u/sudarshanmaurya

I'm 28 and I've been doing UI/UX for about 3 years now. I'm based in Surat and honestly the pay is solid for this city, so on paper I'm comfortable.

Here's the messy part. After 12th I started a B.Com, never finished it. I'm still stuck around FY level. Some of that was personal stuff, a lot of it was me choosing to go deep on design instead of sitting in lectures. I don't regret the design part. I've got real projects, real clients, a portfolio I'm proud of. The half-finished degree is the thing that keeps nagging me.

Now I'm itching to move to Bengaluru, Pune, or Hyderabad. Bigger teams, harder problems, people I can actually learn from instead of being the most senior designer in a small room. But every time I get close to applying, the "graduation required" line on job posts makes me hesitate.

So I'm asking the people who've actually been through it:

• In 2026, how much does a missing degree really hurt in product design hiring? Or is it mostly a filter that good portfolios get past anyway?
• Anyone here land a solid product/UX role without finishing your degree? What got you in the door?
• Do startups genuinely care about the degree, or is it portfolio and experience first? And do bigger product companies treat it differently?
• If you were me, would you grind out the degree first, or start applying now and figure out the paper later?

Not looking for "follow your dreams" stuff. I want the unglamorous truth from hiring managers and senior designers who've seen both sides. Roast my logic if it's wrong.

If you got hired without a degree, I'd really like to hear how that conversation went in your interviews.

I'm 28 and I've been doing UI/UX for about 3 years now. I'm based in Surat and honestly the pay is good for this city, so on paper I'm comfortable.

Here's the messy part. After 12th I started a B.Com, never finished it. I'm still stuck around FY level. Some of that was personal stuff, a lot of it was me choosing to go deep on design instead of sitting in lectures. I don't regret the design part. I've got real projects, real clients, a portfolio I'm proud of. The half-finished degree is the thing that keeps nagging me.

Now I'm itching to move to Bengaluru, Pune, or Hyderabad. Bigger teams, harder problems, people I can actually learn from instead of being the most senior designer in a small room. But every time I get close to applying, the "graduation required" line on job posts makes me hesitate.

So I'm asking the people who've actually been through it:

• In 2026, how much does a missing degree really hurt in product design hiring? Or is it mostly a filter that good portfolios get past anyway?
• Anyone here land a solid product/UX role without finishing your degree? What got you in the door?
• Do startups genuinely care about the degree, or is it portfolio and experience first? And do bigger product companies treat it differently?
• If you were me, would you grind out the degree first, or start applying now and figure out the paper later?

Not looking for "follow your dreams" stuff. I want the unglamorous truth from hiring managers and senior designers who've seen both sides. Roast my logic if it's wrong.

If you got hired without a degree, I'd really like to hear how that conversation went in your interviews.