“His academical record”.

I dropped out of college young, for complicated reasons. It has never, to my knowledge, been an issue with any potential employer.

And I also disagree with wanti g someone with a “good work ethic”, as you say. People with a good work ethic will grind out mediocre code year after year. I want a creative lazy coder who will find a smart solution or piece of automation to save himself work down the road.