There are many things you get for texts, not just degrees. Academic degrees are just the ones that are regulated, so it's against the law to get them with the help of a ghostwriter.
But you get prestige and awards on "the free market" for all kinds of publications.
> But you get prestige and awards on "the free market" for all kinds of publications.
Yeah, but those are for the low end of the hiring market. Personally I mostly just ignore 'awards', unless it's a Nobel Prize or something.
In fact, too much award fluff is a big negative weighting for me. Same with patents and ECs.
I assume it's similar anywhere that ability actually matters. Sure you might get a boring entry-level IB job at some meat factory whose mild 'prestige' will impress your parents/schoolmates, but who cares in the grand scheme of things.
