A common misconception continues to circulate regarding the worth of degree-holding candidates and non-degree-holding candidates. The misconception is that, among a pool of applicants, an individual holding a Master’s or a Bachelor’s degree is more qualified for the position in question than an applicant with no degree. I too had fallen victim to this ignorant belief. It is only the unconfident, unprepared, and inexperienced individual who allows this misconception to hold any truth.
As a friendly reminder, a degree is a piece of paper that tells your employers that you spent four to five years obtaining information about your specific career field. Some degrees do not even require internships or other types of hands-on components, so a college student really could go from barely passing their college courses to a high-paying corporate job with an office and a window– if the hiring manager is silly enough to let them. Now before I introduce any outside information, let me say that I am (at the time this is being written) a 22-year-old, degree-pursuing student who is currently working a job equipped with an office, window, and executive desk because I have thorough experience doing what I do.
Logically, experience presents a lot more for a candidate than a degree does. Experience shows that an applicant has done hands-on work in their field. These applicants typically acquire evaluations, performance statistics, and other indicators that tell you just how good a job they have proven they can do with their work. An applicant with experience is as close to a “sure bet” as you will get when you only have a resume and an hour-long interview to consider for potential employees. This is often why companies promote from within. The candidate they have selected for the position has likely demonstrated skill and ability and is the hiring manager’s surest bet. An applicant with experience has probably also met and established relationships with colleagues and industry leaders, giving them the benefit of connections and references. A lot of graduating college students have never even worked a job before, let alone built a professional network.
This is not to disparage degree-holding individuals in any way. There is much to be said for the ambitious student who knocks out all four or five years of college to earn their degree(s). A lot of middle-aged adults find themselves struggling to return for their degree and wish they would have stuck it out the first time around. But is this necessary? They may be a lot of work and require a lot of time, but degrees should not automatically be considered superior.
I work with some people today who lack even the basics of professional communication and individual responsibility. Not to worry though — they have all earned their Master’s degrees! So what is the exact argument I am making as to why experience may be more valuable than a degree? It is that a degree will not prepare you for the real workplace experience.
In an article discussing whether or not a college degree creates success, produced by Real Men Real Style, the author says “A college degree won’t guarantee you a high-paying job. It won’t even make you a skilled leader with a shot at the corner office.” He further explains this notion, adding: “developing skills such as leadership, decision making, people and resource management takes real practice and experience. These are skills one cannot acquire in the classroom(1).” The decision as to whether this is right or wrong is yours to make; however, colleges do not cover any “what-if,” real-life scenarios in their curriculums. That means a recently-graduated student would not possibly know how best to handle things like leadership or resource management. These things require experience– sometimes years of it! No one starts as a manager, and although someone may display leadership qualities, this does not prepare or qualify them to make all necessary leadership decisions.
Not only will a college degree not guarantee you a high-paying job– a college degree does not guarantee you any job! I spent one depressing evening surfing social media in search of some people I had grown up with who had recently graduated with their Bachelor’s degrees. I was somewhat shocked and somewhat not shocked at what I discovered. Yes, many of them had earned their degree. What was fascinating to me was how many of them struggled to find any work in their field following graduation. I scrolled past friend after friend and marveled at how many of them took entry-level jobs in retail and foodservice as they waited for their “big break.” For a moment, I could not believe that I was 22, degree-less, and working a better job than many of these people! Many different things attest to this, most importantly of which is experience. By age 18, I had been the assistant store manager of my local Dollar General. I had only begun working a week before my 17th birthday. In that time, I had bled, bruised, and cried my way into a leadership position through the development of skill and experience. This hard work and quick advancement allowed me to fill an opening as the Co-Manager of my local Speedway gas station. I did not think that working at a gas station would get me anywhere I wished to be, but two years later, I was called and offered a position at Wayne State University. I had shown university recruiters that I was teachable, determined, and had a history of many promotions and achievements. Accomplishments like these are just typically something you would not see with young, degree-holding individuals. I have encountered several college students doing things the right way — working student assistant jobs, teaching assistantships, and partaking in internships as they earn their degree — but there are a stunning number of college students who leave college– degree in hand– with only one thing guaranteed: Debt.
One such person is John Zilinski of the Odyssey blog. In a post explaining why a college degree may not be everything it is thought to be, Zilinski says “I think there is this misconception that people have about people in college. I think so many people look at college students and say, ‘They have career goals, and they are going somewhere after they graduate.”‘ Zilinski claims to have been one of those people. He continues to his point, saying “Many of us spend so much time learning out of a textbook about what we are going to be doing, and not enough time in the field, that we really do not know what our future career path is going to be like(2).” The shocking truth Zilinski unveils is that college can inform you of the things you will be exposed to in your field, but college cannot give you every solution to every problem. Most importantly, the pursuit of education does not end as soon as you have earned your degree. Once you do get in your field, continuous growth and educating will be required of both degree-holding and non-degree-holding employees for them to remain innovative, resourceful, and successful in their work. So if degree-holding and non-degree-holding individuals are all required to develop the same skills and understanding, why is it that the degree is considered an indication of greater capability?
There is a silver lining to all of this for me — by the time I have earned my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, I will have over five years of experience at Wayne State University. I prefer it to be this way. It is like I have taken an alternate route to the location where degree earners and non-degree earners all strive to be. While some degree-earning individuals will continue to apply for the same jobs that I apply for, I will find comfort in knowing that what I bring to the table extends far beyond what can be learned in a classroom; far beyond the cap and gown. Not only am I working towards a degree, which I will surely earn (and best of all, debt-free!), but I will also possess considerable experience and a potentially higher seniority level than if I were brand new to the workforce with only a degree to offer. Choose the route that best suits you and where you would like to be. I aim to provide alternative solutions to those who may need them as well as deepen the shallow minds of those who believe degrees to be the end all be all.
No matter which route you take, it is ultimately your hard work and efforts that will bring you to the place you want to be. My biggest recommendation is, no matter what, to invest in yourself. Get a portfolio going, make connections, volunteer, and sit-in for experience whenever you can. Degree or no degree, your interest, ability, and dedication to the job and your industry is what hiring managers will look at closest when they stumble upon your resume. May these words fuel which direction, if either, you choose to take, and may the payoff of your perseverance be great!
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1. “5 Reasons College Does Not Equal Success”. Real Men Real Style. https://www.realmenrealstyle.com/college-degree-necessary/. Accessed 18 July 2018.
2. Zilinski, John. “Why My College Degree Is Not Everything.” Odyssey. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/why-my-college-degree-is-not-everything, June 6, 2016. Accessed 18 July 2018.
