Today, we have Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter's Chief Economist to talk about the current state of the job market and how you can stand out amongst the other job seekers. Julia Pollak is the Chief Economist at ZipRecruiter, a leading online employment marketplace that uses AI-driven smart matching technology to connect millions of businesses and job seekers. She uses data from the ZipRecruiter marketplace to measure the health of the labor market, identify hiring trends, and help employers and job s...
Nov 23, 2022•50 min•Ep. 74
I was talking with a friend the other day about what we do here and how we feel about going to college. He kind of agrees with us, but not really. He’s still early on his journey to becoming Degree Free! Anyways, he asked a question that I’ve heard a million times, especially growing up. Who would you rather have? A person without a college degree or someone with one? In this episode, we talk about: • The million-dollar question: "Who would you rather have? A person without a college degree or s...
Nov 16, 2022•35 min•Ep. 73
Some people nay-say tech certifications. Some are really skeptical of branded tech certifications and claim that it’s just big companies trying to make money. Here’s why we think it shows the opposite! In this episode, we talk about: - Branded Tech Certifications and why they are the lowest risk type of certifications to take, as well as the most versatile. - Why there will ALWAYS be a job supply for branded tech certification holders - How tech certifications help companies in their brand stren...
Nov 09, 2022•45 min•Ep. 72
The median salary for a social worker in the US with a graduate degree is $48k. Are there exceptions? Sure. But there are always exceptions. Monetarily, this is one of the worst fields to buy a degree in. Try anything else before paying for a degree to work in social work or adjacent fields to reduce the risk for yourself. In this episode, we talked about: • An overview of court mediators, funeral directors, 911 dispatchers, paralegals, and just plain old working at nonprofits as alternatives fo...
Nov 03, 2022•41 min•Ep. 71
We see all the time that people don’t know what jobs are out there. If they don’t know what kind of jobs are out there, then how can they prepare to get those jobs? Here's where our topic for today, vocational creativity comes in! In this episode, we talked about: • What is vocational creativity and how it can help you find your next job • An exercise you can do to stretch your vocational creativity muscles especially if you don't have a starting point • How you can combine vocational creativity...
Oct 26, 2022•29 min•Ep. 70
Whether you're degree free or not, this episode is a goldmine of knowledge when it comes to having career success. Today, we're having Praxis's CEO, Cameron Sorsby as our guest. Praxis is a company that offers a college alternative apprenticeship program. Cameron is one of the very first customers of Praxis, he then became an intern at the company and worked his way up to CEO! In this episode, we talked about: • Why you don't need a college degree to have a thriving and successful career • What ...
Oct 19, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 69
If you've been thinking about getting into software development, coding, and software engineering, this episode is for you! Ken is a wealth of knowledge and we were very lucky to have him sit down and go over what he did and what you can do to become a software engineer! In this episode, we talked about: • How Kent worked his way up from a customer service role to becoming a senior software engineer • How you can be a software engineer/developer without a degree and experience, and what are the ...
Oct 12, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 68
In this episode, we have our very first return guest, Career Hacker's newly appointed CEO, Joel Bein! We talked about how everyone should consider themselves entrepreneurs, even if they work as an employee. We also talked about Career Hacker's upcoming 2-day virtual event called "Supercharge Your Career in a Sh*t Economy" on October 19-20, 11 AM to 6 PM EDT. If you're interested in joining this free virtual event, click here to register. Event Info: The economy is sh*t. It's tough, whether you'r...
Oct 07, 2022•20 min•Ep. 67
"What’s alarming is that many think that having a degree is an employment guarantee. Solely connecting higher education to career sustainability creates a false sense of security." -Zakiya Akerele, author of Dump Your Degree Dr. Zakiya Akerele is an Atlanta-based educator, author, and speaker who found an early passion in academic pursuits hoping to use them to improve herself and the world around her. She sought higher education with full force, obtaining degrees from Florida A&M University...
Oct 05, 2022•53 min•Ep. 66
No degree and thinking of changing careers? Learn about these jobs that only require professional licenses and start earning at least $60k/year! In this episode, we talk about: • Jobs that only require a professional license, their requirements, and how you can become one! • What's the day-to-day like for these professional license jobs. • The pros and cons of each job to help you see which one fits you the best. Ryan and Hannah also talk about why Reddit AMAs are a goldmine for information when...
Sep 28, 2022•18 min•Ep. 65
Drake Porter is an entrepreneur, League of Legends coach, and he's currently working at Facebook/Meta as a Senior Product Manager. Watch the full episode to learn about his journey on how he went from unemployed because of COVID, to earning $385,000/yr at Meta without a college degree. In this episode, we talked about: • How Drake went from founding his own startup and working numerous jobs, to unemployed from COVID to earning $385,000/yr as a Senior Product Manager at Meta despite having no col...
Sep 21, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 64
Everyone has failures. It’s easy to think that other people don’t have failures when you don’t hear about them. So, today we’re going to talk about one of the biggest interview fiascos of Ryan’s career. In this episode, we talk about: • The biggest interview fiasco of Ryan's career, in great detail! • What we learned from Ryan's biggest interview failure and what Ryan could've done differently. • What you can do to bounce back after experiencing failures and why you should not be so hard on your...
Sep 14, 2022•29 min•Ep. 63
A lot of the job market is filled informally. Where do we find jobs that aren’t listed on job sites? In this episode, we talk about: Where to find jobs that aren’t listed on job boards and beat the job competition Why 80% of people are competing for the 20% of jobs that are listed on job boards Why letting your network know that you’re looking for a job is the best and first thing you should do if you're job hunting. Ryan and Hannah also talked about why it’s better to apply directly to the comp...
Sep 11, 2022•25 min•Ep. 62
Robyn Samuels Altucher is an accomplished entrepreneur and podcaster who has lived all over the world. She built one of the largest salons and spas in Austin, TX in the 1990s. Robyn lived in Ghana for three years, China for six years, and Kuwait for three years while raising three amazing children. She has produced and appeared on dozens of episodes of the successful podcast, "The James Altucher Show" and is a co-founder of the website NotePD.com, the social network of ideas. In this episode, we...
Aug 31, 2022•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 60
Your work and your job are not the same things! Here's why tying your work and purpose to your job is risky for you. In this episode, we talk about: - How you can protect yourself and be more future-proof by separating your work from your job. - How employers and employees are in a constant dance for power. - Why giving an employer a chokehold over the way you value yourself, your happiness, or your life’s purpose is a great way to expose yourself to having those things threatened or taken from ...
Aug 24, 2022•26 min•Ep. 59
Learning how to sell completely changed the trajectory of our lives! Here's why everyone should learn how to sell! In this episode, we talk about: - How Ryan and Hannah learned how to sell and how they used their sales skills to create a successful business, grow their career and change their life. - Why learning sales gives you invaluable soft skills and why it can be useful pretty much anywhere in your life. - What are books and resources that you can use to learn how to sell. Ryan and Hannah ...
Aug 17, 2022•39 min•Ep. 58
Due to Covid and the last couple of years, a lot of people are being left with work history gaps in their resumes. Today, we’re going to talk about some things you can do to address them! In this episode, we talk about: - Why a work gap is a big deal and what are the different ways you can do to address them? - The different strategies you can do to focus on the value you can provide when you're asked about your work gap, whatever the reason is! - What should you do if you're currently in an emp...
Aug 10, 2022•26 min•Ep. 57
Joel Bein is a Writer and Head of Growth at The Daily Job Hunt(Careerhackers.com), an email to over 200,000 subscribers with daily tips on how to supercharge your job search! His experience in pitching companies directly allows him to land interviews 80% of the time. Joel has written 500+ blog posts and as a classically trained musician and conductor, is also the Founder of New Orleans Chamber Players. He's also the author of Do It Now: a finished book. We talked about a variety of topics: his e...
Aug 03, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 56
Costs are going up everywhere, and we’re paying more to live. But what if you could get paid to live somewhere? In this episode, we talk about: - What are the 6 US cities that'll pay you $10,000 to work from home there! - Why these cities are paying people to move to their cities and work remotely. - Why it can be a good idea to move to these cities to leverage your remote work salary and the low cost of living. Ryan and Hannah also talk about a city that will also give you a mountain bike along...
Jul 27, 2022•37 min•Ep. 55
Audio engineer Jay Yow is behind The James Altucher's Show for 8 years. He watched it grow from a living room experiment to a podcast featuring the likes of Mark Cuban, Peter Thiel, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, William Shatner, boasting millions of downloads. Jay is a very passionate person when it comes to music and all kinds of media, especially sound. We talked about a variety of topics: His audio engineering journey and how you can become one without a degree, all about podcast production, cry...
Jul 20, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 54
You’ve seen this a million times on job descriptions. You’re led to believe that if you have more experience, you’ll get paid more. If you have less experience, then you’ll get paid less. This is a lie. Let’s talk about it! In this episode, we talk about: - How companies use "salary depends on experience" as a tactic to get you the lowest price possible and make it harder to negotiate. - How to prepare for a negotiation and how to overcome this tactic. - How to properly research salary so that y...
Jul 13, 2022•35 min•Ep. 53
James Quandahl is an entrepreneur, author, performance coach, and host of The James Quandahl Show: helping you live your life to the fullest, be present and connect deeply with others, and build the life of your dreams. Quandahl has led teams for nearly two decades including two at Fortune 1000 companies and has coached hundreds of driven individuals to success. James’s agencies help natural product brands sell more on Amazon and support authors in producing and launching best-selling books. We ...
Jul 06, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 52
Today, we're going to talk about why you should be willing to relocate for a job even before you hit that apply button! In this episode, we talk about: - The importance of going to where the work is and how it can open your world up! - Why being willing to relocate can get you considered more seriously for a role and how it can make you stand out. - The things you'll learn from moving to a different place that'll help you further your personal growth and career. Hope you all enjoy the episode! T...
Jun 29, 2022•19 min•Ep. 51
Today's episode is a special one because it's our 50th episode! It's been a year since we started the Degree Free podcast! We were doing other things and working multiple jobs and running another business so we started this as an experiment and it still is one in many respects. We didn't know what to expect and your overflowing support is a huge surprise and it's something that we sincerely appreciate! We're constantly grateful and humbled that we have people listening, interacting, and getting ...
Jun 23, 2022•17 min•Ep. 50
Today, we're going to talk about 4 side hustles that you can start right now to learn skills, grow your network, increase your confidence and earn money! In this episode, we talk about: - How to start a services business and why it's the quickest way to earn money and learn business skills. - How you can learn content creation and sell that service to businesses - How to start a Print-On-Demand business using Printful or Etsy. - How to be a self-published author using Amazon and freelancing site...
Jun 15, 2022•24 min•Ep. 49
Today, we're going to talk about why creating a side hustle can benefit you in your career, even if you don't want to be an entrepreneur! In this episode, we talk about: - How starting a side hustle can benefit your career even if you don't want to be an entrepreneur. - Why you shouldn't quit your job just to work on your side hustle. - Why there's a high chance that your side hustle will fail, but the experience and knowledge you'll gain will be worth it! Ryan and Hannah also share their experi...
Jun 08, 2022•38 min•Ep. 48
With summer in full swing, we are going to be talking about how you can get summer jobs the Degree Free way! In this episode, we talk about: - Traditional jobs that you can do this summer to earn money and work experience. - The skills you'll learn in these summer jobs that will help your career and also equip you with knowledge in starting a business. - 4 alternative project ideas that you can do to expand your knowledge and make it easier for you to get hired later. Hope you all enjoy the epis...
Jun 01, 2022•51 min•Ep. 47
A lot of you guys wanted to know about different job opportunities for people who work in the service industry. Today, we’re going to talk about it! In this episode, we talk about: - The 9 career opportunities you might be qualified for with your experience in the restaurant industry. - What are the transferrable skills you already have from working in the restaurant industry, and how you can utilize them to go into a different career path and earn more money - How to combine your restaurant ski...
May 25, 2022•34 min•Ep. 46
Most of us are wondering, where are the jobs? So today, we are going to tell you the top 5 cities/metropolitan areas for job growth in 2022! Welcome to Degree Free, where we explain what you can do instead of going to college, and how to teach yourself, get work, and make good money. In this episode, we talk about: - Where are the top US cities with the largest number of job opportunities and growth so you can have a starting point when thinking about where you would want to move for work. - Why...
May 18, 2022•16 min•Ep. 45
We hear all the time that we need to love our jobs. This is one of the biggest lies that we’ve all been told. “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Everyone’s heard that and multiple people have been credited with being the first ones to say this. The reality is the vast majority of people work so they can afford the things they need to make a decent life outside of work. Welcome to Degree Free, where we explain what you can do instead of going to college, and how to teach...
May 11, 2022•22 min•Ep. 44
