The Degree is Just a Ticket

Your diploma got you in the door. Congratulations. But once you are inside, nobody cares where you went to school. They care if you can actually do the thing. Can you solve problems? Can you learn fast? Can you work with humans without being weird about it? That is the real test.

Skills Over Credentials

The job market shifted. Employers want proof, not promises. A GitHub repo with real projects beats a transcript with straight As. A portfolio of actual work beats a resume full of buzzwords. The barrier to entry for proving yourself has never been lower — you can learn almost anything online, build something, and show it to the world.

This is actually good news for us. We do not need to go into crushing debt for a piece of paper. We need to get good at things and document the process. Build in public. Share your learning. Let your work speak.

The Soft Skills Gap

Here is what companies are actually desperate for: communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence. You can teach someone to code. You cannot teach them to handle feedback without imploding. You cannot teach them to write an email that does not confuse everyone.

Gen Z gets labeled as bad at communication because we grew up texting. But we also grew up navigating complex social dynamics online. That translates. We just need to practice the professional version.

What to Do Now

Pick a skill. Learn it publicly. Build something real. Document your process. Repeat. Your degree opened the door — your skills will keep you in the room.