Government jobs that no longer require a degree, and how they really screen you

The federal rule is older than the recent announcements

Title 5, section 3308 of the U.S. Code says the Office of Personnel Management or other examining agency 'may not prescribe a minimum educational requirement for an examination for the competitive service except when the Office decides that the duties of a scientific, technical, or professional position cannot be performed by an individual who does not have a prescribed minimum education'. It also requires OPM to make the reasons for any such decision part of its public records. The prohibition derives from a 1944 statute, was codified into title 5 by Public Law 89-554 in 1966, and was amended in 1978 only to substitute the Office of Personnel Management for the Civil Service Commission. So when you see a headline saying degree requirements have been dropped, the accurate version is narrower: the default was already no education requirement, the exception was doing a lot of work, and recent policy has been squeezing the exception. Executive Order 13932, signed on 26 June 2020 and published at 85 FR 39457, told agencies they may prescribe a minimum educational requirement for competitive service employment 'only when a minimum educational qualification is legally required to perform the duties of the position in the State or locality where those duties are to be performed'. It also said that where education is being used to satisfy some other minimum qualification, it may count only if the candidate's education directly reflects the competencies needed. Both of those instructions land on the wording of individual announcements, and both are applied announcement by announcement.

State orders direct a review, they do not rewrite postings

Look at the actual text of one, rather than the coverage. New Jersey Executive Order 327, signed on 10 April 2023, directs the Civil Service Commission to do two things within six months: identify the job classifications in the state classification plan that require a four-year college degree, and determine which of those classifications are appropriate to include practical experience in lieu of a degree, then revise the classification plan accordingly. It further directs that the appropriate practical experience be included in public postings for the identified classifications. Read that carefully. The Commission decides which classifications are appropriate. Classifications not identified keep the requirement. And the mechanism runs through the classification plan, which means the posting changes only after the underlying job specification changes. Every state order of this kind that is worth reading follows the same shape, because a governor cannot lawfully edit job specifications by signature. That is why applicants keep hitting the gap between what the governor announced and what the application form asks. Neither party is lying to you. The order is a directive to a commission, and the commission works through the list at its own pace.

The Pennsylvania numbers everyone quotes, and what the order actually says

The figures you have seen are 92 percent of state jobs and 65,000 positions, usually attributed to Pennsylvania Executive Order 2023-01. Two things are wrong with that. The order is numbered 2023-03, dated 18 January 2023, and titled Creating Opportunities by Prioritizing Work Experience for State Government Jobs. More importantly, read what the sentence in it does. Paragraph 1 states that effective immediately, 92 percent of all Commonwealth jobs do not require a four-year degree, roughly equivalent to 65,000 jobs. That is a description of the position before the order, not a count of requirements the order removed. The operative direction is in paragraph 2, and it addresses the remaining 8 percent: the Secretary of Administration is to identify the classifications that require a college degree, then review which are appropriate to include practical experience in lieu of or in addition to a degree, then recommend revisions to the Executive Board. So the headline that a governor opened 65,000 jobs to people without degrees describes jobs that were already open. The order commits the state to reviewing the ones that were not. This is worth knowing before you build a plan around a press release, and it is the same shape as the New Jersey order: a directive to review a classification plan, not an edit to any posting.

Read the qualifications section, and look for three specific things

Open the announcement itself and go to the Qualifications section. You are looking for three separate things and they behave differently. First, whether the standard offers education or experience as alternatives. OPM's General Schedule policy says that if the applicable standard allows qualifying on the basis of experience and/or education, an agency cannot require that applicants qualify on the basis of education only. If the posting lists both with an 'or' between them, the degree line is not a wall. Second, whether there is a selective factor. A selective factor is a competency or special qualification without which a candidate could not perform the duties satisfactorily, applied in addition to minimum qualifications, and OPM's definition is blunt about the consequence: applicants who do not meet a selective factor are ineligible for further consideration. If a certification appears as a selective factor, it is a hard gate and no amount of experience substitutes for it. Third, the specialized experience paragraph, which is where most people are actually failing. Everything else in the posting is decoration by comparison. If you only have time to read one paragraph before deciding whether to apply, read that one.

Specialized experience is the gate that catches people

At GS-5 and above, the qualification standards for most occupational series call for one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression. OPM's operating manual is explicit that applicants need not meet any cumulative years of experience requirement, and need not have held lower-level specialized experience first. One qualifying year at the right level is the whole test. Two consequences follow. If you are outside government, the phrase 'equivalent to the next lower grade' is not a reference to a job title. It is a reference to a level of difficulty and responsibility described in the position classification standard, and you demonstrate it by describing what you did, with what independence, at what scale. Vague resume language fails here more often than lack of qualification does. Second, for outside applicants specifically, OPM's rules note that experience at the second lower level is creditable for inservice applicants in some one-grade interval series, but outside applicants need one year at the next lower level. That is a real structural disadvantage of applying from outside, and it is the reason many people enter the federal system at a lower grade than their private sector title suggests and move up internally afterwards.

The one place a certification counts by rule

OPM's qualification standard for the Information Technology (IT) Management Series, 2210 (Alternative A) contains the sentence worth knowing about. Under Experience, it says: 'Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate.' That is OPM naming an IT certification as a way of demonstrating IT-related experience, in the standard itself. The same standard allows eligibility through either the Education route or the Experience route, and the education route asks for a degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics or technology management, or a degree with at least 24 semester hours in one of those fields. But the sentence has a ceiling. For all positions, applicants must show IT-related experience demonstrating four competencies: attention to detail, customer service, oral communication and problem solving. And GS-7 and above still require one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade. A certification can carry you into the basic requirement. It does not carry you past the specialized experience requirement at higher grades. That gap is exactly why help desk or technician work at a lower grade is the realistic first step rather than a leap to a security analyst posting.

The questionnaire you remember has been abolished

For years the federal application ended with a self-rated questionnaire where candidates ticked 'I am an expert' and were ranked on their own answers. That is over. The Chance to Compete Act of 2024, Public Law 118-188, was enacted on 23 December 2024 with the stated purpose of implementing merit-based reforms 'that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and competency-based hiring'. It defines a technical assessment as a position-specific tool that allows demonstration of job-related skills, is based on a job analysis, and 'does not solely include or principally rely upon a self-assessment from an automated examination'. On and after the date three years after enactment, examining agencies must use a technical assessment, with a narrow waiver for job series where it is impracticable. OPM's Merit Hiring Plan tells agencies to move immediately: end the use of self-assessments for rating and ranking, incorporate at least one technical assessment into the hiring process, and include four short essay questions. A two-page resume limit applies to USAJOBS applications, with the transition period ending on 27 September 2025. If you last applied for a federal job in 2021, none of your saved material is compliant, and the pattern of gaming the questionnaire that people used to trade advice about no longer does anything.

Best qualified does not mean interviewed

Even a strong application can end without a rejection reason, because of how the referral list works. Under 5 CFR 337.302, category rating means evaluating qualified eligibles by quality categories rather than numeric scores: candidates are assessed against job-related criteria and placed into two or more predefined categories. Then 5 U.S.C. 3319 controls what happens next. Within each quality category, preference eligibles are listed ahead of people who are not preference eligibles. For positions other than scientific and professional at GS-9 and above, qualified preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are listed in the highest quality category. And an appointing official may select any applicant in the highest quality category. Put together: you can be rated Best Qualified, be referred, and never be contacted, because the selecting official picked someone else from the same category and was never required to work down a list. This is not a judgement of your resume. It is the statute. The practical response is volume and repetition, applying to many announcements in the same series rather than perfecting one, and treating a Referred status as progress rather than as a near miss.

Where certifications are contractual rather than persuasive

There is a separate world where a certification is a condition of holding the position, and it is worth knowing whether you are entering it. Defence cyber roles used to run on a fixed baseline certification list under DoD 8570.01-M, and a lot of advice online still describes that system. It was cancelled. DoD Manual 8140.03, signed on 15 February 2023, replaced it. The DoD Chief Information Officer describes 8140.03 as focusing on the demonstration of capability, taking a targeted role-based approach, and allowing personnel to leverage varied development pathways while organisations maintain their own requirements based on operational demands. The change matters to you in two directions. It means the flat rule that a single named certification qualifies you for a whole tier of jobs no longer holds. It also means contractor job postings that require a specific certification on day one are usually doing so because a contract clause requires it, not because a recruiter is being fussy, and in that situation the certification is genuinely non-negotiable. Check the posting language: 'must possess at time of hire' is a contract term, and 'preferred' is not.

A checklist for the announcement in front of you

Work through this before applying, and before buying anything. One, does the Qualifications section join education and experience with 'or'? If so, the degree line is an alternative and you can ignore it. Two, is there a selective factor, and does it name a credential? If so, you are ineligible without it, full stop, and that is the only situation where buying a certification for a specific posting is a clean decision. Three, read the specialized experience paragraph and write, in your own words, one year of your own work that matches it in difficulty and responsibility. If you cannot write that paragraph honestly, apply to a lower grade in the same series instead of the one you wanted. Four, check what the assessment is, since agencies must now include at least one technical assessment, and prepare for that rather than for a questionnaire. Five, cut your resume to two pages of the work that maps to the specialized experience statement, and expect four short essay questions. Six, apply to at least ten announcements in the same series before drawing any conclusion about whether you are competitive, because the referral mechanics mean a single non-selection tells you almost nothing.

What this does not fix

This post does not claim that removing a degree requirement from policy removes it from any individual position description, and it does not claim that holding a certification gets you referred or interviewed. Category rating means a selecting official can pick anyone in the highest quality category, so no credential guarantees contact. Certification counts as qualifying experience only where a published qualification standard says so.

Where an exam fits

• CompTIA A+, if you are targeting a GS-5 or GS-7 IT support role under the 2210 standard and need IT-related experience you can evidence
• CompTIA Network+, if the announcements you are reading describe network administration duties in the specialized experience paragraph
• CompTIA Security+, only if a contractor posting lists it as a must-possess-at-time-of-hire condition rather than a preference
• CompTIA CySA+, if a defence or contractor posting names it against a specific DoD 8140 work role you are applying to
• CISSP, if you already have several years of security work and a posting names the credential as a selective factor
• CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor), if you are aiming at audit or oversight roles in an inspector general or comptroller office and the announcement names an audit credential

Common questions

Sources

1. 01Statutory limit on education requirements in the federal competitive service OPM or another examining agency may not prescribe a minimum educational requirement except when OPM decides that the duties of a scientific, technical, or professional position cannot be performed without it; derived from the Act of 27 June 1944, codified by Public Law 89-554 on 6 September 1966, and amended in 1978 to substitute OPM for the Civil Service Commission
   5 U.S.C. 3308, via the Legal Information Institute (Office of the Law Revision Counsel text) checked 2026-08-28
2. 02Executive Order 13932 limit on agency education requirements signed 26 June 2020, published at 85 FR 39457; an agency may prescribe a minimum educational requirement only when a minimum educational qualification is legally required to perform the duties in the State or locality where they are performed
   Federal Register checked 2026-08-28
3. 03Enactment and effect of the Chance to Compete Act Public Law 118-188, enacted 23 December 2024; a technical assessment may not solely include or principally rely upon a self-assessment from an automated examination, and examining agencies must use one from three years after enactment
   U.S. Government Publishing Office, Public Law 118-188 checked 2026-08-28
4. 04What OPM told agencies to implement immediately under the Merit Hiring Plan end use of self-assessments for rating and ranking, incorporate at least one technical assessment, and use four short essay questions; the two-page resume transition period ended 27 September 2025
   U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Merit Hiring Plan Frequently Asked Questions checked 2026-08-28
5. 05How OPM's IT qualification standard treats certifications the standard allows eligibility through either Education or Experience; under Experience, experience must be IT related and may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training, for example an IT certification; the education route asks for a degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics or technology management, or a degree providing a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of those fields
   U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Information Technology (IT) Management Series 2210 (Alternative A) checked 2026-08-28
6. 06Experience still required above entry level in the IT 2210 series GS-7 and above require one year of specialized experience at the next lower GS grade, plus IT-related experience demonstrating attention to detail, customer service, oral communication and problem solving
   U.S. Office of Personnel Management, IT Management Series 2210 (Alternative A) checked 2026-08-28
7. 07General Schedule specialized experience rule at GS-5 and above most series require one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade; applicants need not meet cumulative years of experience requirements
   U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule Qualification Policies checked 2026-08-28
8. 08Effect of a selective factor in a federal job announcement applicants who do not meet a selective factor are ineligible for further consideration
   U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule Qualification Policies checked 2026-08-28
9. 09Definition of category rating in federal hiring a process of evaluating qualified eligibles by quality categories rather than individual numeric scores, placing them into two or more pre-defined categories
   Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 5 CFR 337.302 checked 2026-08-28
10. 10How selection works from a category-rated referral list preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category; for other than scientific and professional positions at GS-9 or higher, qualified preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are listed in the highest quality category; and an appointing official may select any applicant in the highest quality category
    5 U.S.C. 3319, via the Legal Information Institute (Office of the Law Revision Counsel text) checked 2026-08-28
11. 11What a state executive order removing degree requirements actually directs New Jersey Executive Order 327, signed 10 April 2023, gives the Civil Service Commission six months to identify classifications requiring a four-year degree and determine which are appropriate to include practical experience in lieu of one
    Office of the Governor of New Jersey checked 2026-08-28
12. 12Status of the old DoD baseline certification rules DoD Manual 8140.03 was signed on 15 February 2023 and cancelled DoD 8570.01-M, replacing the fixed baseline with role-based qualification and varied development pathways
    Department of Defense Chief Information Officer, Cyber Workforce Development checked 2026-08-28
13. 13Whether an agency can require applicants to qualify on education alone if the applicable standard allows qualifying on the basis of experience and/or education, an agency cannot require that applicants qualify on the basis of education only
    U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule Qualification Policies checked 2026-08-28
14. 14Difference between inservice and outside applicants in one-grade interval series where no position in the normal line of progression sits one grade lower, one year of specialized experience at the second lower level is creditable for inservice applicants, but outside applicants without current or prior federal competitive or excepted service need one year equivalent to at least the next lower level
    U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule Qualification Policies checked 2026-08-28
15. 15What Pennsylvania's degree executive order states and what it directs Executive Order 2023-03 of 18 January 2023 states that 92 percent of all Commonwealth jobs already do not require a four-year degree, roughly 65,000 jobs; the operative direction covers the remaining 8 percent, requiring the Secretary of Administration to identify classifications that require a degree and review which are appropriate for practical experience in lieu of or in addition to one
    Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Governor's Office, Executive Order 2023-03 checked 2026-08-28

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