Justin Hand, at 50, had already established a career as a technology manager but wanted to advance in his profession, so he decided to return to college to earn his degree. With a full-time job and having a wife and son, time was a valuable commodity, with Hand stating, "I didn't want to...prolong college any more than I needed to." That's when he discovered the power of work credits, a way of making professional experience translate towards degree requirements. He received 15 credits from the University of Memphis by demonstrating his knowledge through technical papers on database management, computer networking, and software development, which equates to a full semester of education and development. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, nearly 38 million Americans [2] have attended college, but before earning their degree, they left. However, those numbers are changing with work credits building upon people's experiences, like Justin's.

Not everyone's college journey looks the same, and work credits are available even for those who haven’t been in the workforce before. Brooke Tatman, a law student from UL, had the opportunity to secure an internship in her senior year of college at a Louisiana law firm. This internship provided her with 6 credit hours for a 400-level class and the chance to build her resume, shadowing several attorneys through depositions, mediation, and even trial. "It was very easy to make connections, as many times the people offering the work credit either offer you a job on the spot or will remember you in the future (B.Tatman, personal communication, August 21)." Having interviewed with three different law firms in the Baton Rouge area, Brook has set herself up by using work credits to cut costs but also break into her field ahead of other graduates.