Told he'd never be district manager, now he runs one.

Kelly P.

Don't let a degree requirement define your potential.

Shayan B.

100+ rejections, then Year Up led straight to Facebook.

Year Up

Samantha H.

A TV crime show inspired her medical career at UCSF.

JVS

Keith P.

He finished Google's Data Analytics cert in two months.

Google Career Certificates

Cindy V.

She'd hit a paper ceiling — IBM proved her wrong.

IBM Network Admin Apprenticeship

Angel P.

Navy vet, five promotions in under 10 years at Walmart.

Jay G.

House, car, two jobs — within two years of release.

Erin H.

13-year expert still fears losing out to a degree.

Darryl T.

From selling drugs to survive to city Sanitation Supervisor.

Second Chance program

Carol C.

A teen mom who built her own art business.

Ansaer W.

"Adversity feels like home" — Navy vet turned QA engineer.

YearUp

Mike L.

Stocking shelves with his dad to leading hundreds of staff.

Kyle P.

From mall jewelry sales to $18M in tech sales.

Marsay M.

She built her email marketing career entirely on the job.

Brynt P.

Walmart: Betting on Skills Over Pedigree

Skills-Based Hiring

Roger S.

IBM's Apprenticeship: All 10 Hired Full-Time.

IBM Network Admin Apprenticeship

Benny P.

Old Navy's This Way ONward: 15,000 careers since 2007.

This Way ONward

Jesse H.

75% of Google Career Certificate grads see a job boost.

Google Career Certificates

Amy V.

80+ apprentices, 26 states, 100% satisfaction rate.

Technician Apprenticeship Program (TAP)

Parisa F.

Indeed removed degree requirements from 700+ job profiles.

BOOST

Fazri Z.

80 rejections later, a self-built app got him hired.

Naomi D.

Helping shape AI-driven patient care, no degree required.

Travis T.

Screened out for no degree, he built a global platform.

Jubei B.

A junior-year Zoom call led him to Accenture.

Sandy T.

She opens building-trades doors for inmates and young girls.

Gabe T.

From theatre to tech: he now manages projects daily.

Diego R.

From a border town to Program Manager, Entrepreneurship.

Freddie R.

An apprenticeship opened the door to business operations.

Marcus Z.

He bartended through the pandemic, now he's a Systems Admin.

Anthony E.

From service member to Interim Executive Director.

Steeve A.

He almost failed a cert exam, now a Salesforce manager.

Patrick S.

No degree, but he founded his own leadership coaching firm.

Cherri M.

Applied to 100+ jobs before Colorado finally said yes.

Sara H.

From emergency response to leadership development.

Matt P.

From CVS call center to leading BJ's Mac tech team.

MTTI (Computer and Network Technician certification)

Lisa S.

She crossed industries with no degree, now in healthcare.

Jin B.

Apprenticeship turned a photographer into a business analyst

General Assembly

Henry G.

His last $400 bought a laptop, now a cybersecurity pro.

Google Cybersecurity Certification (via Coursera)

Danielle H.

She said yes before feeling ready, now leads compliance.

Keylin H.

Community college to Associate Director — no degree.

Year Up United

Stephanie D.

No backup plan, no degree — now a project manager.

Google Project Management Certificate

Tina H.

Spotted a broken process, recovered $3.5M for AT&T.

Year Up United

Dau'ne B.

From Kroger cashier supervisor to Creative Project Manager.

Houston Community College

Paige B.

An associate degree and internship led to a Director role.

Sara K.

45+ years of experience proves resilience beats any degree.

Jodee T.

She learned accounting on the job. Her motto: figureoutable.

Mario R.

Turned down Goldman Sachs to build his own edtech company.

Brandon B.

A local program turned his security background into tech.

Retrain Tulsa

Georgette B.

Accounting, healthcare, banking — built without a degree.

Charmagne G.

Don't let a résumé tell an incomplete story about you.

Alyssa V.

No one questioned my ability — only the system did.

LaShana L.

Rejected for no degree — CEO of her own company.

LaunchCode

Justin H.

Made smoothies, memorized orders, landed a CEO's internship.

Shanel A.

A part-time baking tryout led to General Bakery Manager.

Alisha W.

Two-year degree, but she outpaced four-year-degree peers.

Jon

Left home at 16, now a systems analyst, no degree.

Cale S.

Navy vet, zero degree, three promotions in four years.

Technician Apprenticeship Program (TAP)

Wilkin S.

Self-taught computer repair led to his IT career.

Thaddaeus E.

No formal IT training — now the go-to tech problem-solver.

Tayshawn M.

From injured athlete to owning his own fitness studio.

Taylor C.

From mailroom roots to managing faculty finances and grades.

Tadarius L.

Identity theft taught him credit repair, now he runs it.

Sheronda B.

Built 80 county apps with no degree, now mentors STARs.

Sheree M.

Degree discrimination, layoffs — still earned 5 promotions.

Sharon M.

No degree, but she kept climbing to better-paying jobs.

Sean F.

Told art never pays — now a professional ice sculptor.

Sam D.

"Give me a week, I'll figure it out": his motto.

Robert M.

Skate shop to corporate merchandiser, built on work ethic.

Ricky M.

"You're never failing, just trying to get better."

Reyna G.

From a youth IT internship to licensed insurance sales.

Quinn D.

"We're not the liability" — a veteran fighting the stigma.

Micah P.

Runs his company — still rejected for lacking a degree.

Meghan M.

"It's more about hanging out with me than the haircut."

Mary F.

Led a team 20 years, then hit 2005's degree wall.

Mark L.

"A couple of semesters off" became 40 years in journalism.

Mark M.

From filling ketchup bottles at 9 to culinary director.

Lynnette J.

After 31 years in academic advising, she launched masks.

Lawrence J.

A CEO watched him clean litter, then hired him.

Clean Slate

Laura C.

From pharmacy counter to IT: "the world is my oyster."

Lakisha G.

"Knowing your worth" — she asked, got a raise.

Kent J.

A veteran's pitch: 'set me up with a temp ID.'

Katy B.

From music studios to data analytics, thanks to rugby.

Jonte H.

From the trades to answering to just two people.

Jonathan W.

Foster care taught him to lead without ultimatums.

Jamie A.

From prison to governor's mansion to nonprofit lead.

Giancarlo M.

Built a UI career through a micro-credential, not a degree.

Erika W.

Proving herself on the motor line as a working mother.

Elizabeth B.

5 years incarcerated, now helps others avoid her path.

Debrena M.

Crashed a company event — walked out with an apprenticeship.

Daquan G.

"No one can take my skills from me," self-taught aide.

Danielle C.

From dog-walking to HR coordinator of a 150-person team.

Dalton D.

EMT by day, building an online platform on the side.

Courtney M.

Hired as a project manager without knowing what one was.

Casey P.

From knife sales to drag star to jewelry entrepreneur.

Carmen M.

CNA to unit coordinator — now building her own agency.

Barbara L.

Paused college for a family crisis, built a 35-year career.

Ali J.

Paid taxes at 15 — now owns a design firm.