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Ideas / The second door
An idea from Four Weeks, Not Four Years

The second door

Nobody has to tear the old gate down. Build a second way in beside it, based on proof of skill, and let people walk through.

In plain words

A candidate picks a field, is told the topics ahead of time, learns them however suits them, and then shows a working professional what they can do, on the record. If they pass, any employer can look it up. Taking the degree off a job posting isn't enough, because the employer is left with nothing to replace it. The second door has to be something an employer can see through.

Evidence and sources

  • Fewer than one hire in seven hundred went to someone who got in because a degree requirement was dropped; about 45 percent of companies changed their postings and nothing else. Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School, Skills-Based Hiring (2024).
  • By early 2025, 27 states had taken steps to drop degree requirements for public jobs. National Governors Association (2025).
  • More than 27 million "hidden workers" in the United States are filtered out by hiring systems. Harvard Business School and Accenture, Hidden Workers (2021).

Questions this answers

  • What could replace the college degree?
  • Why didn't dropping degree requirements change hiring?
  • How do skilled people without degrees get hired?

In the book

In Four Weeks, Not Four Years: Chapters 8, 9, 11.

Read the full answers

Is college worth it?What could replace the college degree for hiring?Why didn't dropping degree requirements change hiring?How can I prove my skills without a degree?Who accredits colleges, and who pays them?What is the future of universities?Can schools be paid for outcomes instead of attendance?What is Maxwell Rich Certification?What does "Four Weeks, Not Four Years" mean?Who is Trenton Rich?

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Cite this idea. Trenton Rich, "The second door," in Four Weeks, Not Four Years (2026), maxwellrich.com/idea-the-second-door.html. Free to quote, copy and reuse with credit under CC BY 4.0. The book itself is under normal copyright.