No Degree? No Problem! Get Hired in India, Even Without a Degree
Education doesn’t need qualification, qualification doesn’t mean education
– Anonymous
When Sudarshan Kamath, founder of AI startup Smallest.ai, posted a job opening for a full-stack engineer with a ₹40 lakh salary, his message was clear: “College—does not matter. Resume—not needed.” The Bengaluru-based firm was flooded with over 7,000 applications, proving that skills, not just degrees, are becoming the real currency in India’s job market.
At Smallest.ai, nearly half of the 14-member team, including data scientists and developers, either never attended college or dropped out. Yet, they hold their own alongside peers from elite institutions like IITs and IIITs. Co-founder Akshat Mandloi, an IIT Guwahati alumnus himself, says their hiring is purely skill-driven. “We don’t want to lose out on self-taught talent. What matters is what you can deliver.”
The Rise of Skills-First Hiring
This mindset is catching on across India’s traditionally degree-obsessed corporate landscape. Discount brokerage Zerodha, for instance, prioritizes curiosity and hands-on experience over formal qualifications. “Our attrition is lower than industry standards because we hire for motivation and ability to learn,” says Mohammed Shoaib, VP at Zerodha.
Even tech giants like IBM are leaning into the trend. Thirukumaran Nagarajan, VP of HR at IBM India, notes that AI’s rapid growth has made coding skills less rigid. “No-code tools and problem-solving aptitude now matter more than degrees.” IBM’s hackathons, for example, assess real-world skills rather than resumes.
India Ahead of the Global Curve
According to the World Economic Forum, 30% of Indian employers plan to adopt skills-based hiring by 2025—far higher than the global average of 19%. Companies like Tata Communications and gaming platform MPL have already seen success with this approach. “Skills-first hiring lets us tap into overlooked talent pools,” says MPL’s Gaurav Kriplani.
While some traditional firms remain cautious, even they acknowledge the shift. Raymond Group’s KA Narayan admits, “AI will make skills-based hiring more accurate. We’re updating our role-specific skill matrices now.”
As startups and corporates alike rewrite hiring rules, one thing is clear: in tomorrow’s job market, what you know will trump where you studied.
