JFF Vice President Amy Loyd was recently quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Get Schooled” blog.

The December 18 post questioned whether employers that require job applicants to have a college degree or a professional credential are overlooking talented workers who gained valuable skills outside of the classroom.

And in light of the fact that “Americans earned 738,428 education credentials of some sort in 2018,” the post went on to note that it can be hard to tell which credentials are valuable.

“Not all credentials are created equally,” Loyd told the Journal-Constitution.

She went on to say that what learners choose to study is important, as is the reputation of the institution issuing the credential—and even location. She pointed out that “nursing degrees from three different institutions in three different states led to first-year earnings that ranged from $26,000 to $61,000.”