Comment Re:Accredited online university, can challenge cla (Score 1) 87
You need certain knowledge.
Basically, this.
Degrees aren't magic. Someone without a degree can know a hell of a lot more about a subject than someone who does have one - even for advanced subjects.
What a degree is though, is some level of proof to the rest of the world that the person has at least some baseline level of knowledge. If I'm hiring a programmer: 1 has a Computer Science degree and one doesn't. The guy without the degree MIGHT be significantly better, but I'm taking more of a risk because he also might be clueless. Now there's some risk in hiring the degree guy too, but there's LESS risk, because an accredited school has said that he has taken their classes and passed their exams to demonstrate at least some minimum level of proficiency.
They also show some level of commitment. A person who is willing to attend a school for 4 years and see the process through to the end has at least in 1 facet of their life finished a long and complicated task.
I'm personally in favor of the degree approach. That's what I did. Now when hiring I'll interview both sides and give everyone a fair shake. I've had good and bad results from both groups (degree and non-degree), but for younger people I still advise getting the degree as the better option.