Obama Says Jobs Not Requiring a College Degree Should Be Normal

Obama Says Jobs Not Requiring a College Degree Should Be Normal

(NewsReady.com) – The average cost for college is $35,000 per academic year. That means someone who is attending school to get their Bachelor’s degree will likely spend more than $100,000 over four years. While scholarships and financial aid can mitigate some of the cost, it’s still expensive. Former President Barack Obama is joining calls to get rid of the degree requirement for government jobs.

On March 19, Obama shared a Vox article titled, “Stop requiring college degrees for jobs that don’t need them,” which highlighted states that no longer require them for several positions. The former president called the elimination of degree requirements for many government jobs a “smart policy.” He said it would “reduce barriers to good paying jobs” and expressed hope that governors would “follow suit.”

In 2022, then-Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) dropped the Bachelor’s degree requirement from many of the state’s jobs. NPR reported that when he announced the change, he said it’s “more important than ever” to create a “steady pipeline of talented, well-trained, skilled workers” to fill future jobs. According to the report, the state employs 38,000 people, and Hogan said almost half of them could be done by people without degrees who are properly trained.

After Hogan dropped the requirement for Maryland, Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) did the same thing in his state. According to The Center Square, the Republican said the focus needs to be more on “demonstrated competence” and less on a “piece of paper.”

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) has also dropped the four-year degree requirement in his state. He ordered the Alaskan Department of Administration to review all of the state’s job descriptions and decide which ones could be performed by people who have practical experience rather than a degree.

The only Democrat to follow suit is Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

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