July Blog: Workforce Connector

Education vs Work Experience:

Learning in the classroom has always been designed to help prepare students for life. The classroom is designed to be a safe place for students to take courses on certain topics and make mistakes without having serious consequences. The classroom can also be a way for employees to take courses in different areas of study that interest them. Doing well in the classroom does show employers that potential employees are knowledgeable in their field of study and that they have a strong work ethic because of all the requirements they had to fulfill to earn their degree. Getting a college in today’s economy, is required to get a well-paying job because of the shifts in the economy over the past few decades. While earning a college degree is a requirement for most career paths, it can be a great way for an employee to learn valuable skills for their career.

The founder and former CEO of Microsoft Bills Gates wrote,

“College graduates are more likely to find a rewarding job, earn higher income, and even, evidence shows, live healthier lives than if they didn’t have degrees. They also bring training and skills into America’s workforce, helping our economy grow and stay competitive. That benefits everyone…. By 2025, two thirds of all jobs in the US will require education beyond high school.”

Another way a potential employee can show his or her worth to employers is by their work experience. All jobs an employee has in his or her lifetime can teach valuable life lesson that can be taught in the classroom. These lessons can be different people skills, different commutation skills, and how an employee works as a person. Through work experience, an employee can also get hands on training in areas of interest and see how lessons learned in the classroom apply to the world. An employee might find other areas of interest that can show them different paths they can take in life. Some employees change their career paths or find their chosen career paths through their work experience.

Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball player LeBron James says,

“The Best teacher in life is experience.”

Both are valuable ways for employees to prepare for their careers. However, every potential employee is different in how he or she learns best. Some employees learn best while in the classroom while some learn best while working hands on. It is important for employers to take both into account when hiring employees. Just because a potential employee struggles in one area doesn’t mean he or she struggles in all areas. All employees are different.

Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein taught,

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”