It seems as if I can never get a clear, plain and simple answer to a question that seems plain and simple in general. This question has the ability to stifle success, disable progress, cause distress, and erupt confusion. And this question has no age requirement, socioeconomic agenda, racial boundaries, or cultural priorities. What question can I possibly be referring to?
Is having an education more important than having real life experience in the job market?
In short, this question does not have a precise, nonetheless precisely correct or incorrect, answer. Quite frankly, it is difficult to provide a concrete answer since the factors that comprise the outcome of the question are in abundance--and changing. However, some people do answer this question for themselves. Some say that having an education carries more weight in the job market that having real life experience. And then there are some people who answer this question by coming to the opposite conclusion. So, is there a "correct" answer? I am simply not sure.
Let's go back in time for a minute. It is 1956 and you just graduated high school. The subject that most interested you in school was history, so you intend to get a job that correlates with that interest of yours. You have the choice of either going to a nearby college to obtain your undergraduate degree in history or applying for a job as a tour guide for your town's museum. Which direction would you choose to go in?
If you would choose to obtain your undergraduate degree in history, ask yourself why you would make that choice over immediately applying for the job at the town museum. And if you would choose to apply for the job at the town museum over obtaining your undergraduate degree, ask yourself why would make that choice.
If I were you in 1956, I would not be very concerned with choosing one option over the other. In the 1950s, a college degree was not only unnecessary to have in order to land a decent job, but it was also not needed in order to be a competitive applicant in a job application process. In general, employers--although not all--in the 1950s generally weighed a college degree and real life experience equally when it came to choosing an applicant for a job. Neither a college degree or evidence of real experience surpassed the other in importance in an interview--depending on the type of job, of course.
In the 21st century, the predicament of the 1950s can be seen as well. Only the stakes in the job market are much higher today than they were 70 years ago. Today, there is an abundance of confusion amongst people about whether obtaining an education, not just a college degree, is more conducive to obtaining a decent job over just having real life experience. Of course, there are some occupations that require an applicant to have a college degree or certificate of some sort. However, there are also some occupations that, while they do technically "require" an applicant to have a college degree, sometimes prioritize an applicant's real life experience over their educational background. The situation seems quite contradictory and gray--as it is supposed to be.
So, what is the answer? Is having an education more important than having real life experience in the job market?
Let me provide you with the clearest answer I can conjure up: It depends.
While one employer may prioritize having an education over real life experience, another may prioritize real life experience over having an education. Depending on the nature of the job, real life experience may push you into the third part of the interview process, or have no effect at all. Same goes for having an education and no, or limited, real life experience.
My advice: Have both.
Whether having some form of an education in a particular field of study is necessary or not to obtaining a certain job--obtain the education anyway. Same goes for obtaining real life experience. If having real life experience in a particular subject area is necessary or unnecessary to obtaining a particular job--obtain it anyway.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison
Embrace opportunities, whether they require, or look like, work or not. An employer will prioritize that motivation.
