Balancing Education and Work Experience
I wrote a post some time ago about the purpose of a college degree. You can check it out here. Someone recently
A college degree needs to be relevant. Jobs that require a degree need to have a valid, job-related reason for requiring a college degree or any kind of specific education.
Sometimes experience trumps education. Please notice that I said sometimes. I believe the school called Corporate America can teach us lessons a university classroom never will. And that’s because the world is constantly changing.
College degrees can enhance our work experience. Even when a person has 5, 10, 15+ years of real-world experience, going back to school has value. Knowing the theory and being able to apply it in the trenches can increase our marketability.
Degree majors can be flexible. I might get some pushback on this one but I don’t know that it’s essential to major in the exact topic of your job. There are several majors that are applicable to a wide spectrum of careers. For example, I can see majors like accounting, finance, management, English writing, etc. being skills every business person needs to know.
Corporate training can bridge skills gaps. There are topics that lend themselves well to workplace learning. For example, leadership, performance management, and employee coaching. Creating opportunities to learn the theory and immediately apply it on the job can have an instant impact.
Lifelong learning is the norm. Professionals who stop reading, learning, attending conferences, etc. run a real risk in today’s business world of falling behind. And I’d contend that it’s not enough just to stay up-to-date with your profession – we have to stay current with general business and the industry we’re in.
I believe there are many ways to gain knowledge and experience. When organizations design and create jobs, both of these factors should be taken into consideration. Obtaining a college degree, or any kind of post high school education for that matter, is expensive and time consuming. Let’s make sure the skills being required of employees are relevant and valuable.
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