Education vs. Work Experience

cmfc1001 wrote:

first of all, i realize they will likely be looked at in a sort of ranking order. but would they be put on the bottom of the applicant pile or on the bottom of the applicant with degrees pile, which some believe is still always on top of work experience only apps.

also the thing about mediocre education is that its very hard to identify on paper. if your getting a degree in, say marketing, you dont nessesarily have to retain the knowlege for long to get good grades. just long enough to pass the class. sure a person with a crappy work ethic is going to be exposed sooner or later. once you get the job its up to you what you do with it. the most imporant part is giving the job to the right person and not turning them down only to end up with the wrong guy.

everyones getting degrees for something these days. if all the people with degrees are getting jobs before everyone else, soon enough the only jobs not filled by people with some sort of degree will be McDonalds and Walmart. im just saying that it doesnt take a degree to excell in the work force. degrees are not garentees. anyone want to chant?

I agree completely. I have an advanced degree - my husband never finished his Bachelors. It doesn't mean I am more intelligent, just more educated (in the sense of schooling) - I do make more money than him currently, however, he has held jobs where he made more hourly (when he contracted, however, he had no benefits).

Again - which resume goes on the bottom entirely depends on the job. In my current department we require a degree because of the technical nature of the job so some one without probably wouldn't even be considered and I would never even see that resume.

If I was in a different situation and felt the experience matched the degree I would probably interview both and see from there.

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Yes - Mame I usually march to a different beat. It used to bother me when I was younger, but now, I really don't care that I think differently. Although it can get me into trouble and often people don't appreciate my unusual sense of humor.

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i dont want to give the impression that im attacking the ethics of the people who are in charge of hiring workers. im just refuting the idea that education is more valuable than experience, or even that experience is better than education. you cant say either as fact. so therefor im stating for a fact that education in NOT more important that experience.
and i dont think there is anything wrong with choosing to not go to college and rather build experience in the work place, or the real world as i like to call it. its all just different strokes for different folks. as i said before, this all started as an argument i had with one of my friends. nothing personal Wink

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I agree not one is more important than the other in most cases. However, there are some professions it is necessary to have a degree - bottom line. If you want to work in one of those professions - the degree is necessary bottom line.

There certainly is not anything wrong with not choosing to go to college. My husband, although regrets not completing his degree, has been successful and will soon be opening his own business - going to college is no guarantee that you will be more successful in your profession than some one without a college degree (excepting of course those that require a degree). In those careers that do not require a degree, if two candidates came in - one with a degree and one with equivalent experience - in most cases, it would fall to the interview to decide, although you cannot rule out bias. If the interviewer were to have a degree, he may value the college education more or if he did not, but loads of experience, he may value the experience more. To me, I would interview both and from there which ever was the best for the job.

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@Linkat,

I do not have a degree and yet I have the ability to build human relations, never miss a deadline and going above and behind my duties. I have trained a grad student who came on board with lots of awards and scolarship and yet she lacks in applying common sense, thinking on her feet, but she was a hard worker.

I respect everyone point of view and theri judgment, however we do need both degree and non degree. And if people do not have an interest to further their education it is a reason such as time and family balance, but doesn't mean they cannot do the job.

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@happylife,

It really depends on the job. My group is very technical in its knowledge which requires at least a 4 year degree (and experience) - and it is quite common to have a graduate degree as well. I agree that having a degree does not guarantee a well rounded candidate, however, even with family obligations and so forth most employees in my area of study still go on to obtain graduate degrees while working. This does so that these individuals take their career seriously - again it is one more plus in a competitive job market.

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@sozobe,

Sozobe,
I would first clarify what you call degree or education and then how you would apply the definition to the specific job. Let me assist by saying that there are many tradespeople who have both experience and education in their specific but perhaps no end degree. Many of these folks are taken into the engineering skills by their respective company because they have both experience and specific training or education.

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@Mame,

Mame, having been around the Human Resources field for many years I can with a degree of experience tell you that a lot of "C" students made the best employees or managers. There are so many reasons for getting a a "C"versus an "A". The student maintained a full time job while attending, had a family or children to care for and the maintenance of these.

Too often peopel who are hiring look for the degree because it adds prestige to the corporation or company. If you are looking for a job in education then the key is definitely advanced education but if you are in the manufacturing world then experience is a heavy plus for the candidate.

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@cmfc1001,

cmfc1001 wrote:

soon enough the only jobs not filled by people with some sort of degree will be McDonalds and Walmart. im just saying that it doesnt take a degree to excell in the work force.

Interesting to note, the above comment was posted in 2006, before the start of the present recession. Today, with unemployment reaching 20% in some parts of the USA, the first in line at many a Mcdonalds/ Walmart/Sears/Walgreens etc are the very educated, who are having a terrible time finding employment in their own fields and need to support themselves and their families. I say good for them and wish them all the luck in the world.

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Education vs. Work Experience

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