Are Tech Degrees Becoming Obsolete Over Tech Skills?
Amidst the growing reality of a talent shortage, a number of companies and government agencies have reconsidered tech degree requirements. Our experts share how tech companies are responding to challenges brought by the changing tech labor market.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the tech industry was forced to accelerate its pace of tech adoption overnight. This fast-paced environment impacted the demand for the tech talent resulting in the Great Resignation in 2021. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.5 million resignations were served in November last year, making tech and healthcare as the hardest hit industries.
Amidst the growing reality of a talent shortage, a number of companies and government agencies have reconsidered tech degree requirements, the Harvard Business School and Burning Glass Institute 2022 report found. Additionally, 1.4 million jobs could open to workers without college degrees over the next five years if companies focused on skills-based hiring, the report said.
“One would argue that it’s possible to fulfill any technical role without formal education and there are quite a few examples to support this,” Periklis Venakis, chief technology officer at Epignosis, a learning management provider, told Spiceworks. “However, the reality is that (tech) professionals that have received formal education are generally more capable of taking on more complex tasks. So it’s not a matter of tech job type, but tech job level and responsibilities.”
While some companies are prioritizing their commitment to skills over degrees in IT occupations, what matters to tech professionals is understanding how to highlight their tech skills over degrees in a resume. Here’s what techies need to understand.
See More: Tech Salaries in 2022: Why the Six Figure Pay Makes Techies Feel Underpaid
What Do Tech Jobs Need: Tech Degrees Or Tech Skills?
According to the White House, there will be limits on the use of educational requirements in favor of adopting a skills-based approach when hiring IT professionals. Tech hiring experts believe that many employers have joined this trend as a result of responding to challenges brought by the changing tech labor market.
In April 2022, Indeed, an employment site released its survey results which found that 67% of companies with 1,000 or more employees would consider doing away with the college requirement. Confirming this trend, Kristin Langdon, SVP of people and culture at Botify, told Spiceworks that the enterprise software company has removed the education requirement from 98% of their job descriptions.
“We believe that work place experience is as relevant to success as a formal tech education. It is hard to find a 1:1 connection between most degrees vs. the experience someone brings who may not have formal education but was employee number 5 at what became a high growth scale-up,” Langdon explained.
In a pulse survey conducted by Spiceworks, 100% of the participants said that tech skills matter more over tech degrees or certifications. “Outside of a few highly specialized roles that may benefit from academic study, many people learn through exposure, shadowing, and hands-on training,” informed Jessica Reeves, SVP operations at Anaconda, a Python data science platform provider.
According to hiring experts, the most important traits needed are curiosity to understand how systems work, willingness to teach yourself and being self taught, and resourcefulness to find answers and move on when stuck.
“We see this constantly in the data science world, where professionals from other disciplines teach themselves Python to either transition into a new career or add more value to their current role. As long as you have the drive and desire to learn, a mentor that can help you along the way, and a culture where it’s ok to fail (and learn from that failure), no “formal education” is needed.” – Jessica Reeves, SVP operations at Anaconda
However, tech skills do not always win over tech degrees. Some experts believe that for niche and specialized tech domains such as AI, cybersecurity, and others a formal degree would be beneficial. “If you want to be specialized in some domain such as AI, cybersecurity, distributed systems, etc. and plan to work on advanced problems or do deep research, formal degrees such as M.S or Ph.D. could be helpful,” Sanjeev Agrawal, president and COO at LeanTaaS, told Spiceworks.
“It’s important to note however that the importance of formal tech education declines with experience, so requiring a degree is more important for junior staff,” Venakis added.
See More: Work From Anywhere or Getting a Promotion: What Techies Want?
Most In-Demand Tech Skills for IT Pros
According to a CompTIA report, five of the most popular IT skills for 2022 are programming language skills, user experience, machine learning, quality assurance, and mobile application development. “Some skills that are in demand today include mobile and web development, data analysis, product development and delivery, and customer problem solving,” Vijay Sundaram, chief strategy officer at ManageEngine and Zoho Corp noted.
“Security, AI, and anything devops-related, especially involving AWS, are very hot right now. It’s important however to underline that the most important skills to look for are not technical; these are subject to change rapidly, following each year’s trends, and a robust training program can help an organization’s roster to keep up.” – Periklis Venakis, CTO, Epignosis
The report includes a list of 22 most popular skills to learn in 2022 for IT professionals.
Source: CompTIA
According to BTG 2022 Skills Index, the top fastest growing skills in 2022 that companies are looking for and the ones that matter to the CEOs include artificial intelligence and machine learning (+500%), cost reduction (+400%), global HR (+314%), compensation strategy (+215%), and risk management (+200%).
Other skills such as data visualization and database architecture and management will be in demand due to the need to improve governance and facilitate software development and scalability, the BTG report said.
TOP 10 FASTEST GROWING SKILLS FOR 2022
| Fastest Growing Skills for 2022 | Demand in Percentage |
|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning | +500% |
| Cost Reduction | +400% |
| Global Human Resources | +314% |
| Compensation Strategy | +215% |
| Risk Management | +200% |
| Engagement Management | +167% |
| Data Visualization | +120% |
| Benefits Planning and Management | +100% |
| Database Architecture and Management | +82% |
| Product Development | +82% |
Source: 2022 BTG Skills Index
When applying for tech jobs, experts believe that hiring managers want evidence of skills. “Examples of specific accomplishments—with clear results and outcomes—help hiring managers understand how skills have been applied by candidates in previous jobs,” Sundaram highlighted.
Most tech companies are looking for IT pros who are ‘polyglot’ programmers with a growth mindset. “People who have these traits can become productive quickly and succeed in any tech ecosystem,” Agarwal noted.
However, according to Reeves IT pros who highlight only ‘certifications and boot camps’ in their resume can be seen as red flags during hiring. “Hiring managers want to see depth across an applicant’s resume, so showcasing relevant experiences like personal projects, volunteer work, or any paid work, will help make a resume stand out,” she added.
See More: Top In-Demand IT Skills In 2022: The Experts’ Edit
How Tech Companies Can Offer Tailored On-the-Job Trainings
As the demand for tech talent is heating up, hiring experts believe that most large tech companies are focusing heavily on on-the-job training to upskill and reskill tech employees. But when and where should on-the-job training start? “Once employees are settled into their role, on-the-job training can be particularly beneficial when it comes to learning jobs that didn’t exist several years ago,” Patrik Wilkens, VP of operations at TheSoul Publishing, a global media publisher said.
“Tech companies often experience a large gap between skills needed in the workplace and what a college education provides; many relevant skills have to be built and developed on the job,” – Vijay Sundaram, chief strategy officer at ManageEngine and Zoho Corp
Another factor that adds on to on-the-job training at tech companies is training offered by experienced peers. According to Venakis, most tech companies who value reskilling and upskilling prefer to invest in structured and continuous learning programs such as seminars, workshops, and online courses. “These are constantly adjusted based on individuals’ aspirations for their career path as well as the company’s strategic planning and goals. This is a far better alternative, since it ensures that all members receive quality training (not just inexperienced ones or new hires), but it also promotes productivity, job satisfaction and loyalty,” he added.
Some tech experts believe that there are no “off the shelf” training programs when it comes to tailored experiences. Reeves explained that many companies, including Anaconda, have started working with third-party firms to curate a training program that includes a mix of self-paced learning, interactive labs, and in-person reviews unique to each company’s technical stack and development practices. “These firms sit down with technical teams to better understand a company’s products and the skill gaps that need to be filled to catalyze growth. Armed with these insights, companies can create a curriculum that guides new hires and entry-level developers to success.”
How is tech talent hired in your workplace, based on tech degrees or skills? Comment below or let us know on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. We’d love to hear from you!
MORE ON TECH SKILLS
