Experience -v- Qualifications

Rocker · October 2016

A good friend of mine, a university graduate, has a senior management job with responsibility for a large number of employees and control of a significantly sized budget. Over the last twenty years or so he has acquired considerable experience and knowledge of management systems and skills.

Lately he has started studying for a Masters degree. The reason is that almost all the trainees who start their employment there have Masters degrees or Doctorates. To maintain his position, he feels that he too needs another qualification. Such study has taken up a lot of his time, he said that there are times when he regrets taking on the additional study work. It leaves little time for anything else. And he has a lot of interests besides his work. His quality of life has suffered quite a lot. He feels that he has not other choice.

So which is the most important - Experience or Qualifications?

WezV · October 2016

Always experience, but qualifications get your foot in the door.

i have often felt my qualifications were a waste of time as they don't really relate to my job.... but I know I never would have been seen without them. Kinda odd that the two people directly above me both left uni after the first year

chrispy108 · October 2016

You'll find it very hard to get any experience without any qualifications to get a foot in the door now.

Your friend's life may be suffering short term, but will it be better in the long term? One of the things a qualification shows is dedication, focus, ability to follow things through etc, if they were easy they'd be no point getting them would there?

Sporky · October 2016

False dilemma, surely?

Experience is how you learn to do something well. Qualifications are a way to demonstrate a set level of knowledge and/or ability.

Brize · October 2016

It's a bit like the Strat or Les Paul question - the answer is both.

fretmeister · October 2016

I like surgeons to have plenty of both.

thermionic · October 2016

This is just educational inflation. The value of your qualifications decreases over time because basically, exams get easier. Actually, they're not even exams anymore - they don't experience that pressure of having to perform in a 3-hour exam on a particular day. When I did A-levels in the mid-80s most people did 3, some did 2, and you did really well if you got ABC or BBB. Now, everybody does 4 or 5 and they all get As or A*s in everything.

My sister did a Sociology degree and decided to go into nursing (always what she wanted to do). It wasn't a degree course then, it was 3 years of training. Now all nurses have nursing degrees so she had the experience but not the same qualifications. She was lucky though, her work paid for her to do an MSc, so she now has the experience and an extra qualification over colleagues 20 years her junior.

I stayed on in university to do a PhD in physics - I enjoyed every minute of it but I don't think it ever really helped me in any career. Now I'm doing a part-time qualification in law through work and although I'd like to do well in it, practically I will probably only devote enough time to it so that I pass.

MrBump · October 2016

Of course, both are really important. It's too dismissive to regard qualitications as "paper" and meaningless; if done well with the right attitude then there's so much that good training can give you. It's not just about jumping though hoops, and getting a piece of paper that says you can do something. That attitude sucks. It's about learning, and achieving something that states you know more than you did.

stimpsonslostson · October 2016

As has been said, qualifications get your foot in the door to interview, experience will help you once you get there- when interviewing candidates you can tell the ones who've done the job "for real" from the ones who know the theory. It's like the difference between having read the music and having heard it played.

As as the job market gets more competitive the things you need to stand a chance increase (especially as degrees are becoming more common). Employers are being more specific in their requirements in order to thin the herd of candidates.

I probably wouldn't get an interview for the job I've been doing for 10 years if I had to apply now- the last time we advertised for an assistant for me ALL the applicants had a PhD and a couple of years experience.

The most recent job I applied for didn't interview me because "they couldn't overlook the lack of a specific sport science degree". This was somewhat galling as I have a BSc and MSc and 15 years experience doing the same job in a closely related field.

octatonic · October 2016

thermionic said:

This is just educational inflation. The value of your qualifications decreases over time because basically, exams get easier. Actually, they're not even exams anymore - they don't experience that pressure of having to perform in a 3-hour exam on a particular day. When I did A-levels in the mid-80s most people did 3, some did 2, and you did really well if you got ABC or BBB. Now, everybody does 4 or 5 and they all get As or A*s in everything.

This.
I did a recent degree and what got you a 1st was laughable really.
People with very low levels of knowledge and that hardly ever attended were getting passed.
University seems to be a cash extraction process rather than an educational pursuit.

Chalky · October 2016

If the job is people-managing or influencing, then experience wins every time.

chrispy108 · October 2016

thermionic said:

This is just educational inflation. The value of your qualifications decreases over time because basically, exams get easier. Actually, they're not even exams anymore - they don't experience that pressure of having to perform in a 3-hour exam on a particular day. When I did A-levels in the mid-80s most people did 3, some did 2, and you did really well if you got ABC or BBB. Now, everybody does 4 or 5 and they all get As or A*s in everything.

Nearly no one does 5 a levels, and hardly anyone does 4. Most people do 4 in the first year, and then drop one so take 3 full a levels. Most courses have new specifications either this year or next, and modules have gone, it's all based on final exams at the end. The average score certainly is not an A.

The education system (and therefore students) can't win; if they results improve its because they're easy and worthless, if they don't go up everyone is lazy and stupid.

Fretwired · October 2016

Experience, especially in a management role.

richh · October 2016

Both are important, but experience is most important IMO, especially where somebody such as a job applicant can demonstrate a proven track record that is very relevant to the job role. I am an employer BTW. But for a younger person, with little or no work experience, qualifications are the main indicator of their potential. Even there though, as long as basic numeracy and literacy can be demonstrated, attitude and enthusiasm often are a better indicator of potential, again IMO.

DefaultM · October 2016

I don't really understand the problem. He already has a very good job, and he has 20 years experience but he feels he might lose the job if he doesn't have another qualification?
Or he's looking for another job and he feels he'd need a masters to go up against the competition?

Personally I think they'd go with him as he has the experience. I know a few people with masters at my place, and they're not very good at their job regardless.

mudslide73 · October 2016

The courses are easier, students get more support and they're motorvated to work harder because they've paid to be there.

Snap · October 2016

thermionic said:

This is just educational inflation. The value of your qualifications decreases over time because basically, exams get easier. A

sorry matey, but that is absolute BS. There's more to education than simply being able to do a 3 hour exam or two.

My daughter is doing A levels now, final year. Of the 3 she is doing 2 of the subjects I did at A level. I would say if anything the standards are higher now. Assessment is constant, and they have to show continued application throughout the whole 2 years to get a good final grade. As opposed to when I did them, if you crammed like chuff for the last few months you basically could have your foot off the gas for the rest of the course.

These days, any student who does well at A level shows IMO a very high level of ability. Consistent ability.

DIfferent story for GCSE, but I think that A levels are harder now, certainly harder to get a good mark, and harder to get into a top class university.

My degree entry requirement was BCD (Newc Uni)- now its AAB. IMO getting and A today is harder than it was then, and an A* is truly outstanding.

scrumhalf · October 2016

There is no absolute answer. It depends on the sort of role we're talking about.

If you're dealing a lot with people then experience is important, you'll probably have come across most types of awkward sod in a longer working life.

koneguitarist · October 2016

In my work situation neither!
I work for one of the largest crane companies in world, but when there was a place for a team leader(supervisor) did it go to our most experienced guy who had the qualifications, no it went to our apprentice, who still had not finished his apprentice. As he was managers mate.
Our most experienced guy then walked, joined another firm on site, apprentice kept asking me to sort stuff out which was in his role, manager then left to go to another company and now our former apprentice is now our manager.
You can't make this shit up!

hywelg · October 2016

Qualifications only count until superceded by experience.

'O Levels' (GCSE's in modern parlance) only count for anything until you have A levels. A levels only matter until you have a degree. The importance of a first versus a Desmond gets diminished by a professional qualification. And all of it gets superceded by experience.

Until such time as you want a career change.

WezV · October 2016

chrispy108 said:

thermionic said:

This is just educational inflation. The value of your qualifications decreases over time because basically, exams get easier. Actually, they're not even exams anymore - they don't experience that pressure of having to perform in a 3-hour exam on a particular day. When I did A-levels in the mid-80s most people did 3, some did 2, and you did really well if you got ABC or BBB. Now, everybody does 4 or 5 and they all get As or A*s in everything.

Nearly no one does 5 a levels, and hardly anyone does 4. Most people do 4 in the first year, and then drop one so take 3 full a levels. Most courses have new specifications either this year or next, and modules have gone, it's all based on final exams at the end. The average score certainly is not an A.

The education system (and therefore students) can't win; if they results improve its because they're easy and worthless, if they don't go up everyone is lazy and stupid.

And nobody ever thinks to suggest that teaching might have got a little better.....

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Experience -v- Qualifications

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