These days, the job market continues to be full of requirements from employers and plenty of jobs for everyone. Granted, pretty much anyone looking for a job wants one that’s well-paid, so it is common to see people with a fake diploma that try to get an amazing job. However, the reality is that in most cases, real experience and skills will trump any fake degree. Yet that doesn’t stop people from trying to cheat and highlight diplomas or knowledge they obviously don’t have.
What is the role of degrees/diplomas on the job market?
Realistically, people always wanted to have great diplomas because it does help them on the job market. Degrees and diplomas are a sign of competence, they are offering credential inflation and also provide a screening mechanism. That’s why, for decades, having a degree in a certain field would be the main thing to focus on. And while it’s not always going to net you a workplace, having a degree or diploma is one of those things that would normally help.
And then we have other issues, mainly those related to fake degrees. As soon as people found a way to digitally alter degrees and make fake versions with more impressive credentials, they started doing so. It’s a simple thing for them to do, and realistically, it does seem to provide good results for them. That’s why the fake degree industry continues to rise and more these days.
Are fake degrees distorting the job market?
The short answer is yes, they absolutely do. They are making it more problematic for people with a real degree to find a job. Not only that, but fake stuff pretty much floods the market with professionals that have no real experience in their niche. They claim they do, their fake degree supports that, but it’s just something fake.
That means there’s no real talent, no expertise and knowledge. While it might seem ok at first, the truth is that a fake diploma like that will only lead to issues, and you really want to avoid those as an employer. That’s because anything the employer with a fake degree touches can become a legal liability. And that’s why you have to be very careful when it comes to who you hire, on what position, and what are their credentials in the first place.
Does experience matter more than degrees these days?
Obviously, there are still niches where degrees play a major role. But realistically, more and more people want to focus on what knowledge you have, and what experience you bring to the table. You can acquire experience in different ways, not only via a degree. However, it gives you the upper hand since it shows you know the industry, and you can provide a much better return on investment.
With that being said, experience matters because:
- It allows you to demonstrate competence, which is not exactly doable if you want to show that with a fake degree, so keep that in mind.
- Industries are evolving, and they rely on existing experience to help you grow. If you have a fake diploma and no experience, growing will be very difficult, that’s for sure.
- Plus, experience makes it easier for you to align your skillset with the business needs.
- Moreover, this leads to fast onboarding, something that will indeed help a lot more than you might expect.
It’s also relevant to mention that certain industries already rely on experience and not a degree. Technology is a major one, but also entrepreneurship, creative industries and skilled trades. It’s nice to have a degree in those niches, sure, but certifications and experience tend to matter a lot more. In general, you want to have great amounts of experience, because that will always highlight your expertise within that niche, and it’s just easier to grow as a professional there.
What do employers think?
Traditional employers will continue to focus on degrees, especially when we talk about the legal sector or industries with an old-school mentality. But even in those situations, they are starting to focus more on the experience and knowledge of the persons they hire. When we go outside of the traditional sector, you immediately realize that degrees tend to be way less important when it comes to experience.
From our knowledge, law, engineering and medicine tend to focus on degrees for the time being. Finance and government jobs also focus on degrees quite a lot. But when we go outside of those sectors and we enter the tech, retail or startup world, that’s where experience is way more important. They value skillsets and things that a degree won’t always provide, such as proven results, agility or industry-specific stuff.
Granted, there’s still the middle ground where you will find companies that want a healthy amount of experience and some type of degree. But even in those cases, the degree is replaced with certifications, a skill assessment, work samples and so on. It’s clear that on the job market, having a degree is not as important as it once was, but it still continues to matter more than you might expect.
Technology is used to combat fake degrees
The most important thing we have to note is that tech is being used all the time as a way to combat fake degrees. It’s more important than ever to try and eliminate fake degrees from the market, and tech is indeed doing wonders in that regard. Tools like Accredible, WES or the National Student Clearinghouse continue to help verify degrees alongside institutions, so it’s much harder than ever to actually have and use a fake degree.
Plus, with the focus being more on experience and skills, even if a company doesn’t verify degrees, that’s not as important. They will still put you through a skill check and various assessments. That way, it’s easier for them to see if someone has a fake diploma. After all, companies hire you for the skills, if you have a diploma but none of the skills, those won’t really matter.
These days we have many examples of entrepreneurs that did wonders just by dropping out of college to build amazing companies, like Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates. That’s why they and their companies, or even newer companies, focus more on skillsets and expertise. In the end, those will matter more than a piece of paper, because that doesn’t show what the person can bring to the table, most of the time anyway. While degrees can be valid for some people, there are plenty of fake degrees flooding the market that businesses need to be very careful.
Closing thoughts
It’s clear that these days, the amount of fake degrees and diplomas on the market have made things much harder to handle. It’s very important for employers to figure out the true skillset and experience/knowledge that a potential hire brings to the table. And that’s why there’s more focus on real experience rather than degrees. Since there is a chance that those degrees might be fake, you really can’t know what you’re dealing with unless you test that person. That will help you identify the real experience and skillset they bring to the table!
