EDUCATION OR EXPERIENCE

The debate between education and experience is quite old. It is very difficult to say what is more important – education or experience, as they both have their own place in a person’s career ladder.

It is said that experience is the best teacher. There is no other great teacher as that of life. It teaches us practical realities of the world. However, having mere experience has limitations. A person with only experience and no education reaches the saturation point in his career very soon.
A professional qualification supports the inherent skills of a person to do his job effectively. It is a very essential to have a formal degree. Most employers prefer candidates with college degrees as they associate formal education with essential characteristics as that of good interpersonal skills, intelligence, good analytical skills, organizational skills etc. Formal education helps employees improve their potential in future.

However, people with mere degrees and no experience may find it difficult to handle the pressure at work and do their job successfully. It is good to have hands on experience of a job along with a professional degree.

Nobody is born with experience. One has to begin somewhere. A fresher may not have any work experience when he/she begins to work. He tries to apply what he has learnt in college while working for the first time. Here, he learns to put theory into practice. The biggest lesson one learns in his previous years of work is the difference between theory and practice. Experience changes people a lot after they start working. It helps them develop and grow not only professionally but also personally. They realize the importance of good communication skills at work and try to improve their communication skills. They also realize the need to keep their subject knowledge updated.

Thus, experience is nothing but education obtained outside the classroom. Whatever we learn outside our classroom trough trial and error is our experience. Both teach us but with a difference. Formal education paves way to experience and both further pave way to a successful life. They help us achieve our full potential as human beings. We need to strike a fine balance of education and experience to lead a successful and happy life. Most employers prefer to hire candidates with fine balance of education and experience.


Furthermore, one should concentrate on identifying and developing the required qualities that help him to achieve his full potential in his career and life. These qualities include intelligence, wisdom, good interpersonal skills, communication skills, analytical skills, organizational skills etc. He should ask himself whether the required competencies can be obtained through the process of earning a degree or can be acquired through experiences.
Education and experience are means to obtain these qualities. Developing these qualities is more important and not the means.

Thus, both formal education and experience play a very important role in a person’s career and life. They help him develop the inherent qualities in him which help him achieve his full potential as a human being. They both have their own distinct place in their life.