Any experienced devs without a degree finding the job search to be hard?
Posted by skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit | ExperiencedDevs | View on Reddit | 48 comments
Basically the title. I am a Senior Engineer and have 8 YOE under my belt. Have worked at 3 companies with my last role lasting 4.5 years before private equity screwed us and decided to lay half of us off.
I have a pretty solid tech stack that isn’t archaic and pretty modern by most standards. However I lack a degree (didn’t finish) and although I have had a few interviews in the past month, I’m noticing a lot more jobs putting a CS or equivalent degree as a hard requirement. Especially jobs local to me.
I get a lot of auto rejections, even when my resume matches 99% to the job description. Before, even with 3.5 YOE, I could apply to 10 jobs, and get 6-8 interviews with a 60-70% offer rate after.
These days that’s almost down to zero interviews out of 200 cold applications. Admittedly I have had 5 interviews in the past 1.5 months, but all were from recruiters. Rejected after 3 rounds with one, made it to the final round in another before they decided to close the position, one of them just ghosted me after 3 rounds, and the other two are still in progress. So I’m finding some traction, but I think it could be better especially from the cold application to places I really would want to work at.
With that being said; I’m currently comfortable financially due to my wife and I saving up a decent “war chest” and with my wife working she covers us indefinitely. No kids either so our responsibility basically boils down to just go to work and don’t die.
I bring that up because I’m thinking about biting the bullet and finishing my degree. If anything just to check a box at this point. I know I have gotten interviews but I’m starting to feel that with how saturated the market has gotten, having a degree at least gets you through some of the filters. And it may open some doors to work in other areas that are not directly web related.
Am I being stupid here or is it the smart thing to do considering it is a possibility for me?
DWALLA44@reddit
The job search is just hard.
skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit (OP)
Yeah tell me about it. The one job I was rejected from said I didn’t know enough AI. Even though I described how I built a RAG chat tool at my last job, explained the DB vectorization, the chunking strategies, etc. Then went on to explain how agents were used to augment the dev workflow. Explained just about every best practice known currently.
That one still leaves me pretty defeated. Maybe it was just a generic excuse but it didn’t match with how the interview actually went. You have to be 99.99% match these days.
enricojr@reddit
Just last year I had 3 rounds at this one company and I even passed their coding exam but they rejected me anyways and I never got a reason why.
GlobalCurry@reddit
I have 9 years of experience and just had a recruiter reject me immediately during the call the other day after finding out I don't have a degree.
In the last 9 years it has never been an issue, sign of bad economy/job market I guess.
skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit (OP)
Ouch that sucks sorry to hear. This is sorta why I feel I should get mine though. Even when/if the market recovers, during the bust cycles it matters more than not.
It’s just crazy to me that you can have almost a decade of experience and the degree is the hang up. If you were not able to do the job, the chances you make it that long are slim.
Plenty_Line2696@reddit
There's some stuff you'll pick up in college which you might not have come across at work but might still be useful someday. If you were to get hired and you hadn't covered it you'd likely still get by, but I could see why some companies list it as a requirement, including that it says something about a persons work ethic.
shigdebig@reddit
If the engineering manager is allowed to create the job criteria then the degree doesn't matter after you get experience. There are many jobs where non-engineers get involved who have no idea how to judge skills, this is the result.
GoodishCoder@reddit
A lot of this is because engineering managers mark degrees as a requirement instead of a preferred so recruiters have to reject people without degrees for compliance reasons.
Also there are a ton of managers that put a lot of stock in degrees, they're usually the ones doing tools based hiring instead of mindset based hiring.
white_rob_@reddit
This was my experience. 16yoe, didn’t finish university. Finally landed a great job after 5 months unemployment but it included a 15% pay cut (first pay cut in my career). The only reason I landed it was because I had six years experience doing the exact job they need me to do.
skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit (OP)
Congrats on landing the job. I’m expecting to take a pay cut, anything <= 15% is acceptable given the current market. Honestly as long as the pay is within that range, I’ll take it. I just want to be working on a software team again, starting to miss it. Call it Stockholm Syndrome I suppose lol.
ultraDross@reddit
I love your username. Hope something comes up soon.
Some-btc-name@reddit
I have 7 yoe with a CS deg most important factor imo is DSA and system design are you solid with those?
skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit (OP)
System design yes for me, been refreshing on it however since the interview is a highly compressed and stressful version of it.
But DSA I have to grind. Really the only two I can do without much effort are BFS and DFS. Mostly cause my last job we had some tree based data tables that I worked on.
The rest of the common DSA topics interviews might hit, I have to (and currently am) practicing. But if I’m honest, most technicals I do aren’t DSA, they’ve been more practical or are deep dives into my stack.
GlobalCurry@reddit
Yeah I've been refresh on them also but that particular inter ended at the phone screen.
JumpySpecial9834@reddit
I have a bachelor's degree. And a master's degree. And it's still extremely difficult to get interviews.
enricojr@reddit
10 YOE here, I've been out of work since beginning of 2024. Had one short-term paid contract for about 3 months but nothing otherwise.
In September of 2024 I chose to go back to school to get an Associates (can't really afford a bachelors right now), but am finished as of last week.
I've been sending applications out since the beginning of the year but have not received so much as a callback much less an interview. I was under the impression that years of experience are worth more than a degree but seems like that isn't the case.
Titoswap@reddit
If you have only been searching for 1.5 months your only dipping your feet in
Empanatacion@reddit
No college degree at all, or no CS degree? I could see the ATS bouncing you automatically.
Yes, it's stupid. My English degree is no more useful.
LongUsername@reddit
Any degree says something vs no degree IMO: it shows that you can set a goal, persist at it for multiple years, and meet criteria that someone else sets.
The people I've worked with who haven't had degrees tend to be less focused and have more issues completing projects.
Yes, I'd prefer a CS, EE, or CompEng degree, then an engineering or hard science degree over a business or L&S degree.
YakaryBovine@reddit
Surely working for many years as a developer shows the same thing?
Shinobi_WayOfTomoe@reddit
Right? What an insane thing to say about someone with 8 years of experience and senior in their title lol
coworker@reddit
Not all experience is comparable. Degrees are at least accredited
SnooDoubts8688@reddit
To be the devil's advocate and from personal experience, I found yoe and titles are not as consistent across the industry as they sound. There are ("were", times have changed) strange teams out there that you could "rest and vest" in the team for several years and they just make you de facto team lead. These teams felt more like a maintenance team, where no one came from a technical background and didn't really care much about tech overall. This was me, at least. Only when I moved to big tech team where peers were talented and driven, I realized how much I sucked as a SWE. I was truly ashamed. I was down-leveled from senior joining the company (rightfully so), and realized how I much I lacked - discipline, determination, technical aptitude, just all of it - I was never senior material at a real tech company.
I observed this phenomenon in plenty of people that joined tech during the "golden" era. You got in lucky for solving fizzbuzz, then was lucky enough to not get laid off, and just cruised by, got comfortable in a small team and got promo'ed, boosting your own ego, until shit hit back then economy felt safe and my peers told me I no longer needed a CS degree since I am already working, and that "experience is king". I didn't care about learning about fundamentals, because I understood the tech stack, and I was able to push PRs. It was enough to get by, but definitely not enough to be leading technical teams.
Ultimately, I regret not pursuing a CS degree outside of my work, and I fully admit that it shows I lack the determination and passion for learning. In contrast, few folks around me who were working on their CS and MS during covid are in a much better position and also have been promoted at work. I can understand that if I was hiring or promoting, I would prefer someone with a degree, both because I know they are fundamentally more grounded and have shown they have discipline, on paper.
Izkata@reddit
Meanwhile thinking back about my time in college, for most students it was definitely more like High School 2.
skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit (OP)
Yeah that was my thought. At my last company I was there for 4.5 years. Went from mid level to senior 2 years in, and the last year I was acting “lead” for a new team, even though we didn’t have those titles officially.
That job sounds a lot like what they described; set a goal, persist it for multiple years, and meet criteria set by someone else lol.
sippin-jesus-juice@reddit
Build up a network of recruiters, including ones from consulting agencies.
I’ve never had luck cold applying, legit never, not once, natta. Every job I’ve got through recruiters.
One_Economist_3761@reddit
I have 30 years of experience AND a bachelors degree in computer science and I’m still getting rejected over and over. The market is terrible at the moment.
throwaway_0x90@reddit
I would be absolutely shocked that anyone cares about the degree of an 8yoe SWE.
xamott@reddit
You mean you don’t have a CS degree or don’t have a college degree at all?
VizualAbstract4@reddit
Never had an issue, it’s never even come up, never over the course of my 25 years professional experience history of building and shipping products.
RandomPantsAppear@reddit
20 YOE, no degree checking in.
Try to find smaller job sites that aren’t getting spammed to hell and back by AI bots.
Recruiters and smaller sites (underdog, clera, workatastartup etc) worked far better for me.
If we are one of thousands, we get filtered fast. If someone actually sees the resume we do aight.
skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit (OP)
Appreciate the tips on those smaller sites. I’ve been using Hiring.cafe but I’m not sure how popular of a site it is. Although it is just an aggregator, so these jobs exist on some other job board.
I’ll definitely check them out tomorrow! Thanks again.
RandomPantsAppear@reddit
I dropped a a DM as well. Just a tip I don’t want to burn out by posting publicly.
DeterminedQuokka@reddit
I have never had a problem with degrees. My situation is slightly different because I do have a degree just not a cs degree.
Putting it as a hard requirement it’s new though people have always done that.
If you have that level of experience I would recommend networking over cold applying. Set yourself as open to work and talk to some recruiters. Contact people you know at other companies.
skidmark_zuckerberg@reddit (OP)
Yeah that’s what I’ve been doing, and I do get regular recruiter messages throughout the week. But I’ve even noticed that the degree requirements are even stricter, it’s not just any degree, it’s a CS or a CS adjacent degree.
compubomb@reddit
Your okay, the degree is dumb, it's just stupid companies setting Pedigree standards, all of which you don't need to work for those organizations. I'm the only person in my org without a formal degree. I took more math than most of the CS majors anyway on CC. Calc1,2,3, diff eq, linear, C++ Lvl 1,2, embedded system, physics 201, 202 both with calculous. Most ca majors these days don't need Alot of deep math background anymore.
thenowherepark@reddit
It doesn't matter if we think the degree is dumb. In this job market, it matters if the company thinks the degree is dumb. And unfortunately, they don't think it's dumb.
tankerdudeucsc@reddit
Yeah. That’s the math that CS folks usually take. The one class that I thought while taking CS that helps shape my engineering and thinking to this day, 30+ years out of college was operating systems class.
Fundamental issues of race conditions and performance analysis built there.
Don’t necessarily need a degree and many people don’t take it or learned enough from it. Think folks should always be a life long learner though.
nana_3@reddit
You may be able to get a degree or diploma through recognition of prior learning path. Taking into account both your previous study and your professional experience… worth a shot.
backwardclock@reddit
Sounds like you are landing interviews and getting far in the process despite not having a degree. Be more strategic with your job search, have patience, and focus on interview prep.
If you think it matters, add a degree to your application, and say it's on hold if anybody asks.
KandevDev@reddit
8 YOE without a degree was a "harder to get past the auto-screener but not gated" thing until ~2024. last 18 months it has gotten genuinely worse because there are too many people applying with degrees AND no jobs. the resume-pile depth means recruiters use the degree filter to cut 70% in 10 seconds.
things that worked for peers in similar spots: (1) get one of your contacts at a previous company to refer you internally somewhere new, bypasses the resume screener entirely. (2) consider FAANG-adjacent companies that explicitly hire non-degree people. (3) contract for 6 months at a place that converts to FTE, degree filter does not apply once you are in the building.
PracticallyPerfcet@reddit
If you don’t have a degree you’re beyond fucked. But even if you had one, you’re fucked anyway. There are a 100k big tech Ivy League grads that are going to get hired ahead of you to shovel digital shit at a D grade company.
notreallymetho@reddit
I’ve no degree and 14 YoE and haven’t had a ton of “luck”. To be fair last job cycle was a layoff in Jan 25. I applied to ~150 places and only wound up with one offer (after an initial rejection and a later down level). I started that job April 2025.
Most places put “or equivalent experience” and seem to respect it. I’ve not applied at FAANG but have heard they care more.
secretBuffetHero@reddit
yes. some of the recruiters have told me that degrees from prestigious schools matter.
Illustrious_Elk_7946@reddit
Honestly, I feel this. The market really did a 180 over the past couple years. It was SO much easier when experience spoke for itself, but now companies just lock you out with that degree filter upfront, and it feels like all your years building real products sort of don’t count when you're facing HR software.
Not sure if this helps, but when I was applying last time, getting auto-rejected left and right, it turned out my resume was missing dumb little keywords that recruiters (and their robots) scan for. Even though my work was exactly what they wanted, their ATS bounced me. I started running my resume through those optimization tools - tried ResumeJudge, Resume Worded, and even Jobscan. Kinda annoying, but sometimes it’d show me one sentence or tech stack detail was missing and suddenly my response rate bumped up.
Feels like pure luck sometimes between having the right word or checking the right box. If you’re already getting some recruiter traction, that almost always means you’re good on skills, it's just the digital gatekeepers screwing things up. You've got the skills and the flexibility, so maybe do a keywords pass with those tools before pulling the trigger on going back to school?
Super random, but I've noticed local companies seem stricter on "degree required" than some remote roles - maybe swing for more remote (US-based) or contract gigs? Curious which areas you're targeting. Also, mad respect for building that war chest before the layoff chaos.
spez_eats_nazi_ass@reddit
It always gets hard during downturns. One of the simplest filters and why i will always recommend still getting a degree. The people shitting on higher ed almost always never went (dont know what they don’t know) or are selling an agenda.
endless_shrimp@reddit
Lots of reasons for slow interviews now, and your educational pedigree is one of those maaaaany things. Hiring for mid-level and juniors is taking a hit now imo.
In my org there is a ton of management pressure to "show gains we've had with ai" which means shipping faster with fewer resources, and there really isn't a plan for fostering non-senior talent. (I also think this means there is a lot of pressure on the AI firms that way oversold capability a year or so ago, so I think the bubble might be about to bulge if not pop. It might be wishful thinking.)
upsidedownshaggy@reddit
I have a CS degree and am struggling to get interviews with just shy of 5 YoE. The market is awash with developers after the repeat lay offs over the last few years so companies are being picky about who they even interview.