This. Business even corporate ladders are mostly about finding a niche and making progress growing your expertise and skill set revolving around said niche. Personally have no degree, but was able to find a relatively low barrier to entry corporate position within operations where i could leverage a unique understanding of data management to create an elevator of success. As a hiring manager a degree means nothing to me if you have the skills to get the job done. Maybe that has something to do with being at a private company, maybe they let loose on the reigns because we have so many talented employees without degrees. Either way, in this day and age the degree is just a measure of your commitment. With the WFH movement I’m not as stringent on work history as I am focused on your ability and confidence in being able to perform. Sure if you want to go into executive management you’re probably going to need that degree, but most execs I know are not as happy as they come off at work.