Many times, the first thing they ask you when you apply in person or online is if you have a bachelor’s degree. For jobs that really don’t require one.
The best engineer I ever worked with was a guy who worked 30 years on the shop floor before deciding to take night classes so he could work in the air conditioned design lab.
He actually understood that the things he designed had to translate into the real world through processes that had to be completed in a matter of seconds rather than hours.