That college degree box hurt me for 20 years. My certifications meant squat. I was losing job opportunities to French lit majors. A while back I decided to change the rules. I declared myself African American on my job applications. When I was interviewed I would get funny stares from HR. I knew what they were thinking, but wouldn’t come out and say it. “You said you were African. You don’t look African.” The ones who asked got, “I was born in Johannesburg. That makes me African American. Or is there something more to my origin that has me here today?”
I work as a machine designer designing / engineering liquid filling machines for products such as personal care (lotions, shampoos etc.), food (peanut butter, salad dressing etc.) and now beer and soda for major manufacturers. Funny thing is, I never went to college. I bought a bunch of mechanical engineering books on Ebay about 20 years ago and studied away. I got a job as a draftsman and worked my way up. I make over 100k/year with no debt to show for it.
Sadly, moving to another job, even laterally is very difficult. I’m expected to have a Masters at my pay scale. Never mind that I can do the job and excel at it.
I just gave up and got a liberal arts type of degree after 20 years in the workplace. It opened up jobs I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to apply for- even with a my experience. People in my field side eye my degree when they hear what I have, but I have been doing the work for so long, it doesn’t matter.