Key takeaways

• Most graduates believe they could do their jobs without a degree – and over a third say it wasn’t worth the time or money.
• As skills-first recruitment grows, employers must manage potential tensions between degree and non-degree holders.
• Gen Z is especially likely to question the value of degrees and see AI as making them less relevant.

Higher education is valuable for many reasons, but it’s not the only path to career success – and we have the data to prove it.

A recent Indeed-commissioned survey by The Harris Poll reveals a significant shift in how individuals with university degrees perceive the value of their education in the current job landscape. The TL;DR: the majority think they could do their jobs without their degrees, and a good portion believe their degrees were a waste.

‘These results tell us many workers feel their degrees are becoming obsolete – and they’re right to be thinking ahead,’ says Aidan McLaughlin, a skills-first hiring advocate and Global Director of Brand & Advertising at Indeed. ‘As roles evolve and AI reshapes the workforce, employers who focus on potential and invest in skill development, not just credentials, will be best positioned to stay competitive.’

The survey, which included 772 adults in the US aged 18 and older who are employed full- or part-time or seeking employment and have an Associate’s degree (similar to the first year of a bachelor’s degree in the UK) or higher, highlights a growing emphasis on skills and experience over traditional qualifications. 

Let’s explore the key findings and what they mean for your recruitment strategy. 

1. A significant percentage of graduates question the practical value of their degrees

Though 70% of respondents say their degrees are still ‘relevant’ to their current jobs, more than a third (36%) feel their degrees were a waste of time and/or money, and a striking 60% believe they could perform their current jobs just as well without them. Those with student debt (41%) are more likely to think this than those without debt (31%). This sentiment is particularly strong among younger generations, with 68% of Gen Zers and 64% of millennials sharing this view. 

Additionally, more than half (52%) wouldn’t have attended university if a degree weren’t required for so many jobs.

The takeaway: ‘When this many workers believe they could do their job just as well without a degree, it should be a wake-up call for employers,’ McLaughlin says. While some fields – like medicine, law and engineering – rightly require formal degrees, many others require them unnecessarily. ‘We need to ask ourselves: Are degree requirements unintentionally filtering out great talent? Skills-first recruitment isn’t about lowering the bar – it’s about recognising those who already clear it in different, equally valuable ways.’

2. There’s potential for workplace tension between degree holders and non-degree holders

The survey found that two thirds (67%) of degree-holders would be bothered if they discovered that their colleagues had secured the same or similar roles without a degree. This signals a deeper challenge: as organisations embrace skills-first recruitment, how can they address internal perceptions of fairness and prevent potential employee friction?

‘Transparency is essential,’ McLaughlin says. ‘If we’re embracing skills-first recruitment, we also have to redefine what career progression looks like so all employees, regardless of how they acquired their skills and knowledge, see a path forward.’

The takeaway: to unlock the full value of skills-first recruitment, be sure to communicate the value of diverse learning paths, celebrate outcomes over credentials, and ensure career growth is visible, equitable and based on skills.

3. Gen Z is leading a shift in how we perceive the value of university degrees

The survey reveals a clear generational divide – especially among Gen Z – regarding how much value people place on university degrees. Younger generations are more likely to question the value of their degrees and feel AI has made them irrelevant.

Here are some of the most notable stats underscoring generational differences:

• 68% of Gen Zers and 64% of millennials believe they could do their jobs just as well without a degree, compared with 60% of all respondents
• 76% of Gen Z respondents say they wouldn’t have attended university if a degree weren’t required for so many jobs, compared with 54% of millennials, 46% of Gen Xers and 34% of baby boomers and older generations 
• 51% of Gen Zers think their degrees were a waste of time and money, compared with 41% of millennials, 30% of Gen Xers and 20% of baby boomers and older generations 
• Gen Z is the most concerned (74%) of any group about non-degreed colleagues obtaining roles identical to theirs

‘Gen Z isn’t just questioning the economic value of a degree – they’re telling us they might not have gone to university if it weren’t a perceived requirement to get a good job,’ McLaughlin says. 

The takeaway: to attract the next generation of talent, McLaughlin encourages employers to highlight traits such as drive, learning and real-world experience over academic credentials in their employer brand and recruitment practices. ‘We need to look for the human potential in candidates,’ he says.

4. Nearly a third of workers believe AI has made their degrees irrelevant

The survey found that 30% of employees and jobseekers feel AI has made their university degrees irrelevant. This was even truer among younger generations, with 45% of Gen Zers and 36% of millennials agreeing with this sentiment compared with 20% of Gen Xers and 21% of baby boomers and older generations.

The takeaway: as AI disruption gains momentum, a skills-first approach can help maintain workforce performance by focusing on what people can do now – and their potential to grow – rather than their degrees or job titles. ‘Skills-first recruitment gives us a way to keep pace,’ says McLaughlin. For many roles, that now includes proficiency in using AI tools. As Indeed Chief Economist Svenja Gudell often says, ‘GenAI won’t take your job. But the person who knows how to use it will.’

5. Student debt isn’t just a personal burden – it’s shaping job acceptance rates

At first glance, student debt may seem like a personal issue, but it’s having a real impact on how candidates evaluate job offers.

Roughly half (51%) of employees and jobseekers with a university degree graduated with student debt, and 43% declined a job offer because the salary was too low to offset it. (This was more prevalent among millennials, at 47%.) Additionally, 38% believe their student debt hindered their professional growth more than their degrees helped it.

Meanwhile, 72% of respondents say they feel employers should do more to help with student debt. This sentiment is perhaps unsurprisingly more prevalent among those who graduated with student debt than without it (78% vs 66%), as well as younger generations: 80% of Gen Zers and 79% of millennials compared with 65% of Gen Xers and 60% of baby boomers and older generations.

The takeaway: in addition to embracing a skills-first recruitment approach to stay competitive for talent, employers should consider both strong compensation and support for employees managing student debt.

Learn more about skills-first recruitment:

A beginner’s guide to skills-first hiring

AI has the power to unlock skills-first hiring

Smarter hiring with data-driven insights: Quality and skills edition