in the German speaking world. My wife was asked the same, from another German speaking with. In the Anglo world I've literally never been asked. Not by employers, not by investors doing due diligence, nobody. Of course it's still true that it might have an effect on some recruiter looking for a degree. Can't say I've ever made a decision to interview or not based on whether the person had a degree.
kodablah 5y ago
> If people have passed on your profile completely for that reason Arguably this is a good built-in filter for the candidate. In my experience for SE roles specifically, companies with such credentialism often have many other structural/corporate issues.
- olyjohn 5y ago
  Right, if that is the reason they're gonna skip over me, fuck em. Their loss.
- akhmatova 5y ago
  Companies with such credentialism often have many other structural/corporate issues. Reasonable people can disagree on this (i.e. there are people who do see value in college degrees, and that this is not automatically "credentialism"). But I do see the broader point you're making.

robbyking 5y ago

That's fair, but the comment I replied to said "my peers [...] have recruiters beating down their doors while I barely get emails back," and that hasn't been my experience; my teammates and I seem to to get about the same number of recruiter calls/emails a day, very often from the same companies. Besides, the vast, vast majority of job listings say "CS degree or comparable experience."

lordnacho 5y ago

Likely he means in terms of being asked for the documentation once you get an offer. I've only been asked once, in the German speaking world. My wife was asked the same, from another German speaking with. In the Anglo world I've literally never been asked. Not by employers, not by investors doing due diligence, nobody. Of course it's still true that it might have an effect on some recruiter looking for a degree. Can't say I've ever made a decision to interview or not based on whether the person had a degree.

kodablah 5y ago

> If people have passed on your profile completely for that reason Arguably this is a good built-in filter for the candidate. In my experience for SE roles specifically, companies with such credentialism often have many other structural/corporate issues.

olyjohn 5y ago
Right, if that is the reason they're gonna skip over me, fuck em. Their loss.
akhmatova 5y ago
Companies with such credentialism often have many other structural/corporate issues. Reasonable people can disagree on this (i.e. there are people who do see value in college degrees, and that this is not automatically "credentialism"). But I do see the broader point you're making.