For most people, it is self-evident that credentials matter when it comes to getting a good job. If you’re applying for a job, credentials matter. If you’re starting a business, they matter because you need funding, customers and business relationships. This leads most people to college, even if they don’t believe that college is the best form of education; I attended college even while arguing that the system was dumbing me down. I did it for the degree, the credentials.

But maybe college isn’t the only way to get career-needed credentials? “Degrees represent competency,” says Zero-Tuition College founder, Blake Boles. “Competency represents itself.”

I interviewed Blake recently for an episode of the Unschooler Experiment Podcast, and he pointed out that while college still has a monopoly on competency certification, we forget that certification is just a stand-in for showing off to the right people, and the people we need to impress is a small group we usually can reach directly if we’re creative. All the world may not think we’re qualified, but the people who matter will.

“A bachelor’s degree is supposed to be recognized by the world at large,” says Blake. “I think that it is more powerful to have something that is recognized by a small community of experts who are more reliable in their assessment of what you have done than just assuming that everyone in the world values a master’s degree. I think that assumption is really the problem for so many young adults who have gone to college and have a degree now and can’t find jobs. It is a false assumption that generic bachelor’s degrees in sociology or math will get you a job. It is proven accomplishments within a field [that get you a job].”

So instead of college, says Blake, go spend the money and time doing good work. Then promote the hell out of yourself, making sure that the right people see your work. If the work is good, job problem solved.

This is a simplified idea, of course; Blake goes into more detail and fleshes out exceptions in the podcast.