This is from an opinion article in the Washington Post. I don’t even have to read the article to give an answer that refutes this claim.
It’s simply because employers add “or equivalent” to the requirement. Or it might say “or # years experience in..” and give the title of the job, such as accountant. It’s not that employers require a college degree, it’s that the employers require that the employment bar must be set high enough so their staff can screen possibly dozens of applicants and narrow the choices down to a few to interview. And they give themselves some room for discretion so they can choose the intern that has been working at the company for three summers in training to be an accountant while taking classes but not yet graduated with her degree. They have to open the job to applicants even though they’re pretty sure that the 3rd year intern will be chosen for the job. But they might choose another applicant with the degree, knowing that the third year intern will have her degree next year and be back as a full-time employee when Jane Doe retires next year. Perfect timing. 😉
