Originally Posted by
tnkrtoad
The only things needed to fly part 121 are an ATP and a medical. Everything else is used to filter the thousands of applicants. People who say you don't need a degree to do the job are absolutely correct. But you need the degree to be competitive enough to get the job.
There is also the aspect of pilot-group culture. When the top-tier hire a guy/girl without a degree, they're going to be highly qualified and will typically fit right in. But if you had a large pilot group where nobody had a degree, it would be a different culture. Not picking on any one individual but on average you'd see a difference.