Degree or No Degree? | Career Chat with Elena, Mario, & Prince

College degrees aren’t the only path to success. In this Career Chat episode, we explore how real-world experience, certifications, and connections are shifting the way we define career readiness and advancement.

✅ Many professionals and entrepreneurs succeed without formal degrees
✅ Industry certifications are becoming key, especially in tech fields
✅ Networking and personal connections drive career opportunities
✅ Lifelong learning and adaptability matter more than any single credential

Connect with Elena https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenadoolan/

🎙️ Don’t miss our recent episode on work-life balance with Elena and Mario! (Ep. 14) 

#CareerSuccess #SkillsOverDegrees #TransparentHR #HRInsights #WorkforceTrends #NetworkingMatters #LifelongLearning #CollegeDebate #CertificationsCount #CareerGrowth

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Career Chat
• 1:17 Personal Experiences with Degrees
• 3:11 Certifications in Today's Workforce
• 6:59 Education vs. Experience Balance
• 9:52 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Hey and welcome to another Career Chat. Bite-sized inspiration on the Transparent Nature podcast. Today I'm joined with my co-host, mario Hunt, and a very special guest, elena Doolin, as we dive into a big question does a degree really matter in today's workforce? Welcome to the Transparent HR podcast. How are y'all doing today?

Speaker 2: 0:35

Doing great, doing great.

Speaker 1: 0:36

Absolutely wonderful. Awesome, awesome. So let's get into today's career chat. Does a degree really matter, elena? Can you help us answer that question today?

Speaker 2: 0:50

So I'm a little bit biased because I work for a company that helps college students get their degrees. But I will say that in the general workforce a lot of what is necessary for a job can be taught and learned on the job, so a degree is not necessarily required. For example, I have a bachelor's in health sciences and I'm currently an HR development manager. I'm getting my master's in HR management because I wanted some sort of formal education and I love school, but I don't think it was necessarily required in order for me to continue with my career.

Speaker 1: 1:37

Gotcha, gotcha, mariette, what's your take? You've been going to school. I think you have your bachelor's and master's degree, and so I mean what's your take on this?

Speaker 3: 1:49

I've got a few degrees actually. Oh, it's still thinking about a few more, which is crazy. But yeah, I think it only, it only matters if the job description minimum requires it. That's the only way I would say it really matters, because nowadays, if you notice, there are a lot of people in very high positions in places that do not have what we would consider to be the degree, type or level to be in those positions. However, a lot of it is, as Elena stated, you can gain a lot of experience just from working in the position and picking up and learning cross-training as well. And then there's this certain thing that's always been really, really big in the workforce, or just in the world, or the weight of the world period, is it's all about who you know.

Speaker 2: 2:45

Oh, yes, those are important.

Speaker 3: 2:55

So only in circumstances where the requirements and the minimums for that requirement says that you need that education is where I feel like it's required that you have it.

Speaker 1: 3:00

So, in other words, you don't really need a degree to be successful.

Speaker 3: 3:04

So, in other words, you don't really need a degree to be successful.

Speaker 1: 3:16

What it really takes is, yeah, what it really takes is self-determination and really achieving goals and trying to. You know, think outside of the box. I think, especially for a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners, you'll be surprised. They don't have degrees. They they dropped out of college, right. You'll be surprised, they don't have degrees. They dropped out of college, right, and we know a few, but I won't name any names. But you know, having a degree, you know that doesn't mean that you'll be successful. What matters is that you are setting goals for yourself and achieving things that you've never seen before. But this goes into my next question, because I think, in the space that we're in today, we see a lot of technology happening, a lot of AI, and so I look at the IT field, right, and with the IT field, some of those individuals they don't have IT degrees, but they have certifications. So let's talk about certifications. Are certifications important as well? What is your take on this, mario? Okay?

Speaker 3: 4:14

Well, to me I think there again it's just like the degree only if needed. A lot of things you can learn basically just from basic training experience and if you're paired up with the right person, they can teach you. However, sometimes there are some specialized skills and things that you may need to know that going through to get that certification or going through to get your education, get that degree, will benefit you on what they would probably say the book sense wise. However, a lot of it, most things, can be taught, because how did we get to putting together the curriculum? You're teaching it so most things can be taught.

Speaker 3: 4:57

Most things people can be trained on, however, just depending upon the institute, if they feel like you need a little bit more knowledge, because most of the time on the job, training is specifically specified to that actual institute or industry. So just because you've been taught how to do this job in this industry, there could be some changes based off you being in a different industry or being in that exact same role at a different institute. So I think that's where it kind of goes into play. Like when I went to get my business degree, they taught us a lot of different things and then they had the lean version, where you can learn how to keep things lean when it comes to your numbers and things like that. And once I worked for a facility where we had people that were really great at, I guess, the thing to keep the money flowing and the revenue flowing in for that facility, because they've always been there.

Speaker 3: 5:55

However, they didn't know how to think outside of the box because they had never had any experience anywhere else or they had never been taught other. However, they didn't know how to think outside of the box because they had never had any experience anywhere else or they had never been taught other methods which I was taught in through my education, so it was very beneficial, besides just being trained specifically in that environment. So sometimes it is needed. Sometimes it's really good to have those certifications and that education behind it, because some people can learn, but they learn specifically where they are but there's a great big world outside of where you are and some of the education that is given is based off of the world itself and the difference within industries and within other environments. So it can be beneficial.

Speaker 1: 6:37

Yes.

Speaker 1: 6:38

So, my take on this is and based on my experience right, I think for me, college and really getting a degree helped me to get into the workforce, get into a nice paying job, a really rewarding career. But I do believe that there are limits to what you can do with a degree. So I often tell people when they ask me, how did you become an HR business partner so early, how did you become a HR manager so early? And I tell them well, you know, you get your bachelor's degree that helps you to get in the door. It doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter what type of degree it is, just get a degree. But I often tell people, if you're going to get a degree, you might as well get a business degree.

Speaker 1: 7:34

That could get you into any job, yeah, and so then I then I tell them once you get that degree, get your certification. A lot of people go straight back to school get a master's degree, but for me, getting that certification in that area, in that field that I'm in, is going to help me to become more of an expert in that role, and so I think that you know that was important for me, that was really important for me. So what is your take on this, Elena? You know, getting a certification I think you're certified as well in your field what is your take on this?

Speaker 2: 8:15

So I work in the tech industry now. So and the students that we work with they are continuously getting certifications while also getting their degrees, because that is the shift that we're seeing in the field right now is, you know, certifications are becoming more and more relevant and more and more important when it comes to landing jobs. For me, like I said, I have a bachelor's in health sciences. Within a month of graduation, I went to my company and I said, hey, I want to be SHRM certified. So I immediately jumped right into that and then I finished with that and I'm just. I love learning, but I consider myself a continuous active learner.

Speaker 2: 9:03

As soon as I was done with that, I was like all right, what's next? So I enrolled in my master's degree. So I believe that you know it's a mix of both. But certifications, truly that's a shift in the workforce that we're seeing is they're important and that is really what um employers are looking for. Um, that's one of the things that they're looking for on resumes. Um, because I part of my, my job is helping coach um students and and new graduates for their first interview, for their first, their first big job. Um, and's. That's something that we're seeing and they're they're coming back to me and they're saying, hey, I need, I need a certification in this, I need a certification in that. So that that is a shift and I do think that it's very important right now and it's very relevant.

Speaker 1: 9:49

Yeah Well, thank y'all so much for this today's career chat and joining us in this really important topic. You know does does a degree really matter in your success. So thanks for tuning in in today's career chat. If you've enjoyed this discussion, be sure to check out our latest episode on work-life balance with Elena, as well as with Mario. We'll be back with more career wisdom soon. Until then, keep navigating your career journey with clarity, confidence and purpose. See you then.