Philadelphia Drops Degree Requirement for Many City Jobs

Workers no longer need a college degree to land many government jobs in Philadelphia.

Newly elected Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order shortly after her inauguration that amended the city’s hiring policy. Parker’s order calls on the city to eliminate degree requirements for civil service government jobs where experience or other credentials may be equally or more appropriate.

This change would not impact jobs where a degree is required for a professional license, such as professional accountant, engineering, or medical positions.

According to the executive order, the Office of Human Resources has already eliminated degree requirements from approximately 500 city jobs, which is 60% of all civil service positions. The office identified 40 more job classes that could potentially remove a degree requirement in the next three months.

“We will continue to remove college degree requirements for many City of Philadelphia jobs where it is unnecessary and spread the word about current job opportunities in city government — opening the door for more Philadelphians to access good-paying jobs,” Parker wrote in a letter outlining her priorities during her first 100 days in office.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that just under 34% of Philadelphia’s adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The city joins in on a national trend that state governors have driven over the past two years.

Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland started the movement in early 2022 when he became the first governor to eliminate four-year degree requirements for many government jobs. His executive action impacted more than half of the state’s 38,000 jobs, Hogan said at the time.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro followed suit a year later in January 2023.

BestColleges has identified 12 states that eliminated degree requirements for government work since 2022.