Legitimate "Life Experience" Credit
Many universities do offer legitimate credit for real-life experience, including military training, portfolios or other. These are typically limited, though, and extensive academic study (several years) will still be required. Thomas Edison College in New Jersey is an exception to this, even. It's a publicly funded distance learning university that does allow – in theory, anyway – for the granting of degrees based solely on non-academic work. You would need a lot of this to meet their requirements, though.
The work of acquiring a degree is different from regular work. University education is steeped in theory and lots of other material that might seem "irrelevant to the real world." Acquiring a real degree requires patience and the ability to approach or even accept ideas that are initially strange to you (among many other qualities of university education). It is an experience with entirely different value from "life experience."
Never purchase a "life experience" degree
There is nothing wrong with expecting a university to recognize that on the job training or learning can apply to a university. You need to check your attitude about this, though. If you consciously or subconsciously resent education, this might get in the way of good judgment concerning credit for life experience. Never forget that education is work, just like work experience. Never purchase a life experience degree and carefully consider the rationale that any university gives you concerning credit for "life experience."
People who cynically purchase a "life experience" degree are the ones who often get hurt in the end. Getting fired or otherwise publicly embarrassed for deliberate deception is the kind of "life experience" you really could live without.
The real goods on "life experience" credit
Most universities will limit life experience credit to one year of coursework.
No valid university offers a graduate degree based on life experience. Some life experience may be applied to some undergrad degrees. And life experience may give you a richer application to help you get into grad school – but that's all. The rest is going to be good old fashioned work and dedication, where shortcuts are just dead ends.
