Now, I’m not so sure they hold to the same standards. In the late 70s, with a mere bachelors degree I was able to get a good job with a major aerospace company. Many did. Few engineers went to graduate school, which seemed like a path into academia in those days. A bachelors degree in engineering from that era was sufficient to ensure that the holder could be trained to handle virtually all of the tasks needed to put an aircraft aloft. If an engineer went to grad school at that time, it was almost always to get an MBA. These days, I notice that companies hire new graduates already possessing a master’s in engineering, and those that only have a bachelors degree, are all planning to get a master’s. It would seem the extra credential is needed for basic assurance. Just as UPS only hires people for delivery jobs who are college graduates. With them, their needs are a little more basic. The degree, they believe, gives them some assurance that the employee can read an address.