Why You Don’t Need a Degree to Get a Job

Have you ever felt that the only thing standing between you and a great job is your lack of a university degree? A lot of my friends have. Some even go so far as to sign up for expensive university courses or even start pursuing a four-year degree smack in the middle of the recession. Overwhelmingly, they treat degrees as the golden ticket to better career opportunities, regardless of the economic climate.

Now, don’t get me wrong here - I’m not suggesting that degrees aren’t useful. They are - and they really do unlock quite a lot of doors for you, especially when career progression and promotions are concerned.

But let’s be realistic - if you are reading this, it’s usually because you’re unemployed right now and you don’t the time or financial security to spend the next four years studying towards a Bachelor’s degree. After all, what’s the point of getting a BA in Management if you find yourself living on the street and off food stamps in the meantime?

At this point, you might be wondering - “But George, isn’t this a Catch-22 of sorts? You say I need a job to afford a degree, but I can’t get a degree without a job!”

It’s not - there are plenty of paying jobs out there that don’t require you to have a degree - and here’s a list of just of them:

1. Private Security - if you’ve got the physique for it, security is a great sector to be in right now. In fact, it’s one of the few sectors that’s doing well in the recession. Poor economy creates crime, and crime creates demand for security services. You don’t need a degree to work in this sector - and you can rise very high indeed without any education. It’s one of the few jobs out there that are all about how good you are, and not where you got your degree from.
2. Housekeeping - yes, I know it’s not a terribly glamorous job - but can you afford to be picky when you don’t know where your next paycheck is coming from? Housekeeping is a great way to earn some extra income and isn’t terribly challenging or stressful. If you decide to look for this kind of job, the single most important thing to look at is the character of your prospective “boss”. One of my ex-girlfriends was a detailed-obsessed clean freak who would throw a temper tantrum over a single speck of dust - in short, not the kind of person you want to be working for. However, she was an (unfortunate) exception - and most people will happily keep you busy so long as the house looks reasonably clean when you’re done.
3. Au pair - I’m keeping this separate from housekeeping jobs for one important reason: this is one of the jobs that you can do internationally. That’s right - even the most visa-restrictive countries (such as Switzerland) usually have provisions for temporary au pair workers. If you’re good with children and don’t mind getting paid for making sure that the toddler isn’t gnawing on an electric chord or flushing himself down the toilet, this can be a great opportunity to make some cash and see the world in the process!
4. Taxi and Chauffeur Services - once again, this is not glamorous by any stretch of imagination, but if you enjoy driving and have a license, this could be fantastic job for you. The only downside is that periodically you have to deal with fairly obnoxious clients (think drunk teens getting home at 5AM from a local nightclub), but the pay isn’t bad - and you can often get tips, which are just icing on the cake.

Now, don’t misunderstand me - I never said that these jobs are exciting, fancy, glamorous or otherwise something to write home about. But having been in a situation where I had exactly $61.48 left on my bank account, I can tell you that, very often, any kind of job is better than none.

Would a university degree help you avoid these kind of jobs and look for better-paid and more prestigious opportunities elsewhere? Possibly (remember, a lot of the unemployed these days are Harvard MBAs who lose their jobs during the financial crisis). But can you afford to wait four years for your degree? That’s a question only you can answer.