Education and Experience Equivalency Guide

Substituting Education and Experience 

Executive Order 278, Recognizing the Value of Experience in State Government Hiring, directs the NC Office of State Human Resources (OSHR) to create processes to identify job classifications that do not require academic degrees and train agency human resources (HR) personnel on how to properly screen applications to broaden access to career opportunities in state government. This resource explains the years of directly related experience that are equivalent to various academic coursework.

Note, this equivalency guide is a general resource. Some classification specifications have different equivalency requirements.

Examples

Usually, one year of directly related experience is equivalent to one year of education. However, look at the job posting to see if it says that a different number of years of experience can substitute for a degree. When a job posting says you can qualify by an “equivalent combination of education and experience,” you may qualify through years of education, OR years of directly related experience, OR a combination of both.

Example 1

 If a vacancy posting indicates “or equivalent combination of education and experience” and requires a minimum education of a bachelor's degree, it would be equal to:

• An associate degree and two years of related experience

OR

• A high school diploma or GED and four years of related experience

Example 2

If a vacancy posting indicates “or equivalent combination of education and experience” and requires a bachelor's degree and two years of related experience, it would be equal to:

• An associates degree and four years of related experience

OR

• A high school diploma or GED and six years of related experience