Penguin Random House UK removes degree requirements for jobs

[DiapDealer]

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/pr...cations-320371

Penguin Random House UK is removing any requirement for a university degree for all new jobs to attract a “more varied candidate pool” in order to “publish the best books that appeal to readers everywhere”.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Perhaps cheaper labour to increase profits.

Okay, enough cynicism from me today.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Perhaps cheaper labour to increase profits.

Okay, enough cynicism from me today.

Alas, it was my first thought too.
No more executive Vice-presidents starting out in the mail room.

[fjtorres]

The Digital Reader blog has an interesting take on it:

http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...rly-paid-that/

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Perhaps cheaper labour to increase profits.

Okay, enough cynicism from me today.

Wanted: Book Editor

Minimum Requirements: High School diploma with a C+ average in English

Starting Salary: $10.23/hour

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Wanted: Book Editor

Minimum Requirements: High School diploma with a C+ average in English

Starting Salary: $10.23/hour

Huh?
What?
OMG.
Reread that. Still makes no sense.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Wanted: Book Editor

Minimum Requirements: High School diploma with a C+ average in English

Starting Salary: $10.23/hour

That does not even the meet the minimum wage of many SF Bay Area cities

i'm safe. I got a D in English, A+ in Electronics

[Cinisajoy]

I have no High school diploma but I do have 2 Associate degrees.
Made 2 F's in high school English.

[fjtorres]

Don't think they're looking for editors (those jobs they outsource as piece work) so much as entry level gofers, AA's, and the like. Ideally they want young people plugged into internet culture so they can find the next Snooki to give a contract to.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/pr...cations-320371

There actually is a bit of a movement away college degrees, at least in the US. A lot of people are pointing out that many jobs don't really require a college degree and college has become quite expensive. It can take a long time to pay off that college debt, especially in lower paying jobs.

Does seem a bit odd at a publisher, but I suppose that a lot of people in a publishing company aren't editors.

Originally Posted by pwalker8

There actually is a bit of a movement away college degrees, at least in the US. A lot of people are pointing out that many jobs don't really require a college degree and college has become quite expensive. It can take a long time to pay off that college debt, especially in lower paying jobs.

Does seem a bit odd at a publisher, but I suppose that a lot of people in a publishing company aren't editors.

My graduate school tuition at Texas A&M University 30 some odd years ago was $20 per semester hour plus a couple of hundred dollars for miscellaneous fees. Undergrad tuition at that time was only $4 per semester hour at Texas A&M and most of the other state colleges. Now it costs hundreds of dollars per semester hour and hundreds of dollars more for every fee you can think of. Private colleges in USA are typically much higher priced than state colleges. I'm not sure how anyone other than the filthy rich can even afford to pay for their kids college, much less how kids themselves can.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

There actually is a bit of a movement away college degrees, at least in the US. A lot of people are pointing out that many jobs don't really require a college degree and college has become quite expensive. It can take a long time to pay off that college debt, especially in lower paying jobs.

Does seem a bit odd at a publisher, but I suppose that a lot of people in a publishing company aren't editors.

Indeed. It's why my take is probably wrong.

[fjtorres]

Turns out the randy penguin is fashionably late to the recruitment practices party:

http://www.thebookseller.com/futureb...t-today-320818

And amid the busy debate in the industry this winter about diversity in its ranks—a conversation usually defined by the lack thereof—the recruitment posture of the majors is worth attention for the reflection of publishing's changes it gives us.

As Jones writes:

PRH is not the only publisher now looking beyond educational attainment in the hunt for talented staff—Hachette and HarperCollins both said they no longer specified such a requirement, as did Bonnier boss Richard Johnson. The Bookseller’s own recruitment executive Maria Vassilopoulos reckons only a minority of the publishing jobs advertised in The Bookseller recently have listed a degree as a requirement.

More at the source.

[Katsunami]

It's about time.

I don't know about the publishing world, but in the Netherlands, degree requirements in IT have gotten out of hand. They are asking far too much and paying way too little for people that have the requested level of education.

"We can't find any technical people to fill our vacancies!", they cry.

No, that's obvious. You're asking for a degree at a level that is only attained by people in the top 5 or 10% smartest part of the population, and not all of them will have IT degrees. You don't need a master degree, post-gradual education, and 5 years of experience to create Wordpress-based websites. A bachelor with a solid knowledge of current web technologies and some working experience and/or traineeships will do, you know.

They're trying to hire architects to do a bricklayer's work, and then they're astounded that there aren't so many architects available. (I myself are a bit of both... fortunately, or I would be out of a job.) You can also try to hire a top chef who has 5 years of education and 3 years of experience, to bake your french fries and flip hamburgers, but you're not going to find many....

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

It's about time.

I don't know about the publishing world, but in the Netherlands, degree requirements in IT have gotten out of hand. They are asking far too much and paying way too little for people that have the requested level of education.

"We can't find any technical people to fill our vacancies!", they cry.

No, that's obvious. You're asking for a degree at a level that is only attained by people in the top 5 or 10% smartest part of the population, and not all of them will have IT degrees. You don't need a master degree, post-gradual education, and 5 years of experience to create Wordpress-based websites. A bachelor with a solid knowledge of current web technologies and some working experience and/or traineeships will do, you know.

They're trying to hire architects to do bricklayers work, and then they're astounded that there aren't so many architects available.

I myself are a bit of both... fortunately, or I would be out of a job.

I can think of no reason to require any degree to put together web sites. For the most part, artistic type stuff like that (as well as photograph) is more about talent, eye and work experience.