They may qualify, but most likely won’t make the cut. United wants a 4 year degree. I tried to help a friend get on who has multiple type ratings but only a 2 year degree. They said no thanks. Other than being able to check the box on an application I have never used my degree or even been asked a single question about college in any airline interview. Until they run out of qualified applicants with the degree I don’t expect things to change. So for now 3,000 hours and a degree is better than 15,000 and no degree.

My line of thought starting out was that the majors wanted a degree. I knew I would have to have one to be competitive, so I got the degree. My GPA is horrible, but I can check the box. That and a whole lot of luck has landed a pretty good career.