New Jersey Loosens Degree Requirements for Some State Jobs

And New Jersey makes seven.

With a recent executive order issued by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, the Garden State joins Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Utah on the list of states that have relaxed degree requirements for many government jobs.

Per Murphy’s order, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (CSC) has been directed to identify the job classifications that require college degrees “and determine which are appropriate to revise in the State’s classification plan, prioritizing the practical skills and experiences needed to effectively serve the public over strict educational requirements,” according to a statement from Gov. Murphy’s office.

By emphasizing skills and experience over education, the order is designed to “open the door to family-sustaining, high-paying jobs,” with salaries that can exceed $120,000 a year, for hundreds of applicants who might otherwise be passed over or discouraged from even applying to New Jersey state jobs, according to Murphy’s statement.

The order takes effect immediately, starting with a six-month timeframe in which the CSC is to identify the roles that don’t require college degrees, and to ensure that relevant job postings reflect as much.

“Every American should have the ability to attain a good job with growth opportunities and secure their place in the middle class, regardless of whether or not they have a college degree,” said Gov. Murphy, in the aforementioned statement.

“Employment qualifications for good-paying jobs in our state workforce should not exclude individuals with qualifying experience, unique skillsets and diverse backgrounds. Today, we open the door to that opportunity for applicants across our state, and urge other states, as well as private sector employers, to remove barriers to opportunity.”

Rethinking Degree Requirements

Gov. Murphy’s expressed goal of expanding the public sector talent pool by loosening educational requirements is one shared by leaders of the half-dozen other states to do the same since the start of 2022.

In January 2023, for example, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order that abolished four-year college degree requirements for nearly all government jobs in the state. The order applies to 92% of all jobs with the Commonwealth. The state’s secretary of administration will review the remaining 8% of Pennsylvania state positions with a college-degree requirement, to determine which are appropriate to include practical experience in lieu of or in addition to four-year degree prerequisites.

“The Commonwealth is committed to increasing economic opportunity for all people of Pennsylvania by creating new pathways to public employment,” read the order, Shapiro’s first since taking office. “This means that approximately 65,000 jobs can be filled by people that possess the relevant work experience and skills-based training, regardless of their educational attainment.

PSHRA looks at this growing trend in “Forgoing the Four-Year Degree: The Public Sector Rethinks Degree Requirements,” the cover story in the April edition of Public Eye.

Melissa Barker, vice president of practice operations at the Phoenix-based recruitment firm The Duffy Group, spoke to Public Eye for the feature, and predicted that more states will start dropping degree requirements for many government roles. That should ultimately prove to be a good thing, she said.

“I like where this is going,” Barker told Public Eye. “It’s a great wave of the future, because it will help cast a wider net of candidates.”

Of course, the elimination of education requirements doesn’t preclude those with college degrees from applying for public sector jobs. Rather, “this will expand the talent pool in what continues to be a tight labor market,” she said.

“Something else to consider is that government and other public sector employers offer terrific benefits packages that often include tuition reimbursement,” Barker concluded. “As part of reskilling and upskilling efforts, these organizations can invest in their teams and help their employees grow with their organizations by earning an affordable college education.”