If you never went to college, you could still find a job at some of America's biggest companies. Major companies like Delta Air Lines and Bank of America are open to hiring job seekers who don't have a college degree.
A survey of US employers from Intelligent.com found "45% of companies plan to eliminate bachelor's degree requirements for some positions in 2024." In general, companies may be caring more about prospective employees' skills rather than formal qualifications — although one recent report found there's a long way to go to make real progress in skills-based hiring practices.
Still, there are places out there that may care more about skills than an education level or that have roles where a degree is not required.
"My main piece of advice is to never discount where you've gotten your experience," Kayla Nall, director of talent acquisition operations at Delta Air Lines, told Business Insider for those without a college or bachelor's degree. "I think for organizations that hire skills-based, we care about what you know, not where you learned it."
A recent report from career-site Indeed based on US postings on the platform in January showed there were a lot of work opportunities that didn't note specific educational requirements. Just over half didn't mention any, and around 18% mentioned a bachelor's degree or higher.
"There's a lot of promises behind skills-first hiring to potentially bring in more diverse candidates and candidates who haven't had access to these types of opportunities in the past," Cory Stahle, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told BI. "As a job seeker, being able to see skills in job postings and be able to cultivate those skills is a really, really helpful step forward in career paths."
So where can you potentially get a job without a degree? Eight prominent companies spoke with BI or sent statements about opportunities and job-seeker advice for those seeking work without a degree.