Job hunting when your degree and work experience don't match
Strict degree and certification filters block applicants from advancing in fields where they already have years of working experience. At the same time, applying for jobs related to their actual college major is impossible without an updated portfolio, leaving them stuck between instant rejections and starting over in entry-level roles.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Job hunting when your degree and work experience don't match
- 1Reverting to an entry-level job to build relevant qualifications in the desired field.Did this help you?
- 2Applying to remote and international roles where portfolios and projects carry more weight than local degree filters.Did this help you?
- 3Reframing unrelated job experience on a CV to highlight specific relevant achievements, like building tools or automations.Did this help you?
- 4Relying on personal network referrals to bypass the automated CV screening stage.Did this help you?
- 5Targeting hybrid roles in adjacent industries where the original degree might be viewed as an asset rather than irrelevant.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The worst part is I figured out halfway through that I didn’t even like electronics. I actually did really good with my grades though, I just hated it. I was too scared to switch majors, so I just kept going, and that’s what I regret the most.”source ↗
“The problem is that here, if you don’t have a CS or IT degree, it feels like nobody even looks at you for data roles.”source ↗
“Since then I’ve tried applying to junior data analyst jobs and got nothing.”source ↗
“If anyone here has broken into data analytics without a CS degree, I’d love to hear how you got past the degree filter.”source ↗
“I have a degree in Industrial Design; however, all my work experience has been in project management.”source ↗
“I can't really apply for design jobs because I haven't worked on a portfolio in years”source ↗
“I am not being considered for the Project Manager vacancies I've applied for because apparently they all require some education and certifications in the field that I don't really have.”source ↗
“I want to do something creative, but I don't consider myself qualified for most of the vacancies I see, unless I take an entry-level job, which would be kind of sad considering I've been working in this field for almost 5 years.”source ↗
“I’ve gotten a couple here and there, but with the vast majority of applications I either don’t hear back at all or get rejected shortly after applying.”source ↗