&gt; Can you devise a filter that&#x27;s as rigorous as all the tests and projects that a student would have successfully completed over the X years it took to earn the degree?<p>Eventually I don&#x27;t see why not but I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s an easy thing to do nor do I know how to do it for a physics R&amp;D type of position. Obviously education isn&#x27;t the only criteria people use today anyway (I can&#x27;t tell you how many CS grads I&#x27;ve interviewed who really struggled or flat out didn&#x27;t know a lot about CS).<p>It&#x27;s an age-old problem: how do tell if someone can do what you need them to do without wasting your time and money? As the skill and knowledge requirements go up this becomes harder and harder to do, with or without the degree shortcut.